Longtime Gorham Town Councilor Burleigh Loveitt said this week he’s considering a run next fall against Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Gorham, for a seat in the Maine Senate.
But Loveitt, a veterinarian who owns Edgewood Animal Hospital, emphasized that his first responsibility was to his patients, clients and family. He said a candidacy for the senate would happen only if he could be faithful to them.
“If I could find a way, I’d do it in a minute,” Loveitt said. “I don’t see an easy way right now.”
Bartlett, also of Gorham, was elected to a two-year term to Senate District 6 last year. Bartlett represents Gorham, part of Scarborough and part of Westbrook.
“I have a great deal of respect for Burleigh,” Bartlett said. “He would be a very worthy opponent.”
Loveitt said he had been asked by the state Republican leadership to consider a run. “At this time, I would not be in a position to announce a candidacy,” Loveitt said.
He said his consideration of a run for state office follows 30 years of political work in Gorham. He said Maine needed to be more business friendly and have a more conservative financial policy. “Statewide, our business climate needs attention,” Loveitt said.
Bartlett said he looks forward to an interesting discussion of issues in the upcoming campaign. “We’ve been working hard on the state level to improve the business climate and making significant progress in that regard,” Bartlett said. “It’s an important issue that all legislative candidates should be addressing.”
Making his initial bid for public office in 2004, Bartlett, an attorney, defeated Republican incumbent Carolyn Gilman of Westbrook for a senate seat. Bartlett serves as chairman of the Utilities and Energy Committee and is a member of the joint labor committee and a joint select committee on rules.
Loveitt has agreed to help Sen. Peter Mills in his gubernatorial bid. Loveitt ran unopposed last year for his council seat.
He has served several terms as chairman of the Gorham Town Council. But Loveitt didn’t seek re-election as council chairman last month.
As a member of a bypass committee, Loveitt worked to solve Gorham’s traffic problems. He traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Maine’s congressional delegation, seeking money for a Gorham bypass. Congress wrapped the money for a Gorham bypass into a federal transportation bill that was approved this year.
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