Becca Balint

Balint was born on May 4, 1968 at the United States Army hospital in Heidelberg,[2] a daughter of Peter G. Balint and Sandra (Couchman) Balint.[3] At the time of her birth, her father was a U.S. Army captain based in Germany.[2] Peter Balint immigrated to the United States as a child, after his father was killed during the Holocaust.[4] He served in the army after graduating from Siena College,[5] and later worked at a phone company.[4] Balint's mother worked at a watch factory and eventually earned both a college degree and a black belt in kung fu.[4]

Balint was raised in Downstate New York, and attended public schools in Peekskill.[6] In 1994, Balint moved to Plymouth, Vermont, for a job as a rock-climbing instructor at Farm & Wilderness summer camp.[4] She became a full-time Vermont resident in 1997.[6]

Balint was on the crew team as a coxswain at Barnard College,[7] and was captain of the crew team at Smith College.[8] Balint remains interested in athletics, and is an avid runner.[9][10][11]

Balint and her wife, attorney Elizabeth R. Wohl, met in 2000 at Farm & Wilderness.[4] They live in Brattleboro with their two children, a son and a daughter.[4]

Balint attended Barnard College of Columbia University for two years, and in 1990 received her bachelor of arts degree in history and women's studies from Smith College, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.[6]

In 1995, Balint earned a master of education degree from Harvard University, and in 2001 she received a master of arts in history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[6]

Balint is a 2013 graduate of The Campaign School at Yale University and a 2014 graduate of the inaugural class of Emerge Vermont.[4]

After graduating college in 1990, Balint worked minimum wage jobs in bakeries, restaurants, and cafes in Massachusetts.[12]

Balint moved to Vermont in 1994 to teach rock climbing at the Farm and Wilderness Foundation in Plymouth, and became a full-time resident of Vermont in 1997.[13] She went on to direct Saltash Mountain Camp at Farm & Wilderness in Mount Holly, a coed wilderness adventure camp for children ages 11 to 15.[13]

Balint has taught in public and private schools throughout New England, and at the Community College of Vermont.[13] When her two children were young, she worked at home as a full-time caregiver.[4] Balint has served on the workforce committee of the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS).[13] She is also a Coaches Training Institute-trained coach.[14]

Balint writes a weekly op-ed column in the Brattleboro Reformer, on subjects ranging from politics, to nature, to parenting.[2][13][15][16] She has also written for other publications.[12][17][18]

Balint is a frequent public speaker, for example at the 2019 climate strike demonstration in Burlington, Vermont.[19][20]

Balint has been a State Senator from Windham County since 2015, and Senate President pro tem since 2021. Balint is the first woman and first openly gay person to serve as Senate President.[21]

Balint serves on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.[22] Balint is also the chair of the Senate Rules Committee and serves on the Joint Rules Committee and the Legislative Committee on Judicial Rules.[22] Balint also serves on the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee, to which she was appointed in 2015.[6] Balint previously served on the Committee on Finance.[6] During her first term, Balint served on the Institutions Committee.[23] During her second term, Balint served as vice chair of the Education Committee.[6] Balint was chair of the Senate Sexual Harassment Prevention Panel from 2017-2020.[6]

At the start of her second term in January 2017, Balint was elected as the State Senate's Majority Leader.[24] At the start of the 2019 legislative session, Balint was re-elected as Majority Leader.[6]

During her time as State Senator, Balint has earned a reputation for being "[l]iberal but pragmatic, with a particular interest in social justice and anti-poverty efforts."[4] As Majority Leader, she has a reputation for running efficient caucus meetings.[4] Balint is also known for her mentorship of other women in politics.[4][25]

Balint was the first openly gay woman to serve in the Vermont Senate.[4]

Balint's legislative priorities have included:

• increasing affordable housing;[26]
• rural workforce development;[26][27]
• raising the minimum wage;[28][29]
• protecting reproductive choice;[30][31][32]
• LGBTQ rights;[33][34]
• addressing climate change;[19][20]
• and others.[35]

As chair of the Senate Sexual Harassment Panel, Balint worked to update the policy and the culture regarding sexual harassment in the Vermont State House.[36]

As a member of the eight-person, bipartisan Joint Rules Committee, Balint is helping lead the Vermont Legislature's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[37][38][39][40][41] She has written about the experience in her column.[42]

Prior to serving in the Senate, Balint served on Brattleboro's Development Review Board, and was elected as a district representative to Brattleboro's town meeting.[13]

Balint has been endorsed by the Vermont State Employees' Association, Vermont League of Conservation Voters, Union of Vermont Educators (Vermont-NEA), Planned Parenthood, Gun Sense Vermont, and the Victory Fund.[43][44]

In 2014, Balint was a candidate for the Vermont Senate from the two-member at-large Windham County district; one incumbent, Democrat Peter Galbraith, did not run for reelection.[45]

• 2014 Democratic Primary Election, State Senate, Windham County[46][47]
  • Jeanette White (inc.), 40.1%
  • Becca Balint, 29.9%
  • Roger Allbee, 22%
  • Joan Bowman, 7.9%

• 2014 General Election, State Senate, Windham County[48]
  • Jeanette White (D, inc.), 43.4%
  • Becca Balint (D), 35.6%
  • Mary Hasson (I), 11%
  • Jerry Levy (LU), 5%
  • Aaron Diamondstone (LU), 4.7%

• 2016 Democratic Primary Election, State Senate, Windham County[49]
  • Jeanette White (inc.), 50.4%
  • Becca Balint (inc.), 48.9%

• 2016 General Election, State Senate, Windham County[50][51]
  • Jeanette White (D, inc.), 36.6%
  • Becca Balint (D, inc.), 35.7%
  • David Schoales (I), 17.9%
  • Jerry Levy (LU), 4.9%
  • Aaron Diamondstone (LU), 4.6%

• 2018 Democratic Primary Election, State Senate, Windham County[52]
  • Becca Balint (inc.), 46.5%
  • Jeanette White (inc.), 42.6%
  • Wayne Vernon Estey, 10.6%

• 2018 General Election, State Senate, Windham County[53]
  • Becca Balint (D, inc.), 39.4%
  • Jeanette White (D, inc.), 36.6%
  • Tyler Colford (R), 13.3%
  • Beverly Stone (I), 5.8%
  • Aaron Diamondstone (LU), 2.6%
  • Jerry Levy (LU), 2.3%

• 2020 Democratic Primary Election, State Senate, Windham County[54]
  • Becca Balint (inc.), 41.09%
  • Jeanette White (inc.), 38.26%

• 2020 General Election, State Senate, Windham County[55]
  • Becca Balint (D, inc.), 37.9%
  • Jeanette White (D, inc.), 35.7%
  • Marcus R. Parish (R), 11.4%
  • John Lyddy (R), 11.1%
  • Tyler Colford (I), 3.9%

• Official website
• Becca Balint on Facebook
• Becca Balint on Twitter
• Becca Balint on Instagram