BRATTLEBORO -- Officials within Gov. James Douglas' office say they will appoint a replacement for South Londonderry Rep. Rick Hube as soon as possible, but do not expect to fill the position before the start of the legislative session.

Hube, one of only two Republicans representing Windham County, died suddenly in Florida on Dec. 21, leaving his seat in the House open for the first time in a decade.

According to Douglas spokeswoman Dennise Casey, the Republican committees in Londonderry, Jamaica, Weston, Winhall and Stratton will caucus Sunday to nominate several potential replacements for Hube. The roughly 47 members of the district's GOP groups will meet at the South Londonderry Town Hall at 11 a.m. to nominate no more than three candidates.

Weston GOP Chairman Thad Buckley said he has not heard of any candidates stepping forward at this point, but it is likely several district Republicans are interested in the position. He said the caucus will provide Douglas with a brief biography (if available) of each candidate and how many total votes they received.

The appointment process calls for the governor to meet "with one or more of the individuals on the list and possibly others ... and then he makes a decision when he's ready," said Casey.

"We're going to try to do this as quickly as possible, but since we won't get the names until next week, we will not have a replacement in place for the beginning of the legislative session," she said. "But we will do

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our best to have that replacement in place as soon as possible." Oliver Olsen, chairman of the Jamaica Select Board and longtime friend of Hube, said his name is definitively in the mix to represent the district. In the past few years, Olsen worked closely with Hube on a variety of issues. Olsen said he keeps himself up-to-date with the daily happenings in Montpelier during the session.

"I've had a lot of people throughout the district encourage me to throw my hat in the ring," he said. While taking on the role of a state representative "does require some thought and some rearranging of life," Olsen said he his discussed the opportunity with his family and employer about joining the House.

During the current recess period for the Legislature, Douglas has been faced with appointing four replacements to the General Assembly. State Sen. Hull Maynard, R-Rutland, recently stepped down from his seat, and the county's GOP nominated Rep. Peg Flory, R-Pittsford, to take over his chamber seat.

Douglas agreed with the nomination and appointed Flory in early December. On Thursday, the governor appointed Pittsford Assistant Fire Chief Butch Shaw to the House to replace Flory.

"It's a great honor to represent the hardworking people of Pittsford and Sudbury in Montpelier," said Shaw. "As a volunteer firefighter, it's my instinct to run toward a problem and that's what I intend to do in the Legislature."

Along with Hube's vacant seat, the governor also has to appoint a new representative to the Grand Isle/Chittenden 1-1 District, after Milton Democrat Ira Trombley, 57, died Dec. 20 of natural causes. Hube, 62, represented the Windham-Bennington-Windsor 1 District for 10 years. He died of an aortic aneurysm while visiting relatives in Florida.