Features
Gay Men Run For VT House and Senate
Legal Eagle?
Legal Eagle?
The only other LGBT candidate we could identify as running for major office is Republican Karen Kerin, running in a three-way primary for attorney general. She faces Republicans Dennis Carver and Marianne Kennedy. The general election in November will also be a three-way race, between incumbent Democrat William Sorrell, Progressive Boots Wardinski, and the successful Republican candidate.
Kerin has identified as a transwoman, not through choice but because of medically necessary treatments related to cancer. Within the last ten years, she, earned a Master's in Environmental Law and a Juris Doctor degree at Vermont Law School, followed by a summer course at Pepperdine in dispute resolution, and an LLM (Legum Magister) in human rights and international law from the University of Nottingham, England. Her legal experience includes a clerkship with the Rutland Public Defender and consultancies in treaty law.
According to her website, Kerin's campaign is based on protecting from encroachment the liberties and rights built into the U.S. and Vermont constitutions: "I will assign staff attorneys to represent the people in cases where liberty interests are threatened in the courts... to review proposed legislation to ensure that liberties are not statutorily infringed... [and] to review existing statutes, rules and regulations to provide the legislature and the administration with suggestions to restore liberties, where they have been diminished."
At 60 years of age, she writes on her website, "I am old enough to know something and young enough to do something about the threats to liberty."
To read more, go to www.kerin04.us Only Kennedy is listed as an announced candidate for attorney general on the official party website (www.vtgop.org), and her campaign treasurer is listed as Walter Freed, the now-retired Speaker of the House. Carver confirmed by phone that he is still a candidate.