Becca Balint

Becca Balint
Majority Leader of the Vermont Senate
Assumed office
January 6, 2017
Preceded by Philip Baruth
Member of the Vermont Senate
from the Windham County district
Assumed office
January 7, 2015
Preceded by Peter Galbraith
Personal details
Born 1968 (age 49–50)
Heidelberg, West Germany
(now Germany)
Political party Democratic
Education Columbia University
Smith College (BA)
Harvard University (MEd)
University of Massachusetts,
Amherst (MA)

Rebecca A. (Becca) Balint (born c. 1968) is a Vermont educator, writer, and politician. A Democrat, she has served in the Vermont Senate since 2015. In 2017, she was selected to serve as the Senate's Majority Leader.

Biography

Balint was born circa 1968[1] at the United States Army hospital in Heidelberg while her father was an Army captain in Germany.[2] She was raised in Upstate New York, and attended public schools in Peekskill.[3]

She attended Barnard College of Columbia University for two years, and in 1990 received her bachelor of arts degree in history and women's studies from Smith College, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.[4] In 1995, she earned a master of education degree from Harvard University, and in 2001 she received a master of arts in history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[4] Balint taught in public and private schools throughout New England, and at the Community College of Vermont.[4]

She moved to Vermont in 1994 to teach rock climbing at the Farm and Wilderness Foundation in Plymouth, and became a permanent resident of Vermont in 1997.[4] She went on to direct Saltash Mountain Camp at Farm & Wilderness in Mount Holly, a coed wilderness adventure camp for children ages 11 to 15.[4]

Balint settled in Brattleboro, where she became active in politics and local government.[4] She served on Brattleboro's Development Review Board, and was elected as a district representative to Brattleboro's town meeting.[4]

She writes a weekly op-ed column in the Brattleboro Reformer, and has also written for other publications.[4] In addition, she has served on the workforce committee of the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS).[4] Balint is also a Coaches Training Institute-trained coach, and works with both groups and individual clients to determine strategies for setting and accomplishing personal and professional goals.[4] Balint was on the crew team at Barnard College,[5] and was captain of the crew team at Smith College;[6] she remains interested in athletics, and is an avid runner.[7][8]

State Senator

In 2014, Balint was a candidate for the Vermont Senate from the two-member at-large Windham County district; one incumbent, Democrat Peter Galbraith, did not run for reelection.[9]

The Democratic primary election included incumbent Jeanette White, Roger Allbee, Joan Bowman, and Balint.[10] White and Balint were the top two finishers: White received about 40 percent of the vote, Balint 29 percent, Allbee 22, and Bowman eight.[11] In the general election, there were no Republican candidates: White received 43.5 percent of the vote, and Balint 35.7; they defeated independent Mary Hasson (11 percent), and Liberty Union candidates Jerry Levy (5 percent), and Aaron Diamondstone (4.7 percent).[12]

In 2016, White and Balint faced no primary opponents, and were renominated.[13] In the general election, White (36.7 percent) and Balint (35.81 percent) were reelected over independent David Schoales (17.98), Levy (4.9) and Diamondstone (4.6).[14]

During her first term, Balint was appointed to the Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee and the Institutions Committee.[15]

At the start of her second term in January 2017, Balint was elected to serve as the State Senate's Majority Leader, succeeding Phil Baruth, who did not seek another term in the position.[16]

Family

Balint and her wife, attorney Elizabeth R. Wohl, live in Brattleboro with their two children, a son and a daughter.[4]

References

  1. ↑ McCullum, April (March 16, 2016). "Vt. Vote Bans Conversion Therapy for Gay Teens". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT.
  2. ↑ Balint, Becca (February 25, 2016). "Becca Balint: An Unlooked for Blessing". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, VT.
  3. ↑ Condos, James (2014). Biographical Sketches of Federal and State Officers and Members of the General Assembly of 2015–2016 (PDF). Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. p. 20.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Biographical Sketches
  5. ↑ The Mortarboard. New York, NY: Barnard College. 1987. p. 164.
  6. ↑ "All Time Crew Roster". Smith College Athletics. Northampton, MA: Smith College. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ Balint, Becca (May 19, 2016). "Steep Learning Curve in my First Term". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, VT.
  8. ↑ "Participant Results". 5th Annual Fall Foliage Half Marathon, Rhinebeck, NY. Albany, NY: Albany Running Exchange. October 11, 2015.
  9. ↑ Heintz, Paul (June 10, 2014). "Peter Galbraith, a Lightning Rod in the Vermont Senate, to Step Down". Seven Days. Burlington, VT.
  10. ↑ Brown, Tom (August 27, 2014). "Primary Roundup: Who Won in Contested House, Senate Primaries". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
  11. ↑ Brown, Tom (August 27, 2014). "Primary Roundup: Who Won in Contested House, Senate Races". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
  12. ↑ Condos, Jim (2014). "2014 State Senator: General Election, Windham District". vtelectionarchive.sec.state.vt.us/. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State.
  13. ↑ "Sample Ballot, Vermont Democratic Primary" (PDF). rockbf.org/. Rockingham, VT: Town of Rockingham. August 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Vermont Windham State Senate Results: Balint and White Win". New York Times. New York, NY. December 13, 2016.
  15. ↑ Herrick, John (January 9, 2015). "Senate Committees Take Shape". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
  16. ↑ Walters, John (January 4, 2017). "Senate Democrats Elect Becca Balint as Majority Leader". Seven Days. Burlington, VT.
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