Christopher A. Bray (born June 29, 1955) is a Vermont businessman and politician. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, he served in the
Vermont House of Representatives
The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...
from 2007 to 2011. Since 2013, he has represented the
Addison District in the
Vermont Senate
The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...
.
Early life
Christopher Austin Bray was born in
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135.
Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wit ...
on June 29, 1955, a son of Dr. George H. Bray and Gertrude (Austin) Bray. He attended the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...
(UVM), from which he graduated in 1977 with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in
Zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
. He received a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
from UVM in 1991. He later attended Lincoln College, Oxford and the
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is an author's conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1926, it has been called by ''The New Yorker'' "the oldest and most p ...
at
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
. He is enrolled in the Master of Energy and Regulatory Law program at
Vermont Law School
Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is a private law and public policy graduate school in South Royalton, Vermont. It offers several degrees, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, Master of Environmental Law a ...
.
Career
Bray was employed as a product development specialist at corporations including
National Life of Vermont,
IBM,
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
, and
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
before founding his own business. In addition, he taught English at UVM for four years. He is the owner of Common Ground Communications, which provides writing, editing and document production services to the book publishing industry and makers of technical products. Among the projects on which Bray worked was editing and publishing the autobiography of former governor
Jim Douglas
James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from the state of Vermont. A Republican, he served the 80th governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. On August 27, 2009, Douglas announced that he would not seek re-election for ...
, 2014's ''The Vermont Way''.
Bray's civic and local government experience includes the board of directors of the
United Way
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016.
United Way organizations raise funds ...
of Addison County, Middlebury
Rotary Club
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...
, secretary of the Vermont Milk Commission, chairman of the Vermont Rural Economic Development Working Group, Vermont Forestry Study Group,
National Conference of State Legislatures
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States.
Background ...
Agriculture & Energy Committee, New Haven
justice of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
, and president of the Middlebury Area Land Trust.
Vermont House of Representatives
In 2006, Bray graduated from the
Snelling Center's Vermont Leadership Institute. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, he was elected to the
Vermont House of Representatives
The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...
from the Addison 5 district in 2006 and reelected in 2008. He served from January 2007 to January 2011 and was a member of the Agriculture Committee. He was a lead sponsor of Vermont's Farm to Plate Program and the Biomass Energy Development Working Group, of which he was co-chairman until 2011.
Bray was elected to the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...
board of trustees in 2009 and served until 2015. In 2009, he received the
Vermont Natural Resource Council
The Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) is a non-profit environmental advocacy group headquartered at Montpelier in the U.S. state of Vermont. Founded in 1963, the organization works to protect Vermont's natural resources and environment th ...
's Legislative Leadership Award. In 2010, received the
Council of State Governments
The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in the United States that serves all three branches of state government.
Founded in 1933 by Colorado state Sen. Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum that ...
Henry Wolcott Toll Fellowship. In 2012, he was appointed to the
Vermont Supreme Court
The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court.
The Court ...
's Professional Responsibility Program.
In 2010, Bray was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for
lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
. He lost the August primary to fellow Representative
Steve Howard
Steven John Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Howard was usually cited as a typical target man and renowned for his aerial strength.
Club career Early career
Howard began his career at non- ...
, who lost the general election to the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nominee,
Phil Scott
Philip Brian Scott (born August 4, 1958) is an American politician, businessman and stock car racer who has served as the 82nd governor of Vermont since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected governor in the 2016 general elec ...
.
Vermont Senate
In 2012, incumbent Democrat
Harold W. Giard did not run for reelection to the
Vermont Senate
The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...
from the two-member at-large
Addison County District. Bray was a candidate for one of the two Democratic nominations, as was incumbent
Claire D. Ayer
Claire D. Ayer (born September 21, 1948) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic former member of the Vermont Senate, Vermont State Senate, representing the two-member at-large Addison Vermont Senate District, 2002–2012, Addison Senat ...
, and they were nominated without opposition. There were no
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidates in the November general election, and Bray and Ayer defeated independent Robert Wagner. Bray's Senate term started in January 2013. As of 2023, his committee assignments included the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, which he has chaired since 2015. He also served as chairman of the legislature's Joint Energy Committee, the Committee on Administrative Rules, the Legislative Study Committee on Wetlands, the Single-Use Products Working Group, and the Joint Carbon Emissions Reduction Committee.
Bray's notable legislative work includes the Farm to Plate Program (2009); the Strategic Workforce Development Act (Act 81, 2013); the Vermont Clean Water Act (Act 64, 2015); the Vermont Renewable Energy Standard (Act 56, 2015); the Energy Siting Act (Act 176, 2016); the Single-Use Products
lastic Bag Ban, etcAct (Act 69, 2019); the Regulation of PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water (Act 21, 2019); the Regulation of Toxics and Hazardous Materials (Act 75, 2019); the Energy Efficiency Modernization Act (Act 151, 2020); the Weatherization for All Program (S.284, 2022); and the Affordable Heat Act
(S.5, 2023).
Bray's previous Senate committee assignments included Education, Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, Finance, the Joint Committee on Judicial Rules, and chairman of Natural Resources and Energy and the Legislative Information Technology Committee.
Family
In 1981, Bray married Susan Beth Raber. They are the parents of two children, Benjamin and Kaitlin, and divorced in 2001.
References
Sources
Internet
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Christopher A.
1955 births
Living people
21st-century American legislators
University of Vermont alumni
People from New Britain, Connecticut
People from New Haven, Vermont
Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives
Democratic Party Vermont state senators