YARMOUTH — There will be June 10 legislative primaries on both sides of the aisle in state Senate District 25.

And in Falmouth, meanwhile, a three-term Democratic state representative has decided not to seek re-election in the House.

Democrats Cathy Breen and Steve Woods, and Republicans Bill Gardiner and David Savage will seek their respective party nods to succeed Sen. Dick Woodbury, U-Yarmouth, who announced in January that he would not seek a third term.

The deadline for candidates to file was Monday. District boundaries and designations were shuffled as part of statewide redistricting approved by the Legislature in 2013.

The new Senate District 25 now includes Chebeague Island, Cumberland, Falmouth, Gray, Long Island, Yarmouth and part of Westbrook.

Breen, of Falmouth Ridges Drive, Falmouth, is a former two-time chairwoman of Falmouth’s Town Council. She serves on the board of of Spurwink Services, a statewide organization that serves children and adults with behavioral and mental health needs and developmental disabilities. She served as Falmouth’s representative on the Greater Portland Council of Governments for six years.

Advertisement

Woods, of Glen Road, Yarmouth, has been the chairman of Yarmouth’s Town Council for the past three years. He ran for U.S. Senate in 2012 and governor in 2013. He is the chief executive officer of TideSmart Global, a marketing company based in Falmouth, and is part owner of the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League.

Gardiner, of Tidewater Lane, Yarmouth, represents Cumberland County on the Maine Republican Party’s state committee. In a 2012 letter to The Forecaster, he called Woodbury a “cry-baby” for his objections to the state’s clean elections law.

Savage, of Winslow Road, Falmouth, previously served as a state representative in House District 112 from 2006 to 2008.

Meanwhile, first-term state Rep. Janice Cooper, D-Yarmouth, and Republican challenger Richard Snow, of Yarmouth, will run unopposed in June for their parties’ nominations. They will face one another in a November election in House District 47 (formerly District 107), which includes Chebeague Island, Long Island and Yarmouth.

Falmouth

Democratic Rep. Mary Nelson is not seeking re-election to a fourth term representing House District 44. Instead, Nelson has endorsed Democratic hopeful Teresa Pierce, who announced her candidacy in a press release Tuesday.

Pierce, of Waites Landing Road, is in her sixth year on the Falmouth Town Council, where she serves as chairwoman. Republican Gregory Payeur, of Falmouth Road, is seeking his party’s nod for the same seat.

Advertisement

Democratic Rep. Mark Dion of Portland, now serving in House District 113, seeks re-election in House District 43, which also includes a portion of Falmouth. Dion is joined on the ballot by Republican Shannon Rafferty-Roy, also of Portland.

Cumberland

With two people running for the Republican nomination in new state House District 45, a primary election for that party will be held in June.

Democrat Dale Denno, and Republicans Joseph Kumiszcza and Michael Timmons, all of Cumberland, are running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Steve Moriarty, D-Cumberland. Moriarty represents District 108, which also includes a portion of North Yarmouth, as well as Chebeague Island and Long Island.

Because of redistricting, voters in Cumberland and a southern part of Gray will elect Moriarty’s successor in what will be House District 45.

Denno, of Main Street, recently retired from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, where he headed the Office for Family Independence. He served on the School Administrative District 51 Board of Directors from 1991-1997, and was chairman in 1995-1996.

Kumiszcza, of Middle Street, ran against Moriarty in House District 108 two years ago. He has served as president of Online Associate, a marketing firm he founded in 2008. He has also been executive director of TechMaine, an online community for Maine’s technology sectors.

Advertisement

Timmons, of Bruce Hill Road, lives at the Cumberland Fairgrounds, where he has been president for six years. He spent 44 years as a school administrator and teacher, and retired two years ago. He also served six years on the Windham Town Council, and was its chairman for one year.

North Yarmouth

In seeking a third term in the House, State Rep. Anne Graham, D-North Yarmouth, is joined on the ballot by Republican Michael Vaughan of Durham.

Graham, who was first elected in 2010 to represent House District 109, is now running in new House District 46, which includes North Yarmouth and Durham, and half of Pownal. District 109 included parts of North Yarmouth, Gray and Pownal.

Graham, of Farms Edge Road, is the House chairwoman of the State and Local Government committee.

Vaughan, of Emerson Road, served three terms (2002-2008) in House District 105, which covered Durham, part of Lisbon and New Gloucester, and has worked in property management.

Freeport

In Senate District 24 incumbent Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, is joined on the ballot by Green Independent candidate Fred Horch, who founded the now-defunct F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies in Brunswick, and Republican candidate Jennifer Johnson, co-owner of Johnson’s Sporting Goods in Brunswick.

Advertisement

District 24 (formerly District 10) includes Freeport, North Yarmouth, Brunswick, Harpswell, and Pownal.

Gerzofsky is in his third term in the Senate, after reaching his four-term limit as a state representative.

Horch previously ran against state Rep. Matthea Daughtry, D-Brunswick, in 2012, and against former state Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx, D-Brunswick, in 2010, in unsuccessful bids for the former House District 66 in Brunswick.

First-term state Rep. Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, and Republican candidate Paul Schulz, of Pownal, will run unopposed in June for their parties’ nominations. They will likely square off in a November election in House District 48 (formerly District 106), which includes Freeport and part of Pownal.

Cumberland County

Incumbent Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce of Standish is opposed in the Democratic primary by former Maine State Police Sgt. Michael Edes, of Cumberland.

District Attorney Stephanie Anderson, a Cape Elizabeth Republican, is the only candidate for her office, as is incumbent Judge of Probate Joseph Mazziotti of Falmouth, a Democrat.

Alex Lear, Dylan Martin, Ben McCanna and David Harry contributed to this report. Brendan Twist can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or btwist@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @brendantwist.

Copy the Story Link

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: