No details at the moment. Here is the text of Kitzmiller’s letter of resignation from the position:
Rep. Shap Smith, Speaker ofthe House
Vermont House of Representatives
State House
Montpelier, Vermont 05633Dear Shap:
I am writing to inform you ofmy desire to resign as Chair ofyour Committee on
Commerce and Economic Development. My request comes with considerable
reluctance, but in the certainty that it is the best thing for me and for the good of the
House.Certainly, you know that I enjoy my job, especially as one of Montpelier’s
Representatives. Serving as a Chair is a great privilege, and I am honored to have been
chosen. However, as Chair, I increasingly find that the requirements ofthe job do not
allow the time I really need to maintain the balance of serving the State and serving the
needs ofthe good people of Montpelier who elected me. I am one who feels the need to
serve as best I can in all areas ofthe job as both Chair and as Representative and I do not
feel I am able to do this as well as I want at this time. This has caused unwanted stress
which will eventually take a toll on my work in general.I would deeply appreciate it ifyou would retain me as a member of the Commerce and
Economic Development team. I want to continue to be a strong team player, both in the
committee and in the caucus and I will do everything I can to help a new Chair
understand the demands ofthe role. Especially in the near future, my knowledge ofthe
Worker’s Comp and Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund issues will be valuable to the
committee.Serving as a Chair has been my profound honor. I will always be grateful to Gaye for
having given me this job and to you for having retained me. I look forward to serving
Montpelier as one oftheir Representatives for several more terms …. but if I am going
to be able to do that, I must give up my position as a Chair.Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Rep. Warren F. Kitzmiller
Dear Friends,
I want you to understand that I view this resignation as “taking a step back in order to move forward”. The resignation, as the letter shows, was at my request. It was not, in any sense, imposed on me for anything that I “did wrong”; it was not a punishment; it was purely my request.
While I feel that serving as a Chair is a great honor, I do not personally “need” that honor, as I get all the honor I want from my good constituents here in Montpelier who elected me to the job. This is the best job I have ever had and I love it!
One downside of being a Chair is that I did not have the time available to advocate for my City; I am unable to be an advocate for other issues that interest me; I am unable to leave the room to advocate for the needs of the Commerce and Economic Development Committee. Now, I can do that, and that is what I wanted
Rep. Bill Botzow and I simply traded seats. I am still going to be a strong voice in the committee! This is as seamless a change as could be imagined.
I suppose that it is inevitable that some will view this as something bad. I don’t! Rep. Botzow and I are close and trusted friends. I have every confidence that he will follow much the same path that I would have. I know that he was happy with my own leadership; I will be equally happy with his!
I am grateful to Speaker Shap Smith for accepting my request and for working closely with me to make this a smooth transition. It means a lot.
Sincerely,
Rep. Warren Kitzmiller
I understand and am sure that this is one of the more stressful committees since our do-less governor is trying to keep yankee going and to gut the rest of commercial development in vt in favor of it. Well, as long as the committee is still powerful enough to block do-less, and if it works for you, it’s cool.