Legislature leadership posts hotly contested

AUGUSTA – Returning Republican leaders from the House and Senate are preparing for challenges next week when GOP lawmakers convene for organizational meetings.

Meanwhile, House Democrats will meet today at the State House to choose a presiding officer, majority leader and assistant majority leader.

Rep. Ben Dudley of Portland is challenging House Majority Leader John Richardson of Brunswick for the position of House speaker. Reps. Patricia Blanchette of Bangor and Glenn Cummings of Portland are competing for Richardson’s job, and Assistant Majority Leader Robert Duplessie of Westbrook is fighting a bid on his post by Rep. Nancy Smith of Monmouth.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. H. Sawin Millet of Waterford is challenging Rep. David Bowles of Sanford for House Republican leader. Bowles, who held the assistant leader job under retiring Rep. Joe Bruno of Raymond, said Tuesday’s meeting of Republicans will be largely closed to the public.

Pending recounts, Republicans tentatively hold 71 seats in the House to the Democrats’ 76. The new House also has one Green Independent Party member and one unenrolled member. Two seats are too close to call and will be determined by recounts.

“Any time you’ve got a group of 70-plus individuals, all of whom have ideas and who are endowed with a fair amount of initiative and intelligence, you’re going to have people who feel they have ideas that can only be brought forward by their own leadership,” Bowles said.

Millet, a high-profile figure in the administrations of former Gov. John R. McKernan and Angus S. King, serves on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. He describes himself as a fiscal conservative and moderate on many social issues.

“I’m not running against someone, but I am running for some of the things that reflect my qualifications, my philosophy, strategy and style,” Millet said. “I’m doing this independent of any attitudes or positions of my ultimate competitor.”

Rep. Henry Joy, R-Island Falls, said GOP members are likely to weigh who has the most experience in dealing with a State House bureaucracy, which occasionally rolled over minority Republicans during the last session.

“Bureaucracy is the problem in Augusta, but we have two good candidates,” he said. “David has leadership experience as the former assistant floor leader, and Sawin certainly understands government.”

Reps. Darlene Curley of Scarborough and Joshua Tardy of Newport are opposing each other for assistant GOP floor leader.

Buoyed by support from his fellow seatmates, Senate GOP Leader Paul Davis of Sangerville is making a bid to retain his minority leader’s spot against a challenge by Sen. Karl Turner of Cumberland.

Democrats outnumber Republicans 18-17 in the new 122nd Legislature, and Davis said last week that he doubted he would seek another term in the leadership role.

One of Davis’ aides said Tuesday a surge of support from his fellow GOP lawmakers convinced Davis to run again during his fourth and final term in the Senate. The decision prompted Sen. Richard Nass of Acton to withdraw his bid for the leadership spot.

Sen. Chandler Woodcock of Farmington will not seek a second term as assistant Senate minority leader and Sen. Carol Weston of Montville would like the job. She may face a challenge from Sen. Kevin Raye of Perry, who has been signaling some interest in the position.

The Monday morning meeting of Senate Republicans will take place off State House grounds and will be closed to the public.

Senate Democrats will meet Tuesday in Waterville in a closed meeting to elect a Senate president, majority leader and assistant majority leader.

Sens. Lynn Bromley of South Portland; Beth Edmonds of Freeport and John L. Martin of Eagle Lake have all expressed interest in the presiding officer’s job.

Should discussions become overly complex and lead to stalemates, Sen. Kenneth Gagnon of Waterville has said he would consider leading Senate Democrats, but he has also indicated he would be happy to remain in his role as assistant majority leader.

A number of senators have been mentioned as attractive candidates for the two leadership posts besides Gagnon, including: newly elected Sen. Bill Diamond of Windham, a former state treasurer; newly elected Sen. Elizabeth Mitchell of Vassalboro, a former speaker of the House; Sen. Michael Brennan of Portland; and newly elected Sen. Barry Hobbins, of Saco, who has served a total of 20 years in the Maine House and Senate; and newly elected Sen. John Nutting of Leeds.