Gaye Symington

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Gaye R. Symington (born: 20 April 1954 in Boston, Massachusetts) is the Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, which is the Green Mountain State's Legislature. Symington is the second woman to hold the position of Vermont Speaker of the House. She is the most powerful woman in state government.

First elected to the House in 1996 as a Democrat, Symington represents the Chittenden-8 district, Symington quickly earned the esteem of her legislative colleagues. As a freshman legislator, she served on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, the committee responsible for drafting Act 60, a controversial mechanism for funding public education in the state of Vermont.

In January 2005, Symington was unanimously elected speaker, having led the effort for Democrats to regain their majority in the lower chamber. In the 2006 elections, the Democratic Party increased their majority in the chamber. There are now enough Democrats in the Vermont House to sustain a gubernatorial veto. As a result, Symington won re-election to the post, without opposition. Symington is married to Chuck Lacy, movie producer and former president of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. The couple has three teenage children. Symington holds a master's degree in business administration from Cornell University.