| Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
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since December 4, 2024 | |
| Formation | 1820 |
| First holder | Benjamin Ames |
| History of Maine |
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| Periods |
| Topics |
| Places |
 Maineportal |
The Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives is the speaker and presiding officer of the Maine House of Representatives, the lower house of the Maine Legislature.
The Maine State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The legislature convenes at the State House in Augusta, where it has met since 1832.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. The House of Representatives convenes at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, the state capital of Massachusetts.
The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via plurality voting. The nonvoting members represent three of Maine's Native American tribes, though two tribes have declined to send representatives. Each voting member of the House represents around 9,000 citizens of the state. Because it is a part-time position, members of the Maine House of Representatives usually have outside employment as well. Members are limited to four consecutive terms of two years each, but may run again after two years.
Hannah M. Pingree is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Maine and daughter of Maine politician Chellie Pingree. She served four terms in the State Legislature, including one as Speaker of the House, before being forced to leave office by state term limits. In the Legislature she represented 10 islands and coastal towns. She was the second woman to serve as Speaker of the House in Maine.
The Maine Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Maine.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Maine:
Elizabeth H. Mitchell is an American politician from Maine. Mitchell, a Democrat, represented Vassalboro, which is part of Kennebec County in the Maine Senate from 2004 to 2010. Mitchell was also the Democrats' 2010 candidate for the office of Governor of Maine. She finished in third place behind Republican Paul LePage and unenrolled attorney Eliot Cutler. She is the only woman in United States history to have been elected as both speaker of her state house of representatives and president of her state senate.
John L. Martin is an American politician of the Democratic Party. Martin has been in Maine politics since his first election to the Maine House of Representatives in 1964, and is sometimes called "The Earl of Eagle Lake" as a result. With his election in 2014, he is the longest serving legislator in Maine history.
Michael V. Saxl is American lawyer and former politician from Maine. Saxl, who lived in Portland's West End, was a member of the Maine House of Representatives from the 117th – 120th legislatures (1995–2002). He was Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 2001–02. He is a Democrat.
Mark W. Eves is an American politician and family counselor who served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives for the 146th district from 2008 to 2014. He was also a Democratic candidate in the 2018 Maine gubernatorial election.
John Coffin Talbot (1784–1860) was an American businessperson and politician from Maine. Talbot, a Democrat, served 6 one-year terms in the Maine Legislature, including two in the Maine House of Representatives and four in the Maine Senate. In his 4th and final Senate term, Talbot was elected Senate President.
George D. Varney Sr. was an American politician from Maine. Varney, a Republican, served in the Maine Legislature from 1930 to 1932 and again from 1936 to 1948. Varney served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1930 to 1932 and from 1936 to 1942. During his final term, Varney served as Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. He was elected to represent York County, Maine, including his residence in Kittery, Maine, in the Maine Senate from 1942 to 1948. He served as Senate President from 1945 to 1948.
Sara I. Gideon is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party from Freeport, she represented the 48th district in the Maine House of Representatives, which includes part of Freeport and Pownal in Cumberland County.
Ryan Michael Fecteau is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. A Democrat, Fecteau serves Maine House District 11, consisting of a portion of Biddeford. At the time of his election as Speaker of the House in December 2020, Fecteau was both the youngest active state Speaker in the United States and the first openly gay person to serve as Speaker of the Maine House.
Rachel Talbot Ross is an American politician and activist. A Democrat from Portland, Talbot has been the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives since December 2022. When she was first elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2016, Talbot Ross became the first Black woman to serve in the Maine Legislature. Talbot Ross represents District 40, consisting of the Parkside, Bayside, East Bayside, and Oakdale neighborhoods of Portland as well as the University of Southern Maine campus. She became Maine's first African-American House Speaker, and the highest-ranking African-American politician in Maine history, when she was elected speaker on December 7, 2022.
Willis Allen Trafton Jr. was an American politician and lawyer from Maine. A Republican from Auburn, Maine, Trafton served in the Maine House of Representatives and was its Speaker from 1955 to 1956. He was a lawyer, with degrees from Yale University and Harvard University (1947). He also was the Republican nominee for Governor of Maine in the 1956 Maine gubernatorial election.
William Sands Silsby Sr. was an American politician and lawyer from Maine. A Republican from Aurora, Maine, Silsby served in the Maine House of Representatives and was its Speaker from 1951 to 1952. His father, grandfather and great grandfather all also served in the House, representing Aurora.
Henry Lord was an American businessman and politician from Bangor, Maine. Lord served 4 terms in the Maine Legislature. In 1877 and 1878, he was elected to single-year terms to the Maine House of Representatives. In 1878, he was Speaker. In 1886, Bangor voters sent Lord back to Augusta to serve in the Maine Senate. He was re-elected two years later and chosen by his fellow Senators as Senate President. He also served on the Bangor City Council.
Morrill N. Drew was an American corporate lawyer, businessperson, and politician from Maine. A Republican from Portland, Drew served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives. In his second term, he was elected Speaker.
Oscar F. Fellows was an American attorney politician from Maine. A Republican from Bucksport, Fellows served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives. In his second term, he was elected Speaker.