For the drama-prone Senate Democratic caucus, a Saturday meeting to elect its leadership went remarkably smoothly.
Huddled around a conference table at Montpelier’s Capitol Plaza, the 23-member caucus selected Sen. Philip Baruth (D-Chittenden) as majority leader and Sen. Claire Ayer (D-Addison) as assistant majority leader. Both were elected by voice vote — without opposition.
Baruth’s selection as the party’s consensus-seeker and enforcer signaled a remarkable turnaround for a relatively junior and liberal member who distinguished himself last session — his first — as a voice of opposition and, at times, obstruction. But Baruth’s fellow senators appeared to accept the Burlington Democrat’s pledge to put the priorities of the caucus before his own.
Oh, and nobody else wanted the job.
After nominating Baruth for the post, Sen. Bobby Starr (D-Essex/Orleans) — a longtime conservative Democrat from the Northeast Kingdom — said that despite their philosophical differences, he believed Baruth to be “a great guy” and “a great communicator.”
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