Sue Minter | |
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| Secretary of theVermont Agency of Transportation | |
| In office January 1, 2015 – September 11, 2015 | |
| Governor | Peter Shumlin |
| Preceded by | Brian Searles |
| Succeeded by | Chris Cole |
| Member of theVermont House of Representatives from theWashington-Chittenden-1 district | |
| In office January 5, 2005 – January 5, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Val Vincent |
| Succeeded by | Rebecca Ellis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1961-01-23)January 23, 1961 (age 64) Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | David Goodman |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MUP) |
Sue M. Minter (born January 23, 1961) is an American politician from the state ofVermont. She served in theVermont House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011, led Vermont's recovery efforts afterTropical Storm Irene, and became secretary of theVermont Agency of Transportation in 2015. Minter was theDemocratic Party nominee in theVermont gubernatorial election of 2016. She lost to theRepublican Party nomineePhil Scott.
Minter was born inBryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Evelyn and Robert Wilson "Bob" Minter, who managed a candy business, Minter's Candies.[1][2] Her family moved toProvidence, Rhode Island, while she was in high school. Minter graduated fromMoses Brown School in 1979[3] and fromHarvard University with a concentration insociology in 1983. She then earned amaster's degree inurban planning from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. She moved to Vermont in 1991 to become a consultant forConservation Law Foundation.[4]
Minter ran for theVermont House of Representatives in 2004, representing theWashington-Chittenden-1 district (Duxbury,Waterbury, andHuntington). She won, and was reelected for four terms.[4][5] She served on the Transportation and Appropriations committees, in positions which emphasized budgeting over policy-making, and earned a reputation as a "solid" but not "ultra-liberal" Democrat with a good understanding of complex budget issues.[6]
Peter Shumlin, theGovernor of Vermont, appointed Minter as Deputy Secretary of theVermont Agency of Transportation in January 2011. FollowingTropical Storm Irene, Shumlin appointed Neale Lunderville to lead Vermont's recovery efforts, and four months later named Minter to replace him.[7][8] Minter was praised for her leadership as chief recovery officer.[4] She later served on PresidentBarack Obama's Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, co-chaired the White House Task Force Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Resilience, and led a Vermont team which assisted withColorado's response tomajor flooding in 2013.[9][10]
Minter became Secretary of VTrans on January 1, 2015, following the retirement of Brian Searles.[11] In response to an Augustworkplace discrimination lawsuit against VTrans, she boosted employee training in harassment prevention and established an affirmative-action task force.[9][12]
In September 2015, Minter resigned from her position at VTrans to run for governor in the2016 gubernatorial election.[9] Minter's former House colleagues described her as left-of-center and praised her as a "good Democrat" with a talent for understanding complicated budget issues, but questioned her preparedness for a gubernatorial run.[6] Minter was endorsed by former Vermont GovernorsMadeleine Kunin,Howard Dean[13] andPhil Hoff; former lieutenant governorDoug Racine; and former state representative Jason Lorber;[14] along with 52 current legislators and 25 more former legislators, as well as the pro-choice Democratic groupEMILY's List.[15] EnvironmentalistBill McKibben initially supported her rivalMatt Dunne, but switched his support to Minter after Dunne revised his position onwind power.[16]
Minter proposed job creation efforts involving strategic investments in infrastructure and housing, as well as industry-government collaboration to promote the technology, energy, and agricultural sectors.[17] Her proposed "Vermont Promise" initiative would have paid for Vermont high school graduates to attend theCommunity College of Vermont orVermont Technical College for two years for free, and for half of the current price afterwards.[18]
Minter believes Vermont'spension fund shoulddivest from coal holdings because they are "bad for our economy and bad for our environment."[19] Minter followed her rivalMatt Dunne in rejecting campaign contributions from corporations, writing "Whether you are a multimillionaire or a major corporation, you shouldn't be able to buy the governor's office."[20] After the 2015Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting, she called foruniversal background checks on gun sales in Vermont, a position later taken up by her rivals. She also supports a ban onassault weapons.[21][22]
On August 9, Minter won the Democratic Party nomination for governor, defeating Dunne andPeter Galbraith in theprimary election. She faced RepublicanPhil Scott, theLieutenant Governor of Vermont, in the November general election.[23][24] Minter lost to Scott, 52% to 44%.[25]
In September 2017, Minter became the president andchief executive officer ofSpecial Olympics Vermont.[26] She resigned from the job in September 2018.[27] In December 2018, Minter became executive director of Capstone Community Action, acommunity action agency in Vermont that works to meet basic needs, advocate for economic justice and lift low-income people out of poverty.[28] In November 2024, Minter announced she would be stepping down from her position at Capstone Community Action at the end of 2024.[29]
Minter lives inWaterbury, Vermont, with her husband David Goodman (brother ofAmy Goodman, a journalist forDemocracy Now!).[30] They have two children.[31]
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Vermont 2016 | Succeeded by |
Authority control databases: National |
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