Political activist and recent gubernatorial candidate Brenda Siegel has declared her candidacy for lieutenant governor.

Siegel, the founder and director of the Southern Vermont Dance Festival and a self-described "proud single mom," had expressed plans to run for the office last week. She formally announced her campaign in a press release early Friday morning.

"We are in a new era of politics, where all voices and types of experience matter. Vermont needs statewide leaders who reflect the identities and experiences of regular Vermonters,” Siegel wrote in a press release.

Siegel is chair of the Newfane Democratic Committee, a delegate to the Windham County Democratic Committee and a member of various advocacy groups, including the Raise the Wage coalition and Rights & Democracy. 

She began her political work in 2001 as an intern in then-U.S. representative Bernie Sanders’ congressional office in Washington, D.C.

Siegel ran her first-ever campaign for public office in 2018, finishing third in the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 21 percent of the votes. She told Seven Days last week that she planned to use her campaign for lieutenant governor to continue pushing for policies that address economic justice, climate change and the opioid crisis. She plans to outline her priorities during a press conference next Thursday.
Siegel's campaign announcement included endorsements from Rep. Kevin “Coach” Christie (D-Hartford) and Christine Hallquist, one of her her rivals in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Siegel is the third candidate to declare she will run to succeed Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, who is running for governor.

Last week, Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) announced that he would run for LG. And Ashe's seatmate, Sen. Debbie Ingram (D-Chittenden), declared her candidacy on Wednesday. Two others have said they intend to run: Meg Hansen, a Republican who has led Vermonters for Health Care Freedom, and Molly Gray, a prosecutor with the Attorney General's Office.

Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflict-of-interest policy here: sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.