Claire D. Ayer

Claire D. Ayer
Member of the Vermont Senate from the Addison district
Incumbent
Assumed office 2003
Personal details
Born	(1948-09-21) September 21, 1948 Quincy, Massachusetts
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Alan
Residence	Weybridge, Vermont
Alma mater	Jeanne Mance School of Nursing, Middlebury College
Profession	nurse

Claire D. Ayer (born September 21, 1948) is a Democratic member of the Vermont State Senate, representing the Addison senate district.

Claire D. Ayer was first elected to the Vermont State Senate in 2002, and reelected in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. Ayer serves as assistant majority leader of the Vermont Senate, and previously served as majority whip. She is also the current chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.

During the 2015-2016 Legislative Session, Claire D. Ayer sponsored Senate Bill S.31, "An act relating to possession and transfer of firearms", which sought to require background checks on substantially all firearm sales, and to prohibit the sale of firearms to persons convicted of certain violent crimes. In a "Front Porch Forum" post dated February 3, 2015, the Senator attempted to mollify growing discontent within her district for her sponsorship of the bill. In that post, the Senator claimed that her sponsorship of the bill was the result of "12+ years" of "requests from constituents to take up a bill that will reduce the likelihood that a person will commit violence with a gun".

Biography

Ayer was born September 21, 1948 in Quincy, Massachusetts and spent her childhood in Charlotte, Vermont. After receiving her high school education at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg, she attended the Jeanne Mance School of Nursing, becoming a registered nurse in 1969. She later also received a B.A. in environmental studies from Middlebury College in 1992.

She was married to a physician, Dr. Alan Ayer, who passed away in 2015. They settled in Weybridge, VT in 1979, after spending four years in the Air Force. Senator Ayer has three adult children - Gretchen, Allison and Nathan—and currently lives in Addison, VT.

Ayer works as a nurse for an OB-GYN in Middlebury, Vermont.

Public Life

Ayer has served in the following positions:

• Member Board of Directors: Otter Creek Natural Resources Conservation District (1992 - ).
• Member Vermont State Senate (2003 - ).
• Member Board of Trustees, University of Vermont (2005 - ).
• Member Weybridge School Board.
• Member of the board of the Middlebury Area Land Trust.
• Member of the Weybridge Conservation Commission.
• Member of the Lake Champlain Sea Grant Committee.

See also

• Members of the Vermont Senate, 2005-2006 session
• Members of the Vermont Senate, 2007-2008 session

External links

• State Senator Claire D. Ayer Addison County Democrats
• Profile at Project Vote Smart