Updated at 9:40 a.m.
The three candidates vying for the Grand Isle state Senate seat are walking a fine line between emulating the late Sen. Dick Mazza, the legendary “dean of the Senate,” while setting themselves apart from each other.
Mazza resigned in April citing his decline in health, and died about two months later at the age of 84 from pancreatic cancer. The moderate Democrat — revered for his deep Colchester community ties and ability to bridge partisan divides — represented the Grand Isle district for nearly four decades, making him the second-longest-serving member in the Senate’s history.
Now, many residents of the five Champlain Islands towns and northern Colchester will face a first — not seeing Mazza’s name on the ballot. That means Sen. Andy Julow, D-Grand Isle, and Julie Hulburd have a lot of ground to cover before their Democratic primary on Aug. 13. Rep. Pat Brennan, R-Colchester, must do the same before the November general election.
Modeling Mazza’s legacy is nothing new for Julow, who was appointed by Gov. Phil Scott to fill Mazza’s seat on May 21.
“(Mazza) was very focused on taking care of his constituents and doing what his district needed, regardless of party,” Julow said in an interview in mid-July. “That’s something I really admired, and an approach I tried to bring into the Legislature in the short time that I had there.”
But Julow said “there’s a very little advantage, if there is any at all” to his incumbency. Because he only spent one day in session this spring, he said he’s still working to build the name recognition that other incumbents have by default.
Some voters may recognize his campaign from his previous, unsuccessful runs for the Champlain Islands House seat in 2016 and 2020, but otherwise, he said, he’s relying on his North Hero community ties to advance his campaign.
Regardless, he said, his time in the Legislature was the most effective “crash course” on becoming a lawmaker, and he feels ready to get back to work.
“It was the most intense first day of work I’ve ever had,” he said, laughing. “You sit in your chair, and then you’re suddenly, immediately deciding the future of agriculture and education and housing in your state. It was an intense experience, but it was a really valuable experience.”
Julow, executive director of the Lake Champlain Islands Economic Development Corp., said his most notable decision of the session was to vote to override Scott’s veto of Act 687, a bill that seeks to promote housing growth while still preserving the environment. He said the act is “vital to our economy,” as it will create housing to attract new families to Vermont and will improve access to food, health care, and other resources found in town hubs.
In the same veto session, Julow voted against overriding the veto of H.27 — a bill set to create an overdose prevention center in Burlington — citing the need for the state’s resources to be used to reduce demand for opiods instead.
But Julow’s top policy goal, if he is elected, would be to reform the state’s school funding system, he said. After spending nine years on local school boards, he said he’s observed a mismatch in the funding formula — schools don’t have enough funding to make ends meet, yet families can’t afford to pay more in property taxes. The solution, he said, is to “completely rebuild the education finance system” with a broader source of funding and more resources to help schools budget effectively.
In fact, watching the state’s school budgets fail this spring — and watching schools cut “basic necessities” like maintenance workers and substitutes — was what encouraged him to run for the Senate seat in the first place, he said.
“I think voters are ready for it. I think the Legislature is ready for it,” he said. “But there is a lack of skill set in Montpelier oriented towards this task, and I feel like I could be an asset to that conversation.”
Facing Julow in the August primary is Julie Hulburd, a Colchester native who has served in local government and on state committees, including the Vermont State Ethics Commission and the Cannabis Control Board.
To Hulburd, Mazza is an inspiration in more ways than one. He encouraged her to run for his seat in March when he began considering stepping down, she said. But he has also been a role model for her as she grew up in Colchester and raised her own children there.
“He wasn’t just the senator, but also just someone in the community that people went to with their thoughts, their ideas. I’ve always admired that style of leadership,” Hulburd said.
But she said she needs “to prove that leadership to my community, separately,” without relying too heavily on emulating Mazza. Candidates like her have a responsibility to bring “fresh new voices” to the Legislature, she added, in order to bring balance to conversations with more experienced lawmakers.
Hulburd said “unpacking the housing crisis” would be one of her main priorities if she is elected. The lack of affordable housing prevents many employers from attracting and retaining employees, which is not sustainable for the state’s economy, she said.
Another way to make Vermont more affordable, Hulburd said, is to find ways to limit the rising cost of health insurance.
“Every time an employer has to pay more for health insurance, it’s more for their overhead and so it’s more for the cost of goods and services across the state. And then we all feel it,” she said.
With 20 years of experience in human resources — serving Burlington, Winooski, the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation and other entities — Hulburd said she knows her way around a negotiation table and knows how to ask tough questions.
“I have never been a ‘yes’ person. I don’t intend to start being a ‘yes’ person now,” she said. “I actually look at the issue, look at the cost, look at the impact, rather than just saying ‘yes.’”
Meanwhile, Brennan, the Republican candidate in the race, said he doesn’t have a primary to campaign for, but is “hesitant to just sit by and watch” while Julow and Hulburd go head to head. “I’ve been campaigning as if I had a primary,” he said.
After observing Mazza’s work for decades, Brennan said he’s learned the importance of communicating with lawmakers on the other side of the aisle. He said he’s seen that kind of collaboration deteriorate over his 22 years as a state representative, but he thinks it could be brought back if more people follow Mazza’s example — which he plans to do.
“I’m the closest thing to Dick Mazza that’s out there on the ballot,” he said.
With his experience in the Legislature, he said he could have a “seamless transition” into the Senate and be able to “get to work right away” with senators he already has strong relationships with. The only reason he didn’t run for the seat before, he said, was “out of respect for Senator Mazza, who was doing a great job representing Colchester and the islands.”
But now that the seat is up for grabs, Brennan said it’s time to “give our governor some support” and turn the seat over to the Republican Party. He said he could help bring the balance necessary to sustain a veto in the Senate — a balance that was lacking when a record six vetoes were overridden this spring.
Brennan’s top priority, if he wins the election, would be to revamp education funding to lower property taxes, he said. He said he doesn’t have “the magic answer,” but could see certain school budget cuts as an option — including reverting from a universal school meals system back to a needs-based meals system.
Property taxes are the top concern on his constituents’ minds, he said, and he wants to reflect that in Montpelier.
“They’re just fed up (with high property taxes). They can’t afford it. I’ve had a couple folks call me in tears — crying on the phone — because they cannot afford to live here anymore,” he said.
Whoever walks away with the seat will be part of a new wave of legislators replacing senators with long legacies: Grand Isle is one of five Senate races missing familiar faces this year after senior lawmakers have passed away or stepped down.
That shift is not something to fear, Julow said, but rather a call for new legislators to learn from the best.
“I think there are absolutely big shoes to fill,” he said. “But I think if you really look at what Senator Mazza stood for, he was an authentic man who did the best he could for the people that he represented. And the message there, I think, is to be true to yourself and trust your read of your district.”
