Sen. Longley mulls run in 2nd District

BANGOR – Maine Sen. Susan Longley, D-Liberty, today will announce the formation of a committee exploring a possible candidacy for her party’s nomination to the 2nd District congressional seat.

Longley, a four-term lawmaker from Waldo County, joins a host of potential candidates looking to fill the seat soon to be vacated by U.S. Rep. John Baldacci, a Bangor Democrat who is running for governor.

The 45-year-old daughter of the state’s first independent governor and sister of a former Republican congressman, Longley on Thursday said representing Maine’s sprawling 2nd District must focus on increasing employment opportunities.

“I don’t think a campaign for the 2nd District can be about anything but jobs,” Longley, 45, said in a Thursday afternoon meeting with the Bangor Daily News editorial board. “We have the strong families. We have the work ethic. We have to open the educational opportunities for students who want to be employed.”

For Longley, that translates into expanding Maine’s brimming technical colleges, which she said are capable of placing skilled workers in high-paying jobs.

Longley, who chairs the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, also cited increasing access to health care and tightening environmental regulations among her top priorities should she be sent to Washington.

“Especially with the current administration, in terms of environmental issues, we have an obligation to follow in the footsteps of [Edmund] Muskie and [George] Mitchell,” Longley said, citing Maine’s two former senators known for their efforts to protect the environment.

In the Maine Senate, Longley counted among her achievements her role in creating the 1998 Cub Care legislation that expanded health care for children and working parents. She also cited her sponsorship of the Start ME Right initiatives designed to make child care more affordable and available.

Longley’s relatively high profile could serve her well in a crowded race for the Democratic nomination, pundits say.

“When there’s so many people, it gives an advantage to a candidate with a decent amount of name recognition,” said Amy Fried, a campaign expert and assistant professor of political science at the University of Maine. “In that kind of race it’s more difficult for a dark horse to win.”

In the race to raise funds from party faithful – and perhaps secure Baldacci’s endorsement – several Democrats have already announced, or at least considered, a run.

Thus far, Sen. John Nutting of Leeds is the only Democratic candidate to make his official announcement.

Former state Sen. Sean Faircloth, who recently resigned his post as director of Bangor’s Maine Discovery Museum, has formed his own exploratory committee for a possible bid for the 2nd District seat. He is expected to announce his intentions in a few weeks.

Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky, Maine Senate President Michael Michaud of Millinocket and Lewiston Mayor Kaileigh Tara, have also been mentioned as possible Democratic contenders, as have former state legislator Patrick McGowan of Canaan, state Sen. Mary Cathcart of Orono and state Rep. Paul Tessier of Fairfield.

On the Republican side, Maine Senate President Pro Tempore Richard Bennett, a longtime lawmaker from Norway; former Bangor Mayor Timothy Woodcock; state Rep. Stavros Mendros of Lewiston and Kevin Raye, a longtime aide to U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, have all looked at a run for the open seat.

Whoever wins their party’s nomination is likely to attract significant campaign backing from their party’s national organizations, looking to tip the scales by claiming an open seat in a narrowly divided House of Representatives, Fried said.