Attendance key as parties choose officers

AUGUSTA – The fate of four Democratic candidates for high-profile state offices will pivot on the ability of the party’s House and Senate leaders to get their legislators to work on time today.

Because of term limits, the current secretary of state, state auditor and treasurer were barred from seeking re-election to their two-year terms. Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe, a Portland Democrat, is attempting to win a third term for his constitutional office.

When lawmakers convene today for their first official meeting, they will choose between a slate of Republican and Democratic candidates for the constitutional officer jobs. The positions often are perceived as political plums because the winners are selected by a majority of the entire Legislature, which usually means the majority party. The House and the Senate will meet in a joint convention for the elections this morning, where Democrats will outnumber Republicans 94-90, provided all lawmakers show up.

“So as you drive to work, you might say a little prayer and pray that five Democrats don’t show up,” joked Senate Republican leader Paul Davis of Sangerville, to GOP senators on Tuesday.

For the first time in 10 years, northern Maine could be home to a constitutional officer with former state Rep. Matt Dunlap, D-Old Town. Dunlap is seeking the secretary of state’s post, which oversees elections, corporations, the state archives and the state Department of Motor Vehicles. He will be opposed by former U.S. Rep. David Emery, a Republican from Tenants Harbor.

“What I want to do as secretary of state is to have you [as legislators] have a great relationship with your constituents,” Dunlap said. “I want things to go smoothly for them so that when they see you at basketball games, they’ll look at you across the court and say, ‘You know something, they do a pretty good job.’ That’s the best I can do for you so that you don’t have people complaining to you.”

Emery said since the House and Senate are closely divided, he has been emphasizing the need for bipartisanship, which he said would be a hallmark of his administration.

“There’s nothing partisan about highway safety or maintaining the state archives,” he said. “What is important is electing someone to this office who has extensive management experience. When I was in Washington, I ran the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. I had a budget 10 times the Secretary of State’s Office, and it was a training ground to operate an office like that.”

In other office contests, former state Sen. Neria Douglass, D-Auburn, won the Democrats’ endorsement as their candidate for state auditor. Douglass, who lost her re-election bid last month, defeated Carol Lehto, a certified public accountant now working in the state agency who also sought the Democrats’ nomination. Republicans chose deputy state auditor Richard Foote, an independent from Cumberland, as their nominee for auditor.

Former state Rep. David Lemoine, D-Old Orchard Beach, was selected as his party’s candidate for state treasurer. He will be opposed by former state Sen. Norman Ferguson, R-Hanover.

Rowe, who, like Lemoine and Dunlap, was unopposed by any other Democrat in his bid for a constitutional office, will face off against former assistant House Republican leader William Schneider of Durham for attorney general.