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Richard Sears
| Richard Sears | ||
| Vermont Senate Bennington District | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 1993 - present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 7, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 20 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $604.79/week | |
| Per diem | $162/day (non-commuter) $61/day (commuter) | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | November 3, 1992 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | University of Vermont | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | April 22, 1943 | |
| Place of birth | Framingham, MA | |
| Profession | Co-Director, Youth Program | |
| Religion | Congregational | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
Contents |
Sears was the Co-Director for 204-206 Depot Residential Programs for Troubled Youth.
Sears earned his BA from the University of Vermont in 1969.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Sears served on the following committees:
| Vermont Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations, Chair | ||||
| • Judiciary | ||||
| • Judicial Rules | ||||
| • Fiscal | ||||
| • Corrections Oversight, Chair | ||||
| • Legislative Council | ||||
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Sears served on these committees:
| Vermont Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations, Vice-chair | ||||
| • Corrections Oversight | ||||
| • Fiscal | ||||
| • Judicial Rules | ||||
| • Judiciary, Chair | ||||
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Sears served on these committees:
| Vermont Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations | ||||
| • Judiciary | ||||
Issues
Charter schools
On February 8, 2013, Sears and fellow Senators Donald Collins, Richard McCormack, and David Zuckerman introduced a bill to impose more requirements on many independent schools. Under Senate Bill 91, any independent schools which receives public tuition funds for more than one third of its students would be required to hire only state-certified teachers, accept all publicly funded students who apply so long as space permits, provide free and reduced-price lunch to eligible students, and be approved to offer at least four categories of special education.[1] John McClaughry of the Ethan Allen Institute, a free-market think tank, criticized McCormack's bill as "clearly designed to put as many general purpose independent schools under the big fat thumb of the Education Agency in Montpelier." He accused McCormack of attempting to rush the bill through without input from the independent schools.[2] The Vermont Independent Schools Association also opposed the bill, saying, "State control of admissions and of hiring would strongly impair independent schools' ability to fulfill their unique missions."[3] McCormack and bill supporters argued that the independent schools were weakening public education by attracting students and state tuition dollars away from public schools without being required to meet state mandates, such as the requirement to offer expensive special education services. The Vermont National Education Association and the Vermont School Board Association endorsed SB 91.[4] The bill was referred to the Education Committee, chaired by McCormack. Collins and Zuckerman are also members of the five-member committee.
Elections
2012
- See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2012
Sears won re-election in the 2012 election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District. Sears was unopposed in the August 28 Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.[5]
2010
- See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2010
Sears ran for re-election to the 3rd District Seat (Bennington District) in 2010. He ran against Robert Hartwell in the primary. In the general election he defeated Patricia Blair (R), Gerald Woodard (R), and Craig Hill (I) on November 2, 2010.[6]
| Vermont State Senate, Bennington District, General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| |
8,615 | |||
| |
6,655 | |||
| Gerald Woodard (R) | 4,252 | |||
| Patricia Blair (R) | 4,001 | |||
| Craig Hill (I) | 866 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Sears won re-election by finishing first for the two-seat Bennington District of the Vermont State Senate, receiving 12,097 votes ahead of Democrat Robert Hartwell (8,975), Republicans Gerald Woodward (5,166) and Ruth Harvie (4,987), and write-ins (34).[7]
Sears raised $10,745 for his campaign, against $5,795 by Hartwell, $5,700 by Woodward, and $6,270 by Harvie.[8]
| Vermont State Senate, Bennington District | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| |
12,097 | |||
| |
8,975 | |||
| Gerald Woodward (R) | 5,166 | |||
| Ruth Harvie (R) | 4,987 | |||
| Write-ins | 34 | |||
Recent news
| Know more information about this profile? Submit a bio |
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Richard + Sears + Vermont + Senate"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
Richard Sears News Feed
- Senate OKs altered end-of-life bill - BurlingtonFreePress.com
- Vt. Senate supports board: No pets in hair salons - Foster's Daily Democrat
- Welfare-to-Work Focus of Vt. Senate Budget Debate - Valley News
- Vermont Senate OKs end-of-life legislation - Great Falls Tribune
- Marijuana decriminalization bill approved by Senate Judiciary; bill moves to ... - vtdigger.org
- End of session will see House vs. Senate showdown on tax bill - BurlingtonFreePress.com
- Opiate abuse bill expected to move to Senate floor Wednesday - vtdigger.org
- Senate chooses study over moratorium on school privatization - vtdigger.org
- Marijuana decriminalization heads for final vote - vtdigger.org
- Emotional end-of-life bill faces uncertain end as Senate and House try to iron ... - vtdigger.org
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Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2010
In 2010, Sears received $12,462 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.[9]
| Vermont State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Richard Sears's campaign in 2010 | |
| Grocery Manufactures Association | $1,000 |
| OAS LLC DBA Valley Vista | $500 |
| Federal Express | $500 |
| Vermont Chamber Of Commerce | $500 |
| Corrections Corp Of America | $500 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $12,462 |
2008
Sears raised $10,745 for the 2008 election.
His major contributors are listed below.[10]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Federal Express | $500 |
| Corrections Corporation of America | $500 |
| Vermont Association of Realtors | $400 |
| Vermont State Dental Society | $250 |
| Patrick Winburn | $250 |
| Vermont Retail Lumber Dealers Association | $250 |
| Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC | $250 |
Personal
Sears has a wife, Beverly.
External links
- Biography from the Vermont Secretary of State website
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996
- Sen. Sears on State Surge
- List of Vermont Senators
References
- ↑ Text of SB 91, accessed March 7, 2013
- ↑ John McClaughry, Ethan Allen Institute, "The Sudden New Assault on Independent Schools," accessed March 7, 2013
- ↑ [Caledonian Record, "Senate Bill Threatens School Choice, Independent Schools," February 26, 2013]
- ↑ [Alicia Freese, VTDigger.org (Vermont Journalism Trust), "Bill would attach strings to public funds to independent schools," February 28, 2013]
- ↑ Official primary candidate list
- ↑ General Election 2010 Official Results
- ↑ Vermont State Senate official 2008 election results
- ↑ Follow the Money's report on Sears's 2008 campaign contributions
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2010 contributions
- ↑ Campaign contributions to Richard Sears
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