Rebecca Ellis, a Democratic state representative from Waterbury since 2011, has resigned to take a job as the Department of Environmental Conservation’s senior counsel for government affairs.
Ellis, 49, has been vice chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Wednesday in a press release that he will fill the vacant House seat before the legislature reconvenes in January.
Shumlin appointed Ellis to the seat after former representative Sue Minter resigned to become Shumlin’s deputy transportation secretary.
A lawyer and former Waterbury Selectboard chair who grew up in Burlington, Ellis earned a reputation as a diligent legislator focused on environmental and energy policy.
She had previously worked as an assistant attorney general focusing on environmental issues.
“I am really excited to work on the issues I love — the environmental issues — on a full time basis,” Ellis said Wednesday.
She essentially replaces Jon Copans, who had the title senior policy adviser. Copans recently moved to the Department of Public Service to become its deputy commissioner.
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