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. Symington is the second woman to hold the position of Vermont Speaker of the House. In 2008, Symington announced she would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives. In May 2008, she announced she would seek the Democratic nomination for Governor against incumbent Republican Gov. Jim Douglas.

First elected to the House in 1996 as a Democrat, Symington represents the Chittenden-8 district. As a freshman legislator, she served on the Ways and Means Committee. After the 2002 legislative elections, Symington was elected House Minority Leader in 2003 by her Democratic caucus and led the Vermont Democratic House Campaign (VDHC) in recruitment of Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives in 2004. The Democrats retook the House of Representatives in the 2004 legislative races after four years in the minority.

In January 2005, Symington was unanimously elected Speaker of the House. In the 2006 elections, the Democratic Party increased its majority in the chamber. There were now enough Democrats, Progressives, and independents in the Vermont House to overturn a gubernatorial veto. 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 have three teenage children. Symington attended Williams College as an undergraduate, and holds a master's degree in business administration from Cornell University.