List of lieutenant governors of Vermont

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Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
Coat of arms of Vermont.svg
Coat of Arms of Vermont
Incumbent
Phillip Scott

since January 6, 2011
Term length Two years, no term limit
Inaugural holder Jonathan Hunt
Formation 1791; Constitution of Vermont
Succession Every two years, unless re-elected.
Salary $61,776

The Lieutenant Governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the Governor. The Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include: acting as Governor when the Governor is out of state or incapacitated; presiding over the Vermont Senate; and casting tie-breaking votes in the Senate when required. As a member of the State Senate's Committee on Committees, the Lieutenant Governor plays a role in determining committee assignments for individual Senators, as well as selecting committee chairmen, vice chairmen, and clerks.[1][2][3]

Mountain Rule

From the founding of the Republican Party in the 1850s until the 1960s only Republicans won general elections for Vermont's statewide offices. One method that made this possible was imposition of the "Mountain Rule." Under the provisions of the Mountain Rule, one U.S. Senator was a resident of the east side of the Green Mountains and one resided on the west side, and the governorship and lieutenant governorship alternated between residents of the east and west side. Nominees for Governor and Lieutenant Governor were allowed two one-year terms, and later one two-year term. For nearly 100 years likely Republican candidates for office in Vermont agreed to abide by the Mountain Rule in the interests of party unity. Several factors led to the eventual weakening of the Mountain Rule, including: the long time political dispute between the Proctor (conservative) and Aiken-Gibson (liberal) wings of the party; primaries rather than conventions to select nominees; the direct election of U.S. Senators; and several active third parties, including the Progressives, the Prohibition Party, and the Local Option movement. In the 1960s the rise of the Vermont Democratic Party and the construction of Interstate 89 also contributed to the end of the Mountain Rule. Though I-89 is a north-south route, it traverses Vermont from east to west and changed the way Vermonters view how the state is divided.[4][5]

List

Here is a list of lieutenant governors of Vermont in chronological order:[6][7]

As the independent Vermont Republic

# Name Party Term
1 Joseph Marsh 1778–1779
2 Benjamin Carpenter 1779–1781
3 Elisha Payne 1781–1782
4 Paul Spooner 1782–1787
5 Joseph Marsh 1787–1790
6 Peter Olcott 1790–1794

As the U.S. state of Vermont

Parties

      Democratic       Democratic-Republican       Federalist       Republican/National Union       Whig/National Republican/Anti-Masonic

