MADAWASKA — Rep. Douglas Ahearne, D-Madawaska, has been appointed chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government.

Ahearne, a third-term member of the Maine House of Representatives, represents Frenchville, Madawaska, Perham, St. Agatha, Westmanland and the unorganized territory of Square Lake.

The committee oversees issues concerning Maine’s 400 communities and 16 counties.