Politicians Begin Jockeying To Vie For Allen’s Seat

May 9th, 2007 Posted in In The News

From the Portland Press Herald, May 9, 2007:

Brennan, a former Senate majority leader in the Legislature who now works at the Muskie School of Public Service and teaches at the University of New England, said he supports an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, universal health care, improved access to higher education and a stronger U.S. role in the fight against global warming.

Politicians Begin Jockeying To Vie For Allen’s Seat
By PAUL CARRIER
Staff Writer
Portland Press Herald
May 9, 2007

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen’s decision to run for the U.S. Senate in 2008 raised the prospect of a political free-for-all Tuesday as politicians in both major parties began positioning themselves to run for the 1st District seat, even though the party primaries are still more than a year away.

Allen’s announcement prompted feverish but early speculation about who is likely to seek the Democratic and Republican nominations. The preliminary list of real or possible contenders includes 11 people in both major parties, but only three have confirmed that they will run: Democrats Michael Brennan of Portland, Mark Lawrence of South Berwick and Chellie Pingree of North Haven.

The prospect of a large field is not surprising because that typically happens when a member of Congress bows out to seek higher office. It is very difficult to beat an incumbent, making open seats attractive to ambitious politicians, said Marvin Druker, a political scientist at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College.

For example, four Democrats and four Republicans vied for their party’s 1st District nominations in June 1994 after then-U.S. Rep. Tom Andrews, a Democrat, made a failed U.S. Senate bid instead of seeking re-election to the House. Republican James Longley beat Democrat Dennis Dutremble in the House race that November, but Longley lost out to Allen two years later when Allen won the first of six consecutive House terms.

In addition to Brennan, Lawrence and Pingree — all of whom said Tuesday they are running for the Democratic nomination — three other Democrats said they are thinking about doing so. They are: attorney and Iraq war veteran Adam Cote of Portland; former Portland mayor and current City Councilor Jill Duson, who is also an official at the state Department of Labor; and state Sen. Ethan Strimling of Portland.

Cote and Duson said they have formed exploratory committees, while Strimling declined to discuss his plans. “No final decision has been made,” Strimling said in a prepared statement.

Four Republicans are known to be considering a run, but a fifth politician who has been mentioned as a possible candidate could not be reached for comment. There are no confirmed GOP candidates yet.

“I’m definitely interested,” said Steve Abbott of Portland, Sen. Susan Collins’ chief of staff for the last 10 years. Others who expressed interest in seeking the GOP nomination, but did not commit themselves, included state Sen. Jonathan Courtney of Springvale; business executive Dean Scontras of Eliot; and Charles Summers of Scarborough, a failed congressional candidate in 2004 who now serves as regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Summers could not be reached Tuesday, but his wife, Ruth Summers, said there is “a pretty good possibility” that he will run. That would create an unusual situation because Summers, a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve, is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq on July 6 for up to a year, his wife said.

Another Republican who has been mentioned as a possible candidate is former state Rep. Darlene Curley of Scarborough who, like Summers, has waged a failed bid to unseat Allen. She could not be reached Tuesday.

Two Republicans who put rumors of their candidacies to rest Tuesday by saying they will not run are 2002 GOP gubernatorial nominee Peter Cianchette of South Portland and Joseph Bruno of Raymond, the former state party chairman and onetime House minority leader in the Legislature.

As the only announced candidates in the race, Brennan, Lawrence and Pingree outlined their priorities Tuesday.

Brennan, a former Senate majority leader in the Legislature who now works at the Muskie School of Public Service and teaches at the University of New England, said he supports an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, universal health care, improved access to higher education and a stronger U.S. role in the fight against global warming.

Lawrence, a former state Senate president and unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate in 2000 who now serves as the district attorney in York County, called for an immediate U.S. pullout from Iraq, universal health care and the repeal of federal tax cuts that have benefited “the wealthiest individuals and offshore corporations” without helping the middle class.

Pingree, a former state legislator who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and later served as president of Common Cause, said the United States must “plan for an end date for the war” in Iraq. She said the war, health care, energy and the economy will be focal points of her campaign.

Staff Writer Paul Carrier can be contacted at 622-7511 or at:

pcarrier@pressherald.com