Richard Sears

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Richard Sears
Image of Richard Sears

Democratic Party

Prior offices
Vermont State Senate Bennington District
Elections and appointments
Last election

August 13, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Vermont

Personal
Religion
Congregational
Profession
Co-Director, Youth Program
Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Richard Sears (Democratic Party) was a member of the Vermont State Senate, representing Bennington District. He assumed office in 1993. He left office on June 3, 2024.

Sears (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Vermont State Senate to represent Bennington District. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 13, 2024. Sears unofficially withdrew from the race but appeared on the primary election ballot on August 13, 2024.

Sears died on June 2, 2024.[1]


Biography

Sears earned his B.A. from the University of Vermont in 1969. He was the Co-Director for 204-206 Depot Residential Programs for Troubled Youth.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Sears was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Sears was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Sears was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Vermont committee assignments, 2017
• Appropriations
• Judiciary, Chair
• Child Protection Oversight, Vice chair
• Fiscal
• Judicial Rules, Chair
• Legislative Council

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Sears served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Sears served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Sears served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Sears served on these committees:

Issues

Charter schools

On February 8, 2013, Sears and fellow Senators Donald Collins, Richard McCormack, and David Zuckerman introduced a bill to impose more requirements on many independent schools. Under Senate Bill 91, any independent schools which receives public tuition funds for more than one third of its students would be required to hire only state-certified teachers, accept all publicly funded students who apply so long as space permits, provide free and reduced-price lunch to eligible students, and be approved to offer at least four categories of special education.[2] John McClaughry of the Ethan Allen Institute, a free-market think tank, criticized McCormack's bill as "clearly designed to put as many general purpose independent schools under the big fat thumb of the Education Agency in Montpelier." He accused McCormack of attempting to rush the bill through without input from the independent schools.[3] The Vermont Independent Schools Association also opposed the bill, saying, "State control of admissions and of hiring would strongly impair independent schools' ability to fulfill their unique missions."[4] McCormack and bill supporters argued that the independent schools were weakening public education by attracting students and state tuition dollars away from public schools without being required to meet state mandates, such as the requirement to offer expensive special education services. The Vermont National Education Association and the Vermont School Board Association endorsed SB 91. The bill was referred to the Education Committee, chaired by McCormack. Collins and Zuckerman are also members of the five-member committee.

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2024

See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Seth Bongartz
Seth Bongartz (D)
 
27.3
 
10,053
✔
Image of Robert Plunkett
Robert Plunkett (D)
 
24.9
 
9,160
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Joe Gervais (R)
 
23.5
 
8,647
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Lawrence Whitmire (Independent)
 
9.6
 
3,539
Image of Cynthia Browning
Cynthia Browning (Independent)
 
7.8
 
2,867
Image of Steve Berry
Steve Berry (Independent)
 
6.7
 
2,459
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
60

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 36,785
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Seth Bongartz and Robert Plunkett defeated incumbent Richard Sears (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Seth Bongartz
Seth Bongartz
 
49.0
 
2,641
✔
Image of Robert Plunkett
Robert Plunkett (Write-in)
 
30.0
 
1,616
Image of Richard Sears
Richard Sears (Unofficially withdrew)
 
15.5
 
837
 Other/Write-in votes
 
5.5
 
294

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,388
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Joe Gervais and Bruce Busa advanced from the Republican primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Joe Gervais
 
83.8
 
1,036
✔
Image of Bruce Busa
Bruce Busa (Write-in)
 
6.8
 
84
 Other/Write-in votes
 
9.4
 
116

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,236
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Sears in this election.

2022

See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Sears and incumbent Brian Campion won election in the general election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Sears
Richard Sears (D / R)
 
51.7
 
12,202
✔
Image of Brian Campion
Brian Campion (D)
 
48.1
 
11,345
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
35

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 23,582
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Sears and incumbent Brian Campion advanced from the Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Sears
Richard Sears
 
50.4
 
4,436
✔
Image of Brian Campion
Brian Campion
 
49.2
 
4,327
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.5
 
40

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,803
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Sears and incumbent Brian Campion advanced from the Republican primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Sears
Richard Sears (Write-in)
 
22.3
 
74
✔
Image of Brian Campion
Brian Campion (Write-in)
 
17.5
 
58
 Other/Write-in votes
 
60.2
 
200

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 332
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Sears and incumbent Brian Campion defeated Meg Hansen, Michael Hall, and Kevin Hoyt in the general election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Sears
Richard Sears (D)
 
31.2
 
11,063
✔
Image of Brian Campion
Brian Campion (D)
 
29.5
 
10,483
Image of Meg Hansen
Meg Hansen (R)
 
17.7
 
6,275
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Michael Hall (R)
 
15.9
 
5,657
Image of Kevin Hoyt
Kevin Hoyt (Independent)
 
5.5
 
1,943
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
57

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 35,478
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Sears and incumbent Brian Campion advanced from the Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Sears
Richard Sears
 
50.5
 
5,086
✔
Image of Brian Campion
Brian Campion
 
48.9
 
4,923
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.6
 
63

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 10,072
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Sears and incumbent Brian Campion defeated Jeff Kaufer in the general election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Sears
Richard Sears (D)
 
45.4
 
10,525
✔
Image of Brian Campion
Brian Campion (D)
 
42.0
 
9,734
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Jeff Kaufer (L)
 
11.9
 
2,762
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.8
 
175

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 23,196
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Sears and incumbent Brian Campion advanced from the Democratic primary for Vermont State Senate Bennington District on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Sears
Richard Sears
 
51.7
 
3,828
✔
Image of Brian Campion
Brian Campion
 
48.3
 
3,570

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,398
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Vermont State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 26, 2016.

