Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle, in his office in the back of Dick Mazza’s General Store in Colchester on April 15, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
Richard T. Mazza, a Colchester grocer who rose from humble origins to become the most influential member of the Vermont Senate, died Saturday. He was 84 years old.
His daughter, Melissa Mazza-Paquette, confirmed the news Sunday evening. “Our family is so grateful to all who have reached out to our family over the past several months and to the amazing staff and volunteers at the McClure Miller Respite House,” she said. An obituary prepared by the family said the cause was pancreatic cancer and that he died with his family by his side.
In a written statement Sunday, Gov. Phil Scott said he was “heartbroken at the loss of my very dear friend, mentor and long-time colleague, Senator Dick Mazza.”
“In a world that has become so politically divided and full of hate, Dick Mazza stood out like a shining star — an icon of decency, hope and humor,” Scott said. “His impact will be felt for generations to come, and he will be greatly missed.”
The governor said he had ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff on the day of his funeral service.
Known to customers and constituents alike as “Dick,” the affable business owner and politician was sometimes said to have run the state of Vermont from behind the deli counter at Dick Mazza’s General Store, the rambling lakeside market his parents founded in 1954 — and where he worked and lived ever since.
A moderate Democrat, Mazza was first elected to the Vermont House in 1972, succeeding his father, Joseph Mazza, Sr., in representing the blue-collar town of Colchester. He took a break from the Legislature after two terms but returned to Montpelier in 1985 to represent the Grand Isle district in the Vermont Senate.
Mazza held the Senate seat for nearly four decades, making him the second-longest-serving member in the institution’s history. He spent decades at the helm of the Senate Transportation Committee and as one of three members of the powerful Committee on Committees.
Mazza resigned from the Senate on April 8, explaining in a letter to Scott that health challenges were preventing him from providing “the quality of service and dedication” he had long given his constituents and the state. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last fall, he told VTDigger earlier this year, and suffered other ailments, including a broken hip.
In his letter to Scott, Mazza said that representing Colchester and Grand Isle had been “the privilege of a lifetime.”
Scott, almost a surrogate son to Mazza, said in a statement at the time that it would be hard to find a Vermonter “who has been more impactful, committed or dedicated to public service over the past four decades” than Mazza. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, called Mazza “a giant in Vermont legislative history.”
In a wide-ranging interview with VTDigger in January, Mazza discussed his life in business and politics. He expressed great pride in his work to keep the Vermont Senate a civil institution and avoid the partisan gridlock that has hobbled the U.S. Congress.
“I think it’s the Vermont style,” he said at the time. “People in Vermont — you may disagree on an issue, but as far as friendships and relationships, it’s never nose to nose.”
Mazza was known not as a policy wonk but as a master of constituent services, who delivered for his district and had an instinctive understanding of where working-class Vermonters stood on issues. The secret, he said, was remaining omnipresent at the store and engaging with customers on how state government was affecting their lives.
“Every day I’m here with the public in the store, so I hear a lot of comments,” Mazza said in the January interview. “They know they can reach me.”
He added, “To me, it’s the most gratifying part of being in (the Senate) — is you’re able to communicate with folks and put them in the right direction.”
Mazza hesitated at the time to discuss his legacy, saying he preferred to “plow ahead and see what happens.”
“Take it one day at a time,” he said. “None of us know what we’re gonna do. So.”
Serving in the Senate, he said, had been, “A lot of fun. A lot of fun.”
“I’m very pleased,” he said. “I’ve got no complaints.”
Mazza is survived by his wife, Dolly; two children, Mike and Melissa; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
This story will be updated.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Dick Mazza, icon of the Vermont Senate, dies at 84.