A VT lawmaker moved to Canada to avoid the Trump administration. Here’s her replacement

Gov. Phil Scott has chosen a replacement for the Democratic state representative who resigned and moved to Canada this summer out of fear for a second Trump administration.

On Oct. 17, Karen Lueders, an attorney and fellow Democrat from Lincoln, was appointed to fill the open Addison 4 seat, which Mari Cordes vacated in June to start a job in Nova Scotia after six years in the Legislature.

Cordes attributed her departure to fears that the Trump administration might cut Social Security, continued concerns about her safety as a queer woman in the U.S and a loss of work hours at her nursing job at the University of Vermont, according to VTDigger.

Before she moved to Canada, Cordes occasionally made the news for her activism, especially regarding medical and social issues. In 2018, she was arrested in Washington, DC, after joining hundreds of other women to protest U.S. immigration policies.

Lueders will represent the district’s four towns: Lincoln, Bristol, Starksboro and Monkton.

“Karen has strong ties to her community, which will bring a valuable perspective to Montpelier,” Scott said in an Oct. 17 press release. “With many years of public service, I believe she will be an effective legislator and represent her constituents well.”

Who is Karen Lueders?

Lueders has extensive nonprofit and volunteer experience, according to the press release from the governor. She is a board member for Addison Housing Works and serves on a Lincoln Selectboard-appointed committee tasked with studying and recommending improvements to local voting, including during Town Meeting Day.

Lueders previously sat on boards for Addison County Home Health and Hospice and Habitat for Humanity. Along with her law office, Lueders also ran Walkover Gallery and Concert Room in Bristol for 17 years until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Lueders’ son is Tim Lueders-Dumont, who serves as the executive director of the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs.

“I am grateful to the governor for the opportunity to represent Addison 4 in the Vermont House of Representatives,” said Lueders in the press release. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to find solutions for the complex concerns that affect our communities across the state.”

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.