SOUTH BURLINGTON — Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman said Monday that he expects Vermont lawmakers to affirm John Rodgers’ victory in the race for the state’s second-highest office when the Legislature convenes later this week.

Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat, won fewer votes in November’s election than Rodgers, a Republican. But neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, triggering a constitutional process whereby the Legislature crowns the winner.

In the days after the election, Zuckerman conceded the race, though he nodded in a radio interview to the possibility that legislators could, technically, still name him lieutenant governor — and that they might have good reason to do so. His comments drew sharp criticism at the time from current and former state political leaders. 

Zuckerman said Monday at a press conference in South Burlington — which he convened to offer parting thoughts, he said, before leaving office — that he had not been in contact with legislators about how they would vote “since a few days after” the election.

“The Legislature will make its decision. I suspect they will elect John Rodgers. I haven’t heard anything otherwise,” Zuckerman said in response to a reporter’s question.

Zuckerman has frequently criticized Republican Gov. Phil Scott — with whom Rodgers is a close ally — throughout his tenure in office. And he took aim again at the governor in his remarks Monday, calling on Scott’s camp to bring “real options” to the negotiating table with legislators on key issues, including reforming the state’s education funding system and making housing and other aspects of life in the state more affordable.

That hasn’t always been the case over recent legislative sessions, he argued. 

“The governor has hundreds of staff to develop policy proposals, and the Legislature has no individual staff and is part-time for less than half the year,” Zuckerman said. “It is up to the governor, after eight years, to lead — not by pointing fingers at the Legislature, but by coming up with policies that reflect Vermonters’ wishes for good local public schools and affordable housing.”

Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

Zuckerman encouraged policymakers, too, to consider increasing taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents and many second-home-owners, highlighting aspects of progressive economic policies he has championed in the state for decades. 

In response to a question, the three-term lieutenant governor told reporters that he had not decided whether he would run for political office again. But he said that, at least in the short-term, he planned to stay active in politics by hosting a public-affairs radio show. 

“It’s not what I’m here to advertise,” Zuckerman said. “But I’ll be talking about issues every week with people, having Vermonters on to talk about what their struggles are, and trying to get out there what’s going on in the Statehouse.”