Voters may have called for sweeping change in the Vermont Statehouse this past election, but Democratic lawmakers are seeking to preserve the status quo when it comes to their top leaders. House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D/P–Chittenden-Central) hope to continue running their respective chambers when a new biennium convenes on January 8. Both would have to prevail in leadership votes that will be part of the new legislature’s first order of business. In the House, Rep. Laura Sibilia (I-Dover), a well-regarded and experienced legislator, launched a rival bid for the speakership last fall — even before Republicans rode a wave of taxpayer outrage to make historic gains in both chambers in the November election. Their ranks swelled in the 30-member Senate from seven to 13, and in the 150-member House from 37 to 56. Sibilia has pledged to be more “transparent, collaborative and communicative” with House members, the Senate and the press. She maintains that she can win if Republicans join the Democratic defectors, Progressives and independents backing her bid — and about a dozen undecided members come around. Only 149 House members will be seated Wednesday. A Republican from Castleton, Chris Brown, said he won't take the seat he won because his wife has been diagnosed with cancer. If all 55 Republicans were to back Sibilia, she would still need 20 additional members to vote for her. "I have had great conversations with Republican members where we have acknowledged our areas of disagreement, but where we’ve pledged to work together to bring about the change that voters asked for and make Vermont better for everyone," she wrote in an email. Sibilia has pursued the post vigorously, even taking the unusual step of raising money to hire a chief of staff, former Democratic representative Lucy Rogers, who represented Waterville. She has expressed her willingness to publicly debate Krowinski, but efforts to set up such a forum, led by Rep. Jay Hooper (D-Randolph), came to nothing. He proposed one for last month at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, but Krowinski was out of town. Hooper recently proposed a similar forum focused on property taxes in Montpelier on January 7, the day before the session starts. Krowinski said she would not take part in that because Hooper hadn’t included her or her office in his planning efforts. “I will not…