Steven James Howard is an American politician from the state of

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 ...

. He represented parts of the city of

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

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 1993 to 2011, except for three terms between 1999 and 2005. 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 represented the district of Rutland-5-3, and ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont in 2010.

Biography

Howard was born in Rutland, Vermont on August 3, 1971. He was educated at Mt. St. Joseph Academy, a Catholic high school in Rutland, and at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, B.A., 1993.

Public life

In the legislature

From 1993 to 1999, Howard represented the town of

in the Vermont House of Representatives, serving the district of Rutland-4. From 1995 to 1997 served as chair of the Vermont Democratic Party and was the youngest state political party chair in the nation. During his tenure as party chair while also serving in the

Vermont State Legislature The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The Ge ...

, Howard announced publicly that he was gay. He currently serves as one of five openly gay members of the

Vermont Legislature The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

, alongside Sen. Ed Flanagan (D- Chittenden County) and representatives

Bill Lippert William J. Lippert, Jr., commonly known as Bill Lippert, is a legislator and gay rights activist from the U.S. state of Vermont who has served since 1994 in the Vermont House of Representatives as state representative of the Town of Hinesburg. H ...

(D- Hinesburg), Suzi Wizowaty (D-

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

) and Jason Lorber (D-

Run for Lieutenant Governor

In January 2010, Howard announced his candidacy for the office of Lieutenant Governor in the 2010 elections - the announcement was made on his

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page. He won the Democratic primary election held on August 24, 2010. He went on to narrowly lose the general election to Republican Phillip Scott.

References

1971 births Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives LGBT state legislators in Vermont Gay politicians People from Rutland (town), Vermont Living people {{vermont-politician-stub