Bill Doyle, who served in the senate for 48 years, died last week. He was 98 years old.
Doyle was first elected in 1968, and was reelected 23 times, serving until 2017.
“Senator Doyle was an institution. A beloved teacher to decades of Vermont students and mentor to hundreds of legislators, including me. Serving Washington County with Bill was a real privilege," said Gov. Phil Scott, in a statement released Tuesday. “I remember when I was first running for the Senate, he was absolutely everywhere. I couldn't believe the number of events he went to each and every day from dawn to well into the night. He didn't do it for fame or ego, he did it because he was a true public servant and wanted to stay connected to the people."
Doyle, a champion of local government, spent a good part of his legislative career as chair of the Senate Committee on Government Operations.
He was also known for his annual Town Meeting Day survey. The survey, though not scientific, was nevertheless a useful source of opinion in the state. Doyle's survey began in 1969 as a questionnaire about then-Gov. Deane Davis' proposed sales tax, and he expanded it in the following years.
"The information was so valuable, so well received, I said, 'Why not know how people feel about the issues?'" Doyle said about the survey in a 2014 interview with then-Vermont Public Radio.
Doyle taught political science at Johnson State College for 60 years, retiring in 2018. He wrote The Vermont Political Tradition: And Those Who Helped Make It, a well-regarded history of the state's politics, first published in 1984. Many of his students served as public officials themselves.
“Not only did he regularly immerse his students in the Vermont Legislature and provide them with first-hand experience and knowledge of state government, his influence inspired over sixty of his students to run for office," said David Bergh, president of Vermont State University (of which Johnson State College is now part), and a former professor of political science at the school. "His commitment to mentoring the next generation of public servants has certainly made Vermont a better place to live. May we all continue to carry on this tradition.”
Flags in Montpelier will be at half mast for the remainder of the week in Doyle's memory.
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