Vt. judge dismisses lawmakers’ lawsuit over interim ed secretary appointment

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A Vermont Judge Friday dismissed a case by Democratic lawmakers over whether the state’s interim education secretary can stay on the job.

Two Vermont lawmakers, Senators Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden County, and Dick McCormack, D-Windsor County, sued Governor Phil Scott over his appointment of Interim Education Secretary Zoie Saunders.

It comes after the Senate voted 19 to 9 in April to reject Saunders’ confirmation as education secretary, citing concerns about her background and qualifications. Moments later, the governor appointed Saunders interim secretary.

In oral arguments Thursday, a lawyer for the lawmakers argued that the governor circumvented the Vermont Constitution, which says confirmations need the advice and consent of the state senate.

But the lawyer for the Scott administration argued there’s nothing in law saying governors can’t reappoint during the session and that other governors have taken similar steps.

In a quick ruling Friday, Judge Robert Mello agreed with the Scott administration, saying the interim appointment “is not intended to be indefinite in some manner usurping the Senate’s advice and consent authority but is timed so that the matter of an appointment of a permanent secretary can be presented to the Senate again in the next legislative session.”