MONTPELIER — Gov. Phil Scott has appointed Killington resident David Soucy to fill an open Senate seat in Rutland County, replacing Republican Kevin Mullin who was recently appointed as chairman of the Green Mountain Care Board.
Soucy, the head golf professional and general manager at Green Mountain National Golf Course in Killington, will be sworn in Wednesday morning ahead of a special legislative veto session. He will serve alongside Republican Sens. Peg Flory and Brian Collamore in the threeseat Rutland district.
“ I’m honored and humbled to be appointed by the governor and I look forward to getting to work,” Soucy said in an interview late Monday afternoon.
Soucy, who was one of three candidates put forth by the Rutland County Republican Committee for Scott’s consideration, said he received a call from Scott on Monday informing him of the appointment.
“Dave brings a wealth of business experience to this position, which will serve the people of Rutland County well,” Scott said in a statement. “With his commitment to serving Vermonters, I am confident he will be a positive force in Montpelier, proudly representing the people of Rutland.”
The committee also recommended Thomas DePoy, a current Rutland City alderman and former state representative, and Josh Terenzini, chairman of the Rutland Town Select Board and son of Rep. Tom Terenzini, R-Rutland Town.
Traditionally, appointments for legislative seats are made by a governor from a list of three people recommended by the town or county committee that represents the legislative district. All three candidates spoke at a committee caucus on June 8 and were unanimously recommended since no other candidates sought the position at the caucus.
Mullin, who was appointed to the Senate in January 2003 after serving in the House, resigned his Senate seat after Scott appointed him to serve as chairman of the Green Mountain Care Board, the state’s health care regulatory body.
Lawmakers are scheduled to return to the State House on Wednesday for a two-day veto session. Soucy said he will vote to support Scott’s vetoes of the state budget and property tax bills, which the governor rejected because they did not include a change to the way teachers negotiate their health care benefits that he asked lawmakers to pass.
Soucy said he will run for a full two-year term in 2018. He will join the Republican caucus in the Senate, which will have nine members in the 30-member body once he is seated.
Scott also considered Soucy for an open House seat earlier this year, but ultimately selected former Jim Harrison, former president of the Vermont Retail and Grocers Association.
neal.goswami @rutlandherald.com
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