Incumbent Brian Campion and Richard Sears were unopposed in the Vermont State Senate Bennington District general election.[5][6]

Vermont State Senate, Bennington District General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Brian Campion Incumbent 46.32% 11,507
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Richard Sears 53.68% 13,333
Total Votes 24,840
Source: Vermont Secretary of State


Incumbent Brian Campion and Richard Sears were unopposed in the Vermont State Senate Bennington District Democratic primary.[7][8]

Vermont State Senate, Bennington District Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Brian Campion Incumbent 45.76% 2,253
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Richard Sears 54.24% 2,670
Total Votes 4,923


2014

See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Vermont State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 26, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 12, 2014. Bennington has two state senators. Incumbent Richard Sears and State Representative Brian Campion were unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Warren Roaf was unopposed in the Republican primary. Sears and Campion defeated Roaf in the general election.[9]

Vermont State Senate Bennington District, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDick Sears Incumbent 43% 7,905
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBrian Campion 34.1% 6,273
     Republican Warren H. Roaf 22.9% 4,217
Total Votes 18,395

2012

See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2012

Sears won re-election in the 2012 election for Vermont State Senate Bennington District. Sears was unopposed in the August 28 Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[10]

2010

See also: Vermont State Senate elections, 2010

Sears ran for re-election to the 3rd District Seat (Bennington District) in 2010. He ran against Robert Hartwell in the primary. In the general election he defeated Patricia Blair (R), Gerald Woodard (R), and Craig Hill (I) on November 2, 2010.[10]

Vermont State Senate, Bennington District, General Election (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Dick Sears (D) 8,615
Green check mark transparent.png Bob Hartwell(D) 6,655
Gerald Woodard (R) 4,252
Patricia Blair (R) 4,001
Craig Hill (I) 866

2008

On November 4, 2008, Sears won re-election by finishing first for the two-seat Bennington District of the Vermont State Senate, receiving 12,097 votes ahead of Democrat Robert Hartwell (8,975), Republicans Gerald Woodward (5,166) and Ruth Harvie (4,987), and write-ins (34).[10]

Sears raised $10,745 for his campaign, against $5,795 by Hartwell, $5,700 by Woodward, and $6,270 by Harvie.[11]

Vermont State Senate, Bennington District
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Richard Sears (D) 12,097
Green check mark transparent.png Robert Hartwell (D) 8,975
Gerald Woodward (R) 5,166
Ruth Harvie (R) 4,987
Write-ins 34

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Sears did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Richard Sears did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Richard Sears did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Richard Sears campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Vermont State Senate Bennington DistrictLost primary$0 $0
2022Vermont State Senate Bennington DistrictWon general$3,650 $1,929
2020Vermont State Senate Bennington DistrictWon general$4,550 N/A**
2016Vermont State Senate, District BenningtonWon $3,250 N/A**
2014Vermont State Senate, District BenningtonWon $10,062 N/A**
2012Vermont State Senate, District BenningtonWon $11,105 N/A**
2010Vermont State Senate, District BenningtonWon $12,462 N/A**
2008Vermont State Senate, District BenningtonWon $10,745 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Vermont

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Vermont scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

In 2024, the Vermont State Legislature was in session from January 3 to May 10.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored based on their voting records on environmental issues.
  • Vermont Public Interest Research Group: Senate and House
Legislators are scored by VPIRG on bills related to public interest issues.


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012


2011

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Sears was married to his wife Beverly.

See also

2024 Elections

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External links

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Seven Days, "Sitting Vermont Sen. Dick Sears Has Died," June 2, 2024
    2. ↑ Vermont State Legislature, "Text of SB 91," accessed March 7, 2013
    3. ↑ Ethan Allen Institute, "The Sudden New Assault on Independent Schools," accessed March 7, 2013
    4. ↑ [Caledonian Record, "Senate Bill Threatens School Choice, Independent Schools," February 26, 2013]
    5. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "Candidate listings," accessed November 4, 2016
    6. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "2016 general election results," accessed November 28, 2016
    7. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "Qualified candidates for the statewide primary - August 9, 2016," accessed May 26, 2016
    8. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "Vermont Election Night Results," accessed August 9, 2016
    9. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "2014 Candidate Listing," June 13, 2014
    10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Vermont Secretary of State, "Election Results Search," accessed April 22, 2014
    11. ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 Campaign contributors," accessed April 22, 2014


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