When Democratic state senators meet Saturday in Montpelier, they’ll elect the caucus’ next majority leader.
But with seemingly just one candidate in the running — Sen. Philip Baruth (D-Chittenden) — the real behind-the-scenes jockeying appears to be elsewhere: namely, committee chairmanships.
With the retirements of Sen. Sara Kittell (D-Franklin) and Sen. Vince Illuzzi (R-Essex/Orleans) last year, the chairmanships of the committees they led — agriculture and economic development, respectively — are up for grabs.
On top of that, Sen. Ann Cummings (D-Washington), the longtime chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, says she’s giving up her chairmanship. Cummings, who unsuccessfully challenged Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell for his leadership job last year, cited health issues in her decision.
“My health right now is fine, but the last two years have been very high-stress for me,” she says. “Both myself, my family and my doctor thinks that the stress of the last two years during the session played a role in my health issues.”
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