Susanne Young (née Richardson; born October 30, 1956) is an American lawyer and public official who served as the Vermont Attorney General from July 5, 2022 to January 5, 2023. Young was appointed to the position by Governor Phil Scott following the resignation of T. J. Donovan and was the first woman to hold the position.

Susanne Young
27th Attorney General of Vermont
In office
July 5, 2022 – January 5, 2023
GovernorPhil Scott
Preceded byT. J. Donovan
Succeeded byCharity Clark
Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Administration
In office
January 5, 2017 – November 6, 2021
GovernorPhil Scott
Preceded byTrey Martin
Succeeded byKristin Clouser
Personal details
Born
Susanne Richardson

(1956-10-30) October 30, 1956 (age 68)
Northfield, Vermont, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpousePeter Young
Children1
EducationUniversity of Vermont (BS)
Vermont Law School (JD)

Early life

edit

Born Susanne Richardson in Northfield, Vermont on October 30, 1956, the daughter of Elfriede (Hopfner) Richardson and John C. Richardson.[1][2] She is a 1974 graduate of Northfield High School, and in 1978 she received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Vermont.[1][3] In 1981, Young received her Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Vermont Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the law review.[1] She was admitted to the bar on December 17, 1981.[4]

Career

edit

During her career, Young held several appointed positions in Vermont's state government under both Democratic and Republican governors, including assistant attorney general (1982–1999), deputy state treasurer when Jim Douglas served as Vermont State Treasurer (August 31, 1999 – January 8, 2003), legal counsel to Douglas when he served as governor (January 9, 2003 – January 4, 2011), and deputy attorney general during William Sorrell's tenure as Vermont's attorney general (November 13, 2012 – January 4, 2017).[5] When Scott became governor on January 5, 2017, he named Young as secretary of the Vermont Agency of Administration, and she served until November 6, 2021, when she retired.[5][6]

In June 2022, T. J. Donovan resigned as Vermont Attorney General in order to accept a position at Roblox Corporation.[7] Scott appointed Young to complete Donovan's term, which expired in January 2023.[6] When she accepted the appointment, Young indicated she did not intend to run for a full term in the 2022 election.[6] She was succeeded by Charity Clark, who won the Democratic nomination[8] and the general election.[9][10]

Personal life

edit

Young is married to Northfield attorney Peter F. Young.[1][11] She is the stepmother of two sons and the mother of a daughter.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e Civil Government, State of Vermont. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. 2005. p. 355 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Obituary, Elfriede Richardson Crandall". Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Barre, VT. December 1, 2020.
  3. ^ "A List Of Vermont Graduates From UVM". Rutland Herald. Rutland, VT. May 21, 1978. p. Section 3, page 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "9 Lawyers Admitted To Vt. Bar". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. December 18, 1981. p. 10B – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Goswami, Neal P. (December 7, 2016). "Scott Names Gobeille, Young to Cabinet Posts". Rutland Herald. Second page viewable at Newspapers.com/clip/104279542/posts/. Rutland, VT. pp. A1, A3 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c Mearhoff, Sarah; Keays, Alan J.; Weinstein, Ethan (June 22, 2022). "Phil Scott appoints former Administration Secretary Susanne Young to complete attorney general's term". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
  7. ^ Keays, Alan J. (June 10, 2022). "TJ Donovan leaving attorney general's post early to take job with online gaming company Roblox". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
  8. ^ Journal, Greg Sukiennik, Manchester. "Northshire native Charity Clark wins Democratic nomination for AG". Manchester Journal.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Clark wins Vt. attorney general contest". Wcax.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Menezes, Andrew. "Karen Bass, Juan Ciscomani among the history-makers of the 2022 midterm elections | CNN Politics". Cnn.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  11. ^ McCallum, April (December 6, 2016). "Phil Scott announces 5 staff appointments". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT.
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Vermont
2022–2023
Succeeded by