BANGOR – Former Bangor Mayor and federal prosecutor Timothy Woodcock formally launched his campaign Saturday, adding his name to the large field of hopefuls for the 2nd Congressional District seat from Maine.

Woodcock began his campaign with some high-profile support. Former Secretary of Defense and former U.S. Sen. William Cohen has agreed to serve as honorary chairman of the Woodcock for Congress campaign, headed by James Dowe, president of Bangor Savings Bank.

In the company of 200 to 250 family members and friends, many of whom wore green Woodcock for Congress T-shirts, Woodcock spoke of his desire to work to improve the quality of life for the families of the 2nd District.

As Woodcock sees it, the troubled 2nd District stands at the crossroads, he said during a launch event at a friend’s home overlooking Fairmount Park and within view of his first childhood home.

Many of the district’s traditional industries are in decline, Woodcock said. The district’s educated young people are leaving the area – and their families – in search of work.

The district, both diverse and the largest geographically east of the Mississippi River, was left out of the economic boom enjoyed by most of the rest of the country in the late 1990s, which, Woodcock observed, “shows all too clearly that the citizens of the 2nd District are working harder and longer for less.”

“We stand at the crossroads but we can take control of our destiny,” Woodcock said.

To that end, Woodcock said he wanted to go to Washington to build support for the region’s transportation network, the east-west highway, and extension of the federal highway system north of Houlton.

“Good education and good jobs go hand in hand,” Woodcock added. If elected, he said, he would work to ensure the federal government fully funds its share of the cost for complying with special education mandates and bring home the district’s fair share of education funding.

He also called for increased federal support for Maine’s international border crossings.

With his wife, Carol, and three children by his side, Woodcock began his campaign with moments of silence for those affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the loss last week of former University of Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh, who died from complications of kidney cancer.

The 2nd District seat, which will be filled in November 2002, became available when Democratic U.S. Rep. John Baldacci of Bangor announced he would run for governor instead of seeking re-election

Woodcock, 49, is a former member of Cohen’s staff. He first worked for Cohen in the 1978 Senate campaign and later served as a senior aide in Cohen’s Washington office and as staff director of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and special counsel to the Senate Iran-Contra Committee.

“It’s great for me to be here to talk on behalf of a man I really and truly admire,” Cohen said.

With the United States dealing with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the 2nd District facing serious challenges of its own, Cohen said this is a time when the nation – and Maine – needs a strong leader.

“Tim Woodcock is that person,” Cohen said. “He is going to be a tremendous addition to the team.

“You’ve got the support of the people of this state,” Cohen told his longtime associate.

With Cohen agreeing to serve as honorary chairman of Woodcock’s campaign – a strong statement, say pundits – the endorsement could give Woodcock’s campaign a substantial boost in a crowded field of candidates as he vies against party mates for the GOP nomination. Several Democrats also have tossed their hats into the ring.

University of Maine political science professor Amy Fried said Cohen’s arrival on the Woodcock campaign could prove a major boost for the former Bangor mayor, whose name is not likely to be widely known in the western part of the sprawling district.

“A lot of research suggests people think of politics through associations,” Fried said. “If they know who someone is – and Cohen is very well-respected – that can do a lot to raise someone’s profile.”

Although New England – and Maine, in particular – is known as a moderate Republican enclave, Cohen’s presence could have one unintended consequence: alienating the conservative wing of the party and shifting some support to a candidate a bit further to the right.

“It’s not enough,” Fried said of a high-profile endorsement. “But it certainly does make someone stick out.”

Among those already announced or who still are considered interested in seeking the Republican nomination are Mary Adams of Garland, newsletter publisher, conservative activist and 1994 gubernatorial candidate; Dick Campbell of Holden, former House assistant minority leader and 2000 party candidate for the seat; Stavros Mendros of Lewiston, state representative and computer consultant; and Kevin Raye of Brewer, former congressional aide to U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.

Democratic candidates include Mary Cathcart of Orono, state senator and 1994 candidate for the seat; Sean Faircloth of Bangor, former state senator and 1996 U.S. Senate candidate; Dan Gwadosky of Fairfield, secretary of state and former House speaker; Susan Longley of Liberty, state senator, attorney and former teacher; Pat McGowan of Canaan, former state representative and regional administrator of the Small Business Administration, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 1990 and 1992; Michael Michaud of East Millinocket, state Senate president; John Nutting of Leeds, state senator and dairy farmer; Kaleigh Tara, Lewiston mayor; and Paul Tessier of Fairfield, state representative and state Democratic vice chairman.

At least one prospective candidate, acknowledged Republican front-runner and Senate president pro tem Rick Bennett of Norway, has dropped out.

Asked how that affected the tenor of the race, Woodcock said, “He would have been a formidable challenger for any of us. For me, it has certainly opened things up.”

Woodcock’s launch event in Bangor was one of three Saturday. His first stop was in Presque Isle and the last was in Lewiston.

The Bangor kickoff, at 11 Graham Ave. North, was held at the home of three generations of Ken and Debbie Rozeboom’s family, who Woodcock said typify the district’s strong bonds of family.