ROCKINGHAM — Gov. Peter Shumlin ended the suspense last Friday and appointed Selectboard member Matthew Trieber to fill the Windham-4 House seat vacated by longtime former Rep. Michael Obuchowski.
After 38 years in the House, Obuchowski stepped down last month to become Vermont's Commissioner of Buildings and General Services.
The 30-year-old Trieber, of Bellows Falls, was officially sworn in on Tuesday morning. He joins Rep. Carolyn Partridge, D-Windham, in representing the district towns of Athens, Brookline, Grafton, North Westminster, Rockingham, and Windham.
“I very much look forward to working with Matt as district mate,” Partridge said. “I think that he has many of the skills required to do the job.”
Trieber, one of three nominees submitted to Shumlin, came in second with 12 votes to Lamont Barrett's 13 at the district's Democratic caucus on Jan. 8.
Suzanne Groenewold was the other nominee. “I'd like to wish him well,” she said. “I think he'll do a great job up there. He will certainly bring a fresh perspective with him, [but] he certainly has some big shoes to fill.”
Trieber said he knew he was selected last Thursday, but “out of respect for the governor, who asked me not to say anything,” he could not tell anyone.
“I couldn't even tell my best friend,” he said. “I didn't want to step on any toes in the very first week of my appointment.”
Trieber said he had been staying by the phone at home all week, but during the one space of time that he took to go to the store for some groceries, the call came in from Montpelier.
Receiving urgent texts and messages while at the grocery store from several people in town, he ran back home, arriving out of breath, and then waited “on pins and needles the whole hour-and-a-half” until Shumlin could finally return his return phone call and notify him of his appointment.
“I'm pleased, awed, and numb,” said Trieber. “Every once in a while, the thought What just happened? goes through my head. But most of all, I'm inspired, honored, and humbled.”
Learning the ropes
In addition to being on the Rockingham Selectboard, Trieber works as an environmental consultant with Atkinson Street Environmental in Bellows Falls. He serves as a member of the Bellows Falls Rotary Club, on the Rockingham Certified Local Government Board, and is a founding member of Bellows Falls Young Professionals. He is a 2002 graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he majored in earth and space sciences with a concentration in geology.
Trieber said he intends to spend time soon knocking on doors and getting to know people in the Windham-4 district, to hear their concerns, and to introduce himself. He said he has no idea what his time is going to look like, but that he'll have more time this summer after the session ends to make the rounds.
He acknowledges that he has a lot to learn, and will be talking to Partridge and others to understand more about issues and protocols.
“And I will do everything I can to show him the ropes and mentor him as much he wants,” Partridge said.
Trieber said that he is eager to start work, and that Shumlin's pro-business strategies, such as increasing broadband Internet service and enacting a single-payer health care plan, appeal to him greatly.
“Governor Shumlin's inauguration speech was an inspiration, and full of challenges of things to get done,” Trieber said.
Trieber said that he was told by Shumlin “that I will be talking with the Speaker of the House [Shap Smith] about what committees I can serve on,” he said. “As the new guy, I'm not sure what choices I'll have, but some of the [committees] I would be most interested in working on would be the House committees on Health Care, Health and Human Services, and Commerce and Economic Development.”
He said that he spent the weekend studying up for his new job, and that he planned on talking to the Master at Arms and the House Clerk to acquaint himself with the customs of the House, among other things. He admitted he still does not “know a whole lot about how it all works.”
Trieber said he will continue to be accessible by e-mail at [email protected].
“That's probably the most effective way of contacting me,” he said.