For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Levasseur
Office of the Speaker of the House
KLevasseur@leg.state.vt.us
(802) 828-2245
Speaker Johnson Releases Statement on the Passing of Former Vermont Speaker Timothy O’Connor Jr.
MONTPELIER—Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) today issued the following statement regarding the passing of former Speaker Timothy O’Connor.
"Today, I join with my colleagues in the Vermont House in mourning the loss of former Speaker of the House, Timothy O’Connor Jr. During his distinguished careers in the public and private sectors, Speaker O’Connor was known for his kindness, fairness, and pragmatic leadership. In his years leading the Vermont House, his unrivaled ability to build consensus and find common ground earned him genuine respect and support from all sides of the aisle. While he is known as the first Democrat to serve as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives since the 1850s, he is perhaps more well known locally in Brattleboro as the longstanding moderator of the Brattleboro Town Meeting. His characteristic passion for fairness and his heartfelt kindness over his many decades of service to Brattleboro and to Vermont will have a notably positive impact on the lives of Vermonters for many years to come. Vermont will miss Timothy O’Connor dearly.”