CRAFTSBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – Two people have announced their candidacies for state Senate in the wake of the retirement of longtime Vermont politician Bobby Starr.
Vermont state Rep. Katherine Sims of Craftsbury says she’s running for the Orleans District seat, which includes 20 towns in Orleans, Caledonia and Franklin counties.
The Democrat is currently serving her second term in the Vermont House of Representatives.
If elected, she would be the first woman to serve the district in the Senate in more than six decades.
In a statement, Sims said, in part, “We face tough challenges, and I’m ready to give the Northeast Kingdom a voice as we work to increase housing, revitalize our rural economy, and make life affordable for working Vermonters.”
Orleans County GOP Chair Sam Douglass is also running for that Senate seat.
Douglass says with Starr’s departure, there’s a gap in agricultural advocacy, saying quote, “Both Senator Starr and I are Troy natives and we bring the spirit of traditional Vermont culture into our opinions on policy, and his support for hunting, fishing, trapping, firearm rights, fiscal restraint, and agriculture, is something we share.”