Andrew Champagne Credit: Vermont Democratic Party Our friend and good brother, Andrew Damian Champagne, passed away on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, following several years of intensive cancer treatment. Andrew was an unparalleled personality and an enthusiastic champion for the Democratic Party, l ive music and the city of Burlington, Vt., where he made his home for the last 40-plus years. His deep sense of civic duty may be one of his most enduring, and endearing, legacies. Andrew was born in West Hartford, Conn., on May 10, 1963, to Robert Stanley and Catherine Hickson Champagne. He is survived by his mother, Cathy Champagne, of Vero Beach, Fla., and his sister, Alison C. Champagne, of Cardiff, Wales. He was predeceased by his father, Robert S. Champagne, in 2013. Many knew Andrew as the Registration Man, having registered nearly 2,000 Vermonters to vote. Others may have met him postering for local club shows and concerts or working on various live-show crews or, in his youth, attending many Grateful Dead shows — over 150. A justice of the peace, Andrew performed marriages, many the same day the call came in, and served as a notary public, on the Steering Committee for his Old North End Neighborhood Planning Assembly (old Ward 2) and on the Board of Tax Appeals. Andrew was an inspector of elections, a delegate at four Democratic National Conventions (Obama, 2012; Clinton, alternate, 2016; Biden, 2020; and Harris, 2024) and on the staff of countless local, state and national campaigns. On Town Meeting TV, he hosted the show “Burlington Democrats.” He marched proudly in many a Fourth of July and Labor Day parade alongside his favorite Vermont politicians. Andrew Champagne Credit: Courtesy Andrew had side hustles to his side hustles, all centered on his passion for politics and music. He worked the Champlain Valley Fair concerts each summer, and his ease in speaking to strangers was put to use at Koenig Cedar Co., where he ran the home shows and performed marketing duties. Higher Ground hired him to conduct voter registrations at all shows it presented. He was a spark plug to any campaign or music festival. He was a collector of friends, political buttons and cassette tapes. And he held an uncanny ability to catalog information about friends and acquaintances, in a constant quest to connect people with one another. In short, as he declared at Club Metronome one night in the 1990s — “I’m your Secret Weapon.” Andrew had an astonishing ability to retain facts, dates, phone numbers and history and was a daily reader of the New York Times, in print. He chose a simple lifestyle and never owned a home, computer, cellphone or had internet. Recently, he started watching broadcast TV. At no time did he own a car but rode a bike around town, which he never locked. To travel out of state, he preferred Amtrak, but departing from Essex Junction, to enjoy the train ride through his beloved Connecticut. Never mind that it added hours to his travel time. Andrew attended multiple prestigious schools, including the Berkshire School and the University of Vermont, before graduating from Trinity College (Hartford). In 2015, Andrew had the honor of swearing in Burlington mayor Miro Weinberger. The Burlington Democrats distinguished him with the inaugural Andrew Champagne Service Award in 2025. The Burlington City Council proclaimed Election Day, November 3, 2026, as “Andrew Champagne Day.” Andrew conducted his business adeptly using only a landline. He was happiest at home in his Greene Street apartment, where he resided for over 20 years. Making rounds of calls to his regulars, Andrew traded the latest news about town or advocated for a candidate, with a cup of tea in hand and listening to his team, the Yankees, on the radio. Andrew received excellent care from the entire staff at the UVM Medical Center, Dr. Marc Greenblatt and his caseworker Michelle Mosley, in addition to Sloan Kettering Memorial in New York City, in his all-time-favorite major city. At the end of his medical journey, he was pampered by the exceptional staff at the McClure Miller Respite House, most likely breaking new records for the number of visitors per day, while the Grateful Dead softly solaced him in his transition. He also thanks his friends Jim Carsen, Paul Koenig, Ryan McLaren, Jake Perkinson, Brian Pine, Anne Rothwell and Andy Vota. As he often said, “You can’t make new old friends.” A memorial service is planned for Sunday, November 8, 2026, 4:30 p.m., at the First Unitarian Universalist Society, 152 Pearl St., Burlington, VT. Andrew would want you to get out and VOTE to make your voice heard. The post Obituary: Andrew Damian Champagne, 1963-2026 appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less