Martin Grohman, a two-term Democratic state representative from Biddeford, announced Friday that he has unenrolled from the Democratic Party.

“Maine is an independent state and we’re independent thinkers. We don’t like being told what to do or how to do it,” Grohman said in a statement. “Unfortunately, in the Maine Legislature special interest groups use party affiliation to push positions that are not in the best interest of Maine. The parties sway votes by encouraging lawmakers to vote their party line, and delay action on vital issues. This type of partisan decision-making is a truly ineffective means of making laws and building consensus for the betterment of Maine and our country.”

Grohman, a member of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, joins four other representatives as an independent, although Democrats still hold a slight majority in 151-member Maine House.

Grohman is an engineer and entrepreneur who founded CorrectDeck, a composite decking manufacturing company.

He is the third sitting Democratic House member to unenroll from the party this year.

In May, Rep. Denise Harlow of Portland and Rep. Ralph Chapman of Brooksville dropped their party affiliations, in part because of their opposition to a bill to overhaul Maine’s metallic mining regulations that was supported by most Democrats.

This story will be updated

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