BANGOR — The Maine Newspaper Group, an association of the seven daily newspapers in Maine, has appointed Lee C. Umphrey of Holden to the position of political advocate and consultant.

The group includes the Kennebec Journal, the Waterville Morning Sentinel, the Portland Press Herald, the Lewiston Sun Journal, the Times Record in Brunswick, the Biddeford Journal-Tribune and the Bangor Daily News.

As consultant to the group, Umphrey will work with political candidates, organizations and advocacy groups to help them improve their communications with their constituents through the use of newspaper advertising.

“Maine newspapers reach nearly two-thirds of Maine residents and our research indicates that the vast majority of these readers are the folks that go to the polls and vote,” said Kurt Vantosky, advertising director for Central Maine Newspapers and spokesperson for the group.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Iowa Wesleyan College, Umphrey worked at the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service as a research assistant.

From 1982 to 1988, Umphrey worked as office manager and legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, his home state.

In 1988, he moved to Bucksport and a new job as the director of community and government relations for the Training and Development Corp. He worked on the Loring Air Force Base Job Corps facility and managed the summer youth program, a federally funded employment and education program for youths ages 14 to 21. He also worked with TDC’s career advancement center project in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Umphrey, who has not worked on a newspaper before, will have three desks, one at the Bangor Daily News, one at the Portland Press Herald and one at the Kennebec Journal.