Paul N. Poirier
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Paul N. Poirier (born September 30, 1948) is a
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
politician who served several terms 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 ...
.


Early life and start of career

Poirier was born in
Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...
on September 30, 1948. He was educated at private schools in Maine and
Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...
, where he received a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in 1970 and a
Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...
degree in history and government in 1973. He was also a member of the Norwich
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
team, and was one of the school's all-time top 10 leading scorers. After college, Poirier became a social studies and physical education teacher at Spaulding High School in
Barre Barre or Barré may refer to: * Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name Places United States * Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town * Barre, New York, a town * Barre (ci ...
. In addition, he was the coach of the varsity ice hockey team, which won the 1980 Division 1 state championship, Spaulding's first title in nearly 20 years.


Vermont House of Representatives

Originally 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 ...
, in 1980 he was a successful candidate for election to the Vermont House of Representatives, defeating 15-year incumbent Republican Lucille Molinaroli. He was reelected in 1982, 1984, and 1986, and served from January 1981 to January 1989. During his House tenure, Poirier became assistant minority leader and worked with Ralph G. Wright, the
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
, to build a Democratic majority. (Wright had become Speaker with the support of Democrats and a small number of Republicans.) When Democrats attained the majority in 1987, Poirier became majority leader, and served until 1989. His House career also included service as vice chair of the Rules Committee, member of the Joint Rules Committee, and chairman of Select House Committee on Economic Growth.


U.S. House of Representatives campaign

In 1988 Poirier was a candidate for Vermont's lone seat in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
, which was being vacated by
Jim Jeffords James Merrill Jeffords (May 11, 1934 – August 18, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator from Vermont. Sworn into the Senate in 1989, he served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become ...
, who was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat of the retiring
Robert Stafford Robert Theodore Stafford (August 8, 1913 – December 23, 2006) was an American politician from Vermont. In his lengthy political career, he served as the 71st governor of Vermont, a United States representative, and a U.S. Senator. A Republi ...
. Poirier won the Democratic nomination in a close contest with
Peter Welch Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Vermont, and the current U.S. representative for since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a major figure in ...
and
James A. Guest James Alfred (Jim) GuestRepublican 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 ...
candidate Peter Smith, and Independent
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
. Smith won with a plurality, taking 41.2 percent of the vote to 37.5 for Sanders and 18.9 for Poirier. Sanders' strong showing was a harbinger; in 1990, he ran again, and defeated Smith 57.8 percent to 41.2.


Continued career

After his House campaign, Poirier continued his career as the manager of Community Relations for the
Green Mountain Power Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
company, a position he accepted while still serving in the Vermont House, and later worked for Vermont Protection and Advocacy as the public advocate for patients at the Vermont State Hospital and inmates at the Chittenden Correctional Facility. In 1990 he won election to the Barre City Council, a nonpartisan position, and he served until 1999. Also in 1990, Poirier ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the
Vermont State 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 1991 to 1997 he was a member of the Environmental Commission for District 5, which includes Barre City. In 1994, he was again an unsuccessful candidate for the Vermont State Senate. Poirier returned to the Vermont House after winning election in 1996, and he served two terms, January 1997 to January 2001. During his second House tenure, he was chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, a member of the Health Oversight Committee, and chairman of the House Select Committee on Health Care Reform. In 2000, he was again an unsuccessful candidate for the Vermont Senate.


Later career

In 2006, he was again elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. He was reelected in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016, and served from January 2007 to January 2019. During his third period of service in the House, Poirier was a member of the Committee on Health Care, and he changed his political affiliation from Democratic to Independent. In explaining his decision to leave the Democratic Party, Poirier indicated he could better work on issues of importance to him, including topics related to social justice and labor, if he didn't feel compelled to vote a certain way because a party leader requested it. Poirier was again elected to the Barre City Council in 2008, and also became a member of the board of trustees for the Aldrich Public Library. In December 2016, he resigned from the city council, citing health concerns and a desire to concentrate on his work in the Vermont House. In 2018, Poirier was defeated for reelection in his two-member district, with the two Democratic nominees, incumbent Tommy Walz and former Barre Mayor Peter Anthony finishing ahead of him. During the campaign, Poirier made headlines for confronting city council member Brandon Batham at a council meeting. Batham, a staff member for the Vermont Democratic Party, endorsed Poirier's opponents in an online post that identified Batham as a city council member. In addition to objecting to what he said were Batham's misrepresentations of his record, Poirier criticized Batham for identifying himself as a council member, since municipal offices in Barre are officially nonpartisan. In addition to his Vermont House and city council service, Poirier served as president of the Green Mountain
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 ...
and executive director of the Turning Point Center of Central Vermont, a substance abuse recovery facility.


Family

Poirier is married to Lesley (McLeod) Poirier, and they are the parents of two grown children, Aimee and Jeffrey.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poirier, Paul N. 1948 births Living people Norwich University alumni Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont city council members Politicians from Lewiston, Maine People from Barre, Vermont 21st-century American politicians