Legislators rounded out their picks for leadership Monday when House Republicans chose Rep. Josh Tardy of Newport for minority leader and Rep. Robert Crosthwaite of Ellsworth as his assistant to get them through the next two years, when they will be heavily outnumbered by Democrats.
As the count now stands, there are 89 Democrats and 60 Republicans in the House, along with two independents. Recounts of the very closest 13 races have been going on for the past week and will continue after the Thanksgiving break, but the numbers aren’t changing much, if at all.
The outcome of one race, where Republican incumbent Rep. Gary Moore of Standish lost by 13 votes, could be reversed, with a recount Monday showing Moore now up by 6. But the race has yet to be declared and the recount deliberations will resume next week.
Still, the newly elected House leaders were upbeat on Monday.
“We’re sending a message that Republicans are still here,” said Crosthwaite after the leadership vote. “We have our plan and our agenda. We want to move forward.”
Crosthwaite defeated Rep. John Robinson of Raymond for the No. 2 spot. Tardy, who had served as assistant minority leader in the last Legislature, had no challengers. He said morale was good among his caucus despite the pounding House Republicans took in the Nov. 7 election.
“People are certainly disappointed that our numbers are down,” he said, referring to last session when there was only a one-vote difference between Democrats and Republicans. “They’re proud they won their respective elections.”
Senate Democrats
In the Senate, where Democrats lead by a single vote, Senate President Beth Edmonds was reconfirmed by her party on Sunday.
“I am gratified by the support of my caucus for my chance to continue as Senate president,” Edmonds said.
Sen. Libby Mitchell of Kennebec County was elected majority leader, defeating Sen. Dennis Damon of Hancock County. Sen. John Martin of Aroostook County, who was first elected to the Legislature in 1964 and served an unprecedented 10 terms as House speaker, unexpectedly was elected as assistant minority leader or Senate whip.
The only person officially running for the No. 3 spot was Sen. Philip Bartlett of Gorham in Cumberland County, who bowed out when Martin was nominated. Damon’s name had been floated as a possibility if he lost the majority leader’s race, but he said he didn’t want it.
“The skills I have lend themselves rather nicely to the position of majority leader, but don’t lend themselves to the whip position,” Damon said. “I would have felt better if I’d won, but I didn’t,” he said. “She got more votes than I did.”
Bartlett said he didn’t feel badly about losing the whip post to Martin.
“I think it’s a great leadership team with a tremendous amount of experience. There’s a difficult agenda in front of us. This team will be very well positioned to move us forward,” he said.
While Martin trumps the team in experience with 40 years in the Legislature, Mitchell has served for 20 years, including a stint as House speaker. Edmonds has spent six years in the Senate, the last two as president.
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Pingree in leadership
Rep. Glenn Cummings of Portland was elected unanimously to serve as the next speaker of the House by Democrats last Wednesday after two contenders – Rep. Thomas Watson of Bath and Rep. Leila Percy of Phippsburg – bowed out of the contest knowing they didn’t have the votes.
Rep. Hannah Pingree of North Haven was elected majority leader – the position Cummings held in the last session – and Rep. Sean Faircloth of Bangor was elected assistant majority leader, also known as the House whip, who counts heads on important votes.
Pingree, who won her majority leader’s seat against Rep. John Tuttle of Sanford, said Democrats have to be the party of optimism rather than negativity.
“Our 89-seat majority gives us incredible opportunity as a caucus,” she said, and needs to win on the big issues like tax reform, health care and the budget.
The daughter of another well-known Maine politician – Chellie Pingree, who served as majority leader in the Senate – Hannah Pingree was described as having the advantages of a good education and political connections without becoming arrogant.
“Hannah has never depended on those sorts of things. She is her own person,” said Rep. Jeremy Fischer of Presque Isle, who nominated her for leadership.
In her first term, Pingree served on the powerful Appropriations Committee and last session was chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee.
Tuttle, who said he was “just a kid from Sanford” who had come a long way to be standing at the podium in the House chamber and running for leadership, said both he and Pingree would do the job well.
“Both of us come from the same school of putting people first,” he said.
The only drawn out contest of the day was a three-way-race for the assistant majority leader’s post. Rep. