List of lieutenant governors of Vermont

The Lieutenant Governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the latter is out of state or incapacitated, presiding over the Vermont Senate, casting tie-breaking votes in the Senate when required, and acceding to the governorship in case of a vacancy.[2][3][4]As a member of the state senate's Committee on Committees, the Lieutenant Governor of Vermont plays a role in determining committee assignments for individual senators, as well as selecting committee chairmen, vice chairmen, and clerks.[5][6][7]

Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
Coat of Arms of Vermont
Incumbent Molly Gray since January 7, 2021
Term length	Two years, no term limit
Inaugural holder	Jonathan Hunt
Formation	1791; Constitution of Vermont
Succession	Every two years, unless re-elected.
Salary	$78,145[1]

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 longtime 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.[8][9]

Vacancies

Vermont has no provision for filling the lieutenant governor's office in the event of a vacancy,[10] and it has been vacant four times.[11] Thomas Chittenden died in August 1797 while serving as governor, and Lieutenant Governor Paul Brigham served until the end of Chittenden's term in October.[11] Brigham, the winner of that year's September election for lieutenant governor, began his new term in October and was succeeded as governor by Isaac Tichenor.[11] In February 1870, Governor Peter T. Washburn died and George Whitman Hendee became governor.[11] The lieutenant governor's office remained vacant until George N. Dale, the winner of that September's election, took office in October.[11] In January 1950, Governor Ernest W. Gibson Jr. resigned and Harold J. Arthur became governor.[11] The lieutenant governor's office was vacant until Joseph B. Johnson, the winner of the 1950 election, took office in January 1951.[11] In August 1991, Governor Richard A. Snelling died and Howard Dean succeeded him.[10] The lieutenant governorship remained vacant until Snelling's widow Barbara, the winner of the 1992 election, took office in January 1993.[12]

List

Here is a list of lieutenant governors of Vermont in chronological order:[13][14]

As the independent Vermont Republic

#	Name	Party	Term	Governor(s) served under
1	Joseph Marsh	—	1778–1779	Thomas Chittenden
2	Benjamin Carpenter	—	1779–1781	Thomas Chittenden
3	Elisha Payne	—	1781–1782	Thomas Chittenden
4	Paul Spooner	—	1782–1787	Thomas Chittenden
5	Joseph Marsh	—	1787–1790	Moses Robinson
6	Peter Olcott	—	1790–1794	Thomas Chittenden

As the U.S. state of Vermont

Parties

  Democratic (7)   Democratic-Republican (5)   Federalist (1)   Republican/National Union (57)   Whig/National Republican/Anti-Masonic (10)   Progressive (1)

