Governor-elect Peter Shumlin has announced that he is appointing Beth Pearce to the position of State Treasurer to fill out Jeb Spaulding’s newly re-elected term. Spaulding is, of course, leaving the position to become the new Secretary of Administration. Pearce is a newcomer to elected office (what an intro, eh?).

Pearce is a strong pick in terms of her qualifications for the position, given that she is Vermont’s current Deputy Treasurer. Before that, she served the same role in the state of Massachusetts.

The huge leg up on influence and future electability for Pearce cannot be overstated. Vermonters are loathe to vote out incumbents, so Pearce will likely own this position for as long as she wants (barring any monumental screwup or a complete bungling of the 2012 election). This also makes Pearce an out-of-nowhere contender for other statewide positions that may come open, from Governor and Lieutenant Governor to US Representative and US Senator.

During the noon press conference, Shumlin also announced the appointment of Michael Clasen (the current Director of Retirement Operations in the Treasurer’s office) to the post of Deputy Administration Secretary. Interestingly, (historically, even) this keeps the gender balance of his overall appointments at 50-50.