After 9 terms, state Rep. Tom Stevens says he will not seek re-election
April 21, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti After running for the office for nine terms in the state House of Representatives, Waterbury Democrat Tom Stevens says he will not seek re-election this fall.
State Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, addresses Waterbury’s Town Meeting audience on March 3. Photo by Gordon Miller
“After 18 years of service in the Vermont House of Representatives – nine terms representing the people of Waterbury, Bolton, Huntington, and Buels Gore (and Duxbury, when it was part of the district!) – I am announcing that I will not seek reelection in 2026,” Stevens said in a letter shared with the Waterbury Roundabout on Tuesday morning.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this district. When I first took my seat in 2009, I came as someone who had spent years working in the community – as a husband and a father, with local nonprofit organizations, at the Waterbury Selectboard, with Downstreet Housing and Community Development, in the arts and arts education – the places where community matters. I tried to carry that spirit into everything I did in Montpelier.”
Stevens in his letter reflects on his more than 17 years in the state Legislature, where he chaired the House General and Housing Committee and, since last year, has been a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Stevens is one of two House members representing the Washington-Chittenden district that covers Waterbury, Bolton, Huntington and Buels Gore. Fellow Waterbury Democrat Theresa Wood, who chairs the House Human Services Committee, is his legislative district partner.
Reached Tuesday morning, Wood called Stevens’ news a “changing of the guard” for the district.
Reps. Tom Stevens and Theresa Wood, November 2020, outside the polls on Election Day during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Gordon Miller
“Surviving 18 years of legislative service to Vermonters is quite a feat, especially in recent years!” Wood said in an email to the Waterbury Roundabout. “Rep. Stevens has always had the best interests of Vermonters at the core of his contributions to the legislative process. I wish him well in his next adventure and thank him for his service.”
Asked about her plans for this year’s election, Wood said she has decided to seek another term. Wood has served in the Vermont House since her appointment in 2015 and has won election to five terms since.
Stevens, 64, served on the Waterbury Select Board and on the boards of The Children’s Room and Revitalizing Waterbury prior to his 2008 election to the House of Representatives.
His tenure in Montpelier spanned administrations of three governors: the final term of Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, three terms by Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, and now five terms under Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
Stevens lists a host of legislative initiatives that he backed and led in his nine terms in the House.
In his first year, the Vermont Legislature overrode a Gov. Douglas veto to adopt same-sex marriage. Tropical Storm Irene dealt a devastating blow to Vermont and Waterbury in particular in 2011, and Stevens was a strong advocate for the state to rebuild its Waterbury Office Complex and return its workforce to the community. After a massive $125 million construction effort, the state’s new modern office building opened in Waterbury in late 2015.
Candidate Tom Stevens walks in Waterbury’s 2024 Not Quite Independence Day parade. Photo by Gordon Miller
Stevens’ service continued through the COVID-19 pandemic as lawmakers, along with much of society, moved to remote work. During that time conducting business over video conference calls, his committee delved into the painful history of the State Hospital in Waterbury in the 20th century.
It emerged in March 2021 with a resolution by which the state of Vermont formally apologized for the eugenics experimentation conducted on vulnerable Vermonters 90 years earlier. The measure won unanimous approval in both the House and Senate. A state Truth and Reconciliation Commission today continues to follow up on that effort to address harm caused by past state-sponsored actions.
Stevens’ work on the Housing Committee involved numerous legislative efforts to fund affordable housing, home ownership, and housing protections for renters and elderly and disabled Vermonters.
Throughout the every-other-year Vermont election cycle, Stevens faced little competition in his bids for office. The last election cycle in 2024 produced the first primary challenge to Stevens and Wood when first-time Waterbury candidate Elizabeth Brown sought the Democratic nomination in the House race.
Rep. Tom Stevens talks with constituents after a candidate forum in Waterbury in July 2024. Photo by Gordon Miller
The race was the most expensive campaign in the district’s history with candidates raising over $65,000 for the primary and general elections.
Wood and Stevens prevailed in the primary race, finishing first and second, respectively. And in a general election that sidelined many Democratic incumbents as voters reacted to spiking taxes, they went on to win re-election handily.
In his Tuesday announcement, Stevens said he plans to serve out the remainder of this term, which ends in January. He thanked his constituents for their “trust, honesty and patience,” but did not share any future plans.
In looking ahead, Stevens did say he hopes to support those who will follow in his path.
“I didn’t take the decision to run lightly in 2008, and I do not take this decision to step away now lightly either. But I believe deeply in the renewal of public life, and in making space for new voices and new energy,” Stevens writes. “I will finish this term with the same commitment I brought to the first, and I look forward to supporting those who serve our district in the future.”
May 28 is the deadline for candidates to file to participate in a major party primary on Aug. 11. Candidates wishing to run in the November election as an independent have until Aug. 6 to file with the Vermont Secretary of State.