Robert A. Starr

Robert A. Starr is an American politician from Vermont who served as a Democratic member of the Vermont State Senate from 2005 to 2025. He has represented the Essex-Orleans senate district since 2004. Since redistricting in 2022 he has represented the Orleans District. He had previously spent 25 years in the Vermont House of Representatives.

Biography

Robert Starr was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on December 17, 1942. He has lived in Troy, Vermont since moving there in 1944. He received an Associate Degree in agriculture from Vermont Technical College.
Starr is married to Anita Cadieux. The couple has one son.
He is a professional truck driver. Starr is president of his own transportation company. He is director of the Vermont Truck and Bus Association.

Public life

Vermont General Assembly

Starr was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1978 and served there until 2004. From 1985 to 2000, he chaired the House Agriculture Committee. He was elected to the Vermont Senate in 2004 and was re-elected two years later. Starr continued to win reelection until 2024, when he retired. He was succeeded by Republican Samuel Douglass.

Other government service

Troy school board
Orleans-Essex North Supervisory Union, school board
Troy zoning board
Troy planning commission
Troy board of civil authority
Troy town moderator
North Country Union High School moderator
Trustee, Vermont State Colleges
Goodyear Highway Hero award

On September 14, 2005, there was an incident near Trois-Rivières, Quebec involving Starr. While driving in a truck, the pavement collapsed and Starr's vehicle as well as another passenger car driven by a woman went off the road. The woman's car caught fire and she was trapped in it. Starr was able to rescue the driver. For this effort he was later awarded the Goodyear Highway Hero award.