HARDWICK AREA – Women took a hit in the election earlier this month, but representation by Democrats dropped even more. While party representation has moved toward parity, representation by women has moved away from it in a significant way.
The contingent of area women in the legislature will fall from 43% to 29% in the House and Senate for the area towns when the new legislative session begins in January.
Six women will become four, with losses in the Caledonia Senate seat won by Scott Beck and the Lamoille-2 House seat to be filled by Richard Bailey.
Perhaps more significantly, those 11 towns have been served by 13 Democratic legislators and one who ran as both a Democrat and Republican. In January only eight area Democrats will be seated (along with that half seat still held by Richard Westman in Lamoille). That will drop the Democrats from 100% to a hair over 64%, even if Westman is counted as a Democrat, 57% if he’s not.
Republicans will replace Democrats in the Caledonia-Washington House seat to be filled by Greg Burtt, Mike Southworth in the Caledonia-2 House, the Orleans Senate seat Sam Douglass will fill in January and the aforementioned seats to be filled by Beck and Bailey in the Caledonia County Senate and Lamoille-2 House.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