#	Name	Party	Term	Governor(s) served under
1	Jonathan Hunt	—	1794–1796	Thomas Chittenden
2	Paul Brigham	Democratic-Republican	1796–1813	Thomas Chittenden himself Isaac Tichenor Israel Smith Isaac Tichenor Jonas Galusha
3	William Chamberlain	Federalist	1813–1815	Martin Chittenden
4	Paul Brigham	Democratic-Republican	1815–1820	Jonas Galusha
5	William Cahoon	Democratic-Republican	1820–1822	Richard Skinner
6	Aaron Leland	Democratic-Republican	1822–1827	Richard Skinner Cornelius P. Van Ness Ezra Butler
7	Henry Olin	Democratic-Republican	1827–1830	Ezra Butler
8	Mark Richards	National Republican	1830–1831	Samuel C. Crafts
9	Lebbeus Egerton	Anti-Masonic	1831–1835	William A. Palmer
10	Silas H. Jennison	Whig / Anti-Masonic	1835–1836	Silas H. Jennison
11	David M. Camp	Whig	1836–1841	Silas H. Jennison
12	Waitstill R. Ranney	Whig	1841–1843	Charles Paine
13	Horace Eaton	Whig	1843–1846	John Mattocks William Slade
14	Leonard Sargeant	Whig	1846–1848	Horace Eaton
15	Robert Pierpoint	Whig	1848–1850	Carlos Coolidge
16	Julius Converse	Whig	1850–1852	Charles K. Williams
17	William C. Kittredge	Whig	1852–1853	Erastus Fairbanks
18	Jefferson P. Kidder	Democratic	1853–1854	John S. Robinson
19	Ryland Fletcher	Republican	1854–1856	Stephen Royce
20	James M. Slade	Republican	1856–1858	Ryland Fletcher
21	Burnham Martin	Republican	1858–1860	Hiland Hall
22	Levi Underwood	Republican	1860–1862	Hiland Hall Erastus Fairbanks
23	Paul Dillingham	Republican / National Union	1862–1865	Frederick Holbrook J. Gregory Smith
24	Abraham B. Gardner	Republican	1865–1867	Paul Dillingham
25	Stephen Thomas	Republican	1867–1869	John B. Page
26	George W. Hendee	Republican	1869–1870	Peter T. Washburn
27	George N. Dale	Republican	1870–1872	George W. Hendee John W. Stewart
28	Russell S. Taft	Republican	1872–1874	Julius Converse
29	Lyman G. Hinckley	Republican	1874–1876	Asahel Peck
30	Redfield Proctor	Republican	1876–1878	Horace Fairbanks
31	Eben Pomeroy Colton	Republican	1878–1880	Redfield Proctor
32	John L. Barstow	Republican	1880–1882	Roswell Farnham
33	Samuel E. Pingree	Republican	1882–1884	John L. Barstow
34	Ebenezer J. Ormsbee	Republican	1884–1886	Samuel E. Pingree
35	Levi K. Fuller	Republican	1886–1888	Ebenezer J. Ormsbee
36	Urban A. Woodbury	Republican	1888–1890	William P. Dillingham
37	Henry A. Fletcher	Republican	1890–1892	Carroll S. Page
38	F. Stewart Stranahan	Republican	1892–1894	Levi K. Fuller
39	Zophar M. Mansur	Republican	1894–1896	Urban A. Woodbury
40	Nelson W. Fisk	Republican	1896–1898	Josiah Grout
41	Henry C. Bates	Republican	1898–1900	Edward C. Smith
42	Martin F. Allen	Republican	1900–1902	William W. Stickney
43	Zed S. Stanton	Republican	1902–1904	John G. McCullough
44	Charles H. Stearns	Republican	1904–1906	Charles J. Bell
45	George H. Prouty	Republican	1906–1908	Fletcher D. Proctor
46	John A. Mead	Republican	1908–1910	George H. Prouty
47	Leighton P. Slack	Republican	1910–1912	John A. Mead
48	Frank E. Howe	Republican	1912–1915	Allen M. Fletcher
49	Hale K. Darling	Republican	1915–1917	Charles W. Gates
50	Roger W. Hulburd	Republican	1917–1919	Horace F. Graham
51	Mason S. Stone	Republican	1919–1921	Percival W. Clement
52	Abram W. Foote	Republican	1921–1923	James Hartness
53	Franklin S. Billings	Republican	1923–1925	Redfield Proctor Jr.
54	Walter K. Farnsworth	Republican	1925–1927	Franklin S. Billings
55	Hollister Jackson	Republican	1927–1927	John E. Weeks
56	Stanley C. Wilson	Republican	1929–1931	John E. Weeks
57	Benjamin Williams	Republican	1931–1933	Stanley C. Wilson
58	Charles M. Smith	Republican	1933–1935	Stanley C. Wilson
59	George D. Aiken	Republican	1935–1937	Charles Manley Smith
60	William H. Wills	Republican	1937–1941	George D. Aiken
61	Mortimer R. Proctor	Republican	1941–1945	William H. Wills
62	Lee E. Emerson	Republican	1945–1949	Mortimer R. Proctor Ernest W. Gibson Jr.
63	Harold J. Arthur	Republican	1949–1950	Ernest W. Gibson Jr.
64	Joseph B. Johnson	Republican	1951–1955	Lee E. Emerson
65	Consuelo N. Bailey	Republican	1955–1957	Joseph B. Johnson
66	Robert T. Stafford	Republican	1957–1959	Joseph B. Johnson
67	Robert S. Babcock	Republican	1959–1961	Robert T. Stafford
68	Ralph A. Foote	Republican	1961–1965	F. Ray Keyser Jr. Philip H. Hoff
69	John J. Daley	Democratic	1965–1969	Philip H. Hoff
70	Thomas L. Hayes	Republican	1969–1971	Deane C. Davis
71	John S. Burgess	Republican	1971–1975	Deane C. Davis Thomas P. Salmon
72	Brian D. Burns	Democratic	1975–1977	Thomas P. Salmon
73	T. Garry Buckley	Republican	1977–1979	Richard Snelling
74	Madeleine Kunin	Democratic	1979–1983	Richard Snelling
75	Peter P. Smith	Republican	1983–1987	Richard Snelling Madeleine Kunin
76	Howard Dean	Democratic	1987–1991	Madeleine Kunin Richard Snelling
77	Barbara Snelling	Republican	1993–1997	Howard Dean
78	Doug Racine	Democratic	1997–2003	Howard Dean
79	Brian Dubie	Republican	2003–2011	Jim Douglas
80	Phil Scott	Republican	2011–2017	Peter Shumlin
81	David Zuckerman	Progressive–Democratic	2017–2021	Phil Scott
82	Molly Gray	Democratic	2021–present	Phil Scott

