Paul N. Poirier

Paul N. Poirier (born September 30, 1948) is a Vermont politician who as of 2016 serves in the Vermont House of Representatives and was a member of the Barre City Council.

Poirier was born in Lewiston, Maine on September 30, 1948. He was educated at private schools in Maine and Norwich University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in 1970 and a master of education degree in history and government in 1973. He was also a member of the Norwich ice hockey team, and was one of the school's all-time top 10 leading scorers.

After college, Poirier became a social studies and physical education teacher at Spaulding High School in Barre. In addition, he was the coach of the varsity ice hockey team, which won the 1980 Division 1 state championship, Spaulding's firsty title in nearly 20 years.

Originally a Democrat, in 1980 he was a successful candidate for election to the Vermont House of Representatives, defeating 15-year incumbent Republican Lucille Molinaroli. He was reelected in 1982, 1984, and 1986, and served from January 1981 to January 1989. During his House tenure, Poirier became assistant minority leader and worked with Ralph G. Wright, the Speaker of the House, to build a Democratic majority. (Wright had become Speaker with the support of Democrats and a small number of Republicans.) When Democrats attained the majority in 1987, Poirier became majority leader, and served until 1989. His House career also included service as vice chair of the Rules Committee, member of the Joint Rules Committee, and chairman of Select House Committee on Economic Growth.

In 1988 Poirier was a candidate for Vermont's lone seat in the United States House of Representatives, which was being vacated by Jim Jeffords, who was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat of the retiring Robert Stafford. Poirier won the Democratic nomination in a close contest with Peter Welch and James A. Guest. The general election was a three-way contest between Poirier, Republican candidate Peter Smith, and Independent Bernie Sanders. Smith won with a plurality, taking 41.2 percent of the vote to 37.5 for Sanders and 18.9 for Poirier. Sanders' strong showing was a harbinger; in 1990, he ran again, and defeated Smith 57.8 percent to 41.2.

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