Ex-U.S. official Dunfey announces Senate bid

YORK – Former regional Clinton administration official Bob Dunfey announced his candidacy Thursday for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Susan Collins.

Dunfey faces a primary against at least one other Democrat, Chellie Pingree, a former state Senate majority leader from North Haven.

Dunfey, of York, said he had planned a series of public announcements in Presque Isle, Portland and Bangor to announce his candidacy. But he canceled his plans after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying it was not the right time for partisan rallies.

“I feel that now more than ever it is time to listen,” Dunfey said in a prepared statement. “That is why I will continue my planned tour of every city and town in Maine listening to people’s concerns about security, the economy, and the future of our great state of Maine and this country.”

His campaign announcement speech did not get into specifics of Dunfey’s stand on the issues, and stuck to the theme of the terrorist attacks and their impact.

“Today, the partisan politics of division and discord are no more,” the prepared speech said. “It is the duty of every American to serve the nation at this historic time, and I believe that I can best serve Maine in the United States Senate.”

Dunfey is former regional administrator for the General Services Administration, which is responsible for all of the federal buildings in New England. He graduated from Cheverus High School in Portland and the University of New Hampshire. He held top management positions with Omni/Dunfey Hotels, a Hampton, N.H., company founded by his father and uncles.

Dunfey, a member of a politically prominent family in New Hampshire, is also an accomplished marathoner, having competed in 58 of the long races throughout the country in the last 11 years.