• Italics denote a governor of a different party than the lieutenant governor.

Living former lieutenant governors of Vermont

As of January 2021, eight former lieutenant governors of Vermont were alive, the oldest being Madeleine Kunin (served 1979–1983, born 1933). The most recent death of a former lieutenant governor of Vermont was that of Barbara W. Snelling (served 1993–1997, born 1928), on November 2, 2015.

Lt. Governor	Lt. Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Brian D. Burns	1975–1977	November 17, 1939
Madeleine Kunin	1979–1983	September 28, 1933
Peter Plympton Smith	1983–1987	October 31, 1945
Howard Dean	1987–1991	November 17, 1948
Doug Racine	1997–2003	October 7, 1952
Brian Dubie	2003–2011	March 9, 1959
Phil Scott	2011–2017	August 4, 1958
David Zuckerman	2017–2021	August 16, 1971

References

1. "State of Vermont Employee Salaries - Open Data". State of Vermont. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
2. "Constitution of the State of Vermont". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
3. "3 V.S.A. § 1 — Vacancy, absence from State". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
4. "20 V.S.A. § 183 — Additional successor to office of governor". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
5. Newspaper article, Vermont Senate Committee Assignments Finally Out Archived 2012-07-13 at Archive.today, by Nancy Remsen, Burlington Free Press, January 7, 2011
6. Permanent Rules of the Vermont Senate, published by Vermont State Senate, 2009 edition, page 4
7. Vermont Constitution, Chapter 2, Article 19, U.S. Constitution Online web site, accessed January 2, 2011
8. Newspaper article, The Mountain Rule in Vermont, New York Times, February 12, 1895
9. Magazine article, Mountain Rule Revisited, by Samuel B. Hand, Vermont History Magazine, published by Vermont Historical Society, Summer/Fall 2003, pages 139 to 151
10. Allen, Susan (February 6, 1992). "Wright Says Dean Offered Him The Lieutenant Governor's Post". Rutland Herald. Rutland, VT. Vermont Press Bureau. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Douglas, Jim, Vermont Secretary of State (August 15, 1991). "Guest Perspective: A Leader Who Made Things Happen". Bennington Banner. Bennington, VT. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Once Every 40 Years In Vermont". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. January 3, 1993. p. 6E – via Newspapers.com.
13. Terms of Service, Vermont Lieutenant Governors, Vermont Secretary of State Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, 2011
14. General Election Results, Vermont Lieutenant Governor, 1818 to 2011, Vermont Secretary of State, State Archives and Records Administration, 2011

External links

• Office of Lt. Governor David Zuckerman