West Hartford Resident, Dartmouth College employee, and selectboard vice chair, Michael Hoyt, has stepped into a new role as the Vermont House Representative for the Windsor-4 district, which includes the towns of Pomfret, Bridgewater, Barnard, and West Hartford.
Born and raised in Norwich, Vt., Hoyt said he has dedicated most of his life to the Green Mountain State. He told the Standard this week, “I attended the University of Vermont, followed by law school at Vanderbilt University. After my brief time in Nashville, I returned to my home state to work for six years as an attorney for the Vermont Legislature, and then, for another two years, I served as an attorney for the Vermont Department of Labor. I then transitioned to a managerial role in the Dartmouth Investigations and Compliance program. I have lived in West Hartford since 2017.”
In 2021, Hoyt was elected to the Hartford Selectboard, where he currently serves as vice chair. “While I will not be running for re-election in the spring,” Hoyt continued, “serving at the local level taught me a lot about my constituents and the issues that plague the people of Vermont.”
Hoyt is excited to tackle some of the big issues he feels are on everyone’s mind. “Affordability, education, housing, and healthcare are the big four I have heard my neighbors, friends, and constituents worry about year after year. I am beyond excited to step into this role and get to work tackling some of these issues,” Hoyt said.
Hoyt was one of a handful of names floated after former Windsor-4 Rep. Heather Surprenant decided to step down from the position. Amanda Wheeler, press secretary for Governor Scott, told the Standard, “[Hoyt] was selected from a list of candidates forwarded by the local Democratic party — which also included Havah Walther and [Pomfret selectboard chair] Benjamin Brickner. The Governor believes Mike’s experience working in state government as well as serving his local community will bring a valuable perspective to Montpelier and that he will represent his constituents well.”
For more on this, please see our Dec. 24 edition of the Vermont Standard.
