Mount Vernon lawmaker mourned after his sudden death

AUGUSTA – The sudden death of the newest member of the Maine House of Representatives prompted expressions of shock and sadness Tuesday by legislative leaders.

Rep. Deane Jones, D-Mount Vernon, died unexpectedly Monday from complications during treatment for lung cancer, according to the office of House Speaker Glenn Cummings.

Jones, who was 69, had been elected in June in a special election to fill the House District 83 seat previously held by Rep. Abigail Holman, R-Fayette, who died in a skiing accident in April.

“Deane’s death is a devastating blow and a tremendous loss for his family and friends, for a community which has already been through so much, and for Maine,” Cummings said in a statement. “We send our hearts, our thoughts and our deepest sympathies to his wife, Pat, and to his two sons.”

Jones’ death puts the partisan composition of the House at 87 Democrats, 58 Republicans and two independents, with four vacancies.

Three other special elections are already on tap.

Republicans in House District 93 have nominated Katherine Harvey of Dixfield in hopes of retaining the seat left vacant by the resignation of Republican Randy Hotham, also of Dixfield. Democrats nominated Sheryl Briggs of Mexico for the seat.

House District 93 includes the towns of Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Mexico and Peru.

In House District 27, Republicans have nominated Peter Johnson of Greenville as their candidate for state representative to fill a vacancy left by the death of Rep. Earl Richardson, a Republican from Greenville. Democrats nominated a former legislator, Sharon Libby Jones of Greenville.

House District 27 includes the municipalities of Abbot, Barnard, Beaver Cove, Blanchard Township, Bowerbank, Brownville, Cambridge, Elliotsville Township, Greenville, Guilford, Kingsbury, Monson, Northeast Piscataquis, Northwest Piscataquis, Parkman, Plantation of Kingsbury, Sebec, Shirley and Willimantic.

Also newly vacant is the House District 72 seat after last month’s resignation of Rep. William Walcott, D-Lewiston. House District 72 includes part of Lewiston.

Special elections for the open House seats will be held on Nov. 6, the day voters go to the polls across the state to consider several ballot questions.

Jones was sworn in to represent House District 83, which includes the towns of Mount Vernon, Fayette, Belgrade, Manchester and Vienna, on June 13, just days before the conclusion of the Legislature’s 2007 regular session.

“This Legislature has witnessed so many sad losses, it is difficult to endure another,” said Cummings, D-Portland. “We are in many respects a family, and it is with a heavy sadness that we feel the weight of each of our missing friends and colleagues.”

According to Cummings’ office, Jones was a Waterville native who graduated from Waterville High School and the University of Maine in Orono with a bachelor’s degree in history and government.

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Jones had retired after a long career in the printing and graphic arts business and had served on the Mount Vernon Board of Selectmen.

“Deane brought energy, creativity and a positive outlook on the future to his work in the Legislature,” said House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven. “Our state has lost a loyal and dedicated advocate for Maine people, and he will be dearly missed.”