Margaret Craven | |
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Member of the Maine House of Representatives | |
Assumed office December 7, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Valli Geiger |
Constituency | 93rd district |
In office December 5,2018 –December 7,2022 | |
Preceded by | Roger Fuller |
Succeeded by | Raegan LaRochelle |
Constituency | 59th district |
In office December 4,2002 –December 3,2008 | |
Succeeded by | Margaret Rotundo |
Constituency | 59th district |
Member of the Maine Senate from the 16th district | |
In office December 3,2008 –December 3,2014 | |
Preceded by | Margaret Rotundo |
Succeeded by | Nate Libby |
Personal details | |
Born | 1944 (age 80–81) Galway,Ireland |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Jim Craven (died,2017) |
Profession | Community activist,politician |
Margaret Craven (born 1944) is an American politician from Maine. [1] Craven served as a Democratic State Senator from Maine's 16th District,representing Lewiston. She was first elected to office in 2002,when she won a seat in the Maine House of Representatives. She served in the House from 2002 to 2008,when she was elected to the Maine State Senate. She was re-elected in 2010 and 2012. [1] In February 2014,Craven announced her retirement from Maine politics following the 2014 election,citing the need to take care of her ailing husband. [2]
In 2018,after her husband's death,Craven announced her candidacy for the Maine House of Representatives in the 59th district. [3] She won the uncontested Democratic primary in June,and defeated her Republican opponent in the November general election.
Craven was born into an impoverished family of 11 in Galway,Ireland;her father worked odd jobs and her mother was a housewife. [4] Craven moved to Boston,Massachusetts in the 1961 at the age of 17 and worked as a housekeeper. She eventually returned to Ireland,only to move back to New England after feeling a sense of not belonging. She moved to Maine,earned a high school diploma,bachelor's and master's degrees and began work with the disabled and senior citizens. She was convinced to run in 2002 by the outgoing state representative. [4] [5] She has two children,Walter Matthew and TJ. [1]