COLCHESTER, Vt. (WCAX) – Family members, constituents and colleagues are remembering Colchester-Grand Isle Sen. Dick Mazza, who died over the weekend at the age of 84. Colleagues say his passing represents the end of an era in Montpelier.
Ask just about any politician who’s made an impact in Montpelier and they’ll tell you that part of their political journey has brought them to Dick Mazza’s general store in Colchester, a staple in the community and a way for the longtime senator to connect with his constituents.
Customers stopped by the store in Malletts Bay Monday to find, for the first time in decades, that Mazza was not behind the counter.
The Democrat served in the Statehouse for 42 years. He stepped away from Montpelier in April after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, who served with Mazza in the state Senate in the 1980s, calls him the most consequential public servant in the last 40 years.
“He reinforced a culture we want to maintain in Vermont with service and honesty, and it’s about doing real things for real people,” said Welch, D-Vermont.
Mazza also served on the powerful Committee on Committees, deciding who would helm each committee, in turn setting policy and priorities in the Senate.
“He always did what was right for the state first, nevermind what the party pressures were,” said Sen. Russ Ingalls, R-Essex County.
Ingalls served on the transportation and institutions committees with Mazza. He describes him as a voice of reason and able to put politics aside.
“When you were on a committee with Senator Mazza, it wasn’t about Republican, Democratic and Progressive, it was for what was right for the state,” Ingalls said.
Mazza was known as a “Blue Dog Democrat,” a centrist Democrat grounded in fiscal restraint.
Welch says Mazza was a guide for some of Vermont’s most influential politicians.
“There’s a danger in politics to get caught up in your own ideas, then they get disconnected from things that matter to people in your community. That was never him,” Welch said.
In a statement, Mazza’s daughter Melissa said the family is touched by the outpouring of love and kindness, adding, “It has been a blessing to hear the many ways in which he touched the lives of so many, including those we’ll never even know about.”
Gov. Phil Scott has ordered state flags be flown at half-staff on Thursday, the day of Mazza’s funeral.