Bill Hunsinger, who has resigned from his position as chair of the Vermont Progressive Party. Photo courtesy of Bill Hunsinger The chair of Vermont’s Progressive Party, Bill Hunsinger, has resigned from his post.  Hunsinger stepped down Tuesday after less than a year in the job as the lead er of the state’s third largest political party, according to Heather Thomas, the party’s executive director. The chair is the party’s public-facing leader, while the executive director manages its day-to-day operations and is the organization’s only full-time staffer. According to Thomas, Hunsinger’s decision was a result of the challenges of balancing the job’s significant workload with his full-time job, raising a young daughter and serving on the selectboard in his hometown of Ripton. “It takes an incredible amount of time and energy to work within structures that are designed by and for the wealthy,” Thomas said in an interview Wednesday. “We’re very grateful for his time and all the ways that he’s helped advance our mission.” Hunsinger’s resignation leaves one of the state’s major political parties without a figurehead in the middle of an election cycle with just weeks until voters start receiving their ballots in the mail. The Progressive Party is the third-largest in Vermont by a wide margin, with just a handful of elected officials in its state House and Senate caucuses and far fewer voters taking part in its statewide primary elections than the number who participate in the Democratic and Republican contests. Thomas said she is confident in the party’s organizational capacity around the state regardless of any turnover at the top, pointing to its “strong group of members who are deeply committed to the movement.”  The party will meet soon to choose an interim chair, she said, and then formally elect a new one at its state convention the week after the Nov. 3 election. Hunsinger will stay involved with the party, including as chair of its Addison County committee, Thomas said. Hunsinger did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning. This story will be updated. Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Progressive Party chair resigns after less than a year on the job. ...read more read less