# Name Party Term
1 Jonathan Hunt 1794–1796
2 Paul Brigham Democratic-Republican 1796–1813
3 William Chamberlain Federalist 1813–1815
4 Paul Brigham Democratic-Republican 1815–1820
5 William Cahoon Democratic-Republican 1820–1822
6 Aaron Leland Democratic-Republican 1822–1827
7 Henry Olin Democratic-Republican 1827–1830
8 Mark Richards National Republican 1830–1831
9 Lebbeus Egerton Anti-Masonic 1831–1835
10 Silas H. Jennison Whig / Anti-Masonic 1835–1836
11 David M. Camp Whig 1836–1841
12 Waitstill R. Ranney Whig 1841–1843
13 Horace Eaton Whig 1843–1846
14 Leonard Sargeant Whig 1846–1848
15 Robert Pierpoint Whig 1848–1850
16 Julius Converse Whig 1850–1852
17 William C. Kittredge Whig 1852–1853
18 Jefferson P. Kidder Democratic 1853–1854
19 Ryland Fletcher Republican 1854–1856
20 James M. Slade Republican 1856–1858
21 Burnham Martin Republican 1858–1860
22 Levi Underwood Republican 1860–1862
23 Paul Dillingham Republican / National Union 1862–1865
24 Abraham B. Gardner Republican 1865–1867
25 Stephen Thomas Republican 1867–1869
26 George W. Hendee Republican 1869–1870
27 George N. Dale Republican 1870–1872
28 Russell S. Taft Republican 1872–1874
29 Lyman G. Hinckley Republican 1874–1876
30 Redfield Proctor Republican 1876–1878
31 Eben Pomeroy Colton Republican 1878–1880
32 John L. Barstow Republican 1880–1882
33 Samuel E. Pingree Republican 1882–1884
34 Ebenezer J. Ormsbee Republican 1884–1886
35 Levi K. Fuller Republican 1886–1888
36 Urban A. Woodbury Republican 1888–1890
37 Henry A. Fletcher Republican 1890–1892
38 F. Stewart Stranahan Republican 1892–1894
39 Zophar M. Mansur Republican 1894–1896
40 Nelson W. Fisk Republican 1896–1898
41 Henry C. Bates Republican 1898–1900
42 Martin F. Allen Republican 1900–1902
43 Zed S. Stanton Republican 1902–1904
44 Charles H. Stearns Republican 1904–1906
45 George H. Prouty Republican 1906–1908
46 John A. Mead Republican 1908–1910
47 Leighton P. Slack Republican 1910–1912
48 Frank E. Howe Republican 1912–1915
49 Hale K. Darling Republican 1915–1917
50 Roger W. Hulburd Republican 1917–1919
51 Mason S. Stone Republican 1919–1921
52 Abram W. Foote Republican 1921–1923
53 Franklin S. Billings Republican 1923–1925
54 Walter K. Farnsworth Republican 1925–1927
55 Hollister Jackson Republican 1927–1927
56 Stanley C. Wilson Republican 1929–1931
57 Benjamin Williams Republican 1931–1933
58 Charles M. Smith Republican 1933–1935
59 George D. Aiken Republican 1935–1937
60 William H. Wills Republican 1937–1941
61 Mortimer R. Proctor Republican 1941–1945
62 Lee E. Emerson Republican 1945–1949
63 Harold J. Arthur Republican 1949–1950
64 Joseph B. Johnson Republican 1951–1955
65 Consuelo N. Bailey Republican 1955–1957
66 Robert T. Stafford Republican 1957–1959
67 Robert S. Babcock Republican 1959–1961
68 Ralph A. Foote Republican 1961–1965
69 John J. Daley Democratic 1965–1969
70 Thomas L. Hayes Republican 1969–1971
71 John S. Burgess Republican 1971–1975
72 Brian D. Burns Democratic 1975–1977
73 T. Garry Buckley Republican 1977–1979
74 Madeleine M. Kunin Democratic 1979–1983
75 Peter P. Smith Republican 1983–1987
76 Howard B. Dean Democratic 1987–1991
77 Barbara W. Snelling Republican 1993–1997
78 Douglas A. Racine Democratic 1997–2003
79 Brian E. Dubie Republican 2003–2011
80 Phillip Scott Republican 2011–present

Living former lieutenant governors

As of November 2015, six former lieutenant governors were alive, the oldest being Madeleine M. Kunin (1979–1983, born 1933). The most recent death of a former lieutenant governor was that of Barbara W. Snelling (1993–1997), on November 2, 2015.

Lt. Governor Lt. Gubernatorial term Date of birth (and age)
Brian D. Burns 1975–1977 (1939-11-17) November 17, 1939 (age 84)
Madeleine M. Kunin 1979–1983 (1933-09-28) September 28, 1933 (age 90)
Peter Plympton Smith 1983–1987 (1945-10-31) October 31, 1945 (age 78)
Howard Dean 1987–1991 (1948-11-17) November 17, 1948 (age 75)
Doug Racine 1997–2003 (1952-10-07) October 7, 1952 (age 71)
Brian Dubie 2003–2011 (1959-03-09) March 9, 1959 (age 65)

References

  1. Newspaper article, Vermont Senate Committee Assignments Finally Out, by Nancy Remsen, Burlington Free Press, January 7, 2011
  2. permanent Rules of the Vermont Senate, published by Vermont State Senate, 2009 edition, page 4
  3. Vermont Constitution, Chapter 2, Article 19, U.S. Constitution Online web site, accessed January 2, 2011
  4. Newspaper article, The Mountain Rule in Vermont, New York Times, February 12, 1895
  5. Magazine article, Mountain Rule Revisited, by Samuel B. Hand, Vermont History Magazine, published by Vermont Historical Society, Summer/Fall 2003, pages 139 to 151
  6. Terms of Service, Vermont Lieutenant Governors, Vermont Secretary of State Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, 2011
  7. General Election Results, Vermont Lieutenant Governor, 1818 to 2011, Vermont Secretary of State, State Archives and Records Administration, 2011

External links