Gaye R. Symington (born April 20, 1954) is an American politician who is the former Speaker of the

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, the lower house of the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

. She was the 2008 Democratic nominee for the 2008 Vermont gubernatorial election against Republican Governor

Jim Douglas James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Vermont. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served as the List of governors of Vermont, 80th governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. ...

and Independent

Anthony Pollina Anthony Pollina (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician who has served as Chair of the Vermont Progressive Party since 2017, and was a member of the Vermont Senate from 2011 to 2023. Biography Anthony Pollina was born in Ridgewood, N ...

. Symington is married to Chuck Lacy, movie producer and former president of

Ben and Jerry's Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin (name), Benjamin, Benedict (given name), Benedict, Bennett (name), Bennett, Benson (given name), Benson or Ebenezer (given name), Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its ...

ice cream. The couple have three teenage children. Symington attended

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

as an undergraduate, and holds a master's degree in business administration from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1983.

Vermont House of Representatives

First elected to the House in 1996 as a Democrat, Symington represented the Chittenden-8 district until 2009. As a freshman legislator, she served on the Ways and Means Committee. After the 2002 legislative elections, Symington was elected House Minority Leader in 2003 by her Democratic caucus and led the Vermont Democratic House Campaign (VDHC) in recruitment of Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives in 2004. The Democrats retook the House of Representatives in the 2004 legislative races after four years in the minority. In January 2005, Symington was unanimously elected Speaker of the House, becoming the second woman to hold the position. In the 2006 elections, the Democratic Party increased its majority in the chamber. There were now enough Democrats, Progressives, and independents in the Vermont House to overturn a gubernatorial veto. Symington won re-election to the post in 2007 without opposition.

2008 Governor campaign

In 2008, Symington announced she would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives. In May 2008 she announced she would seek the Democratic nomination for

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

in the 2008 election against incumbent Republican

and Independent

. Symington finished third in the election with 69,534 votes for 21.7% of the vote. Symington's campaign was adversely affected when it was discovered she did not fully disclose her family's income.Remsen, Nancy
"Disclosure issue returns"
, ''BurlingtonFreePress.com'', vt.Buzz ~ a political blog, September 23, 2008. Retrieved 2011-01-14. The campaign also failed to capture the endorsements of several major unions, including the state's three largest (State Employees Association, AFL-CIO, and the Vermont's National Education Association affiliate) which endorsed Pollina.

References

External links

Project Vote Smart – Representative Gaye Symington (VT)
profile *''Follow the Money'' – Gaye Symington
20062004200220001998
campaign contributions
2005 Vermont House biographies
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Symington, Gaye 1954 births Living people Politicians from Boston Cornell University alumni Williams College alumni Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Women state legislators in Vermont 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Vermont General Assembly 21st-century American women politicians Candidates in the 2008 United States elections 20th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly

Vermont House of Representatives

2008 Governor campaign

See also

References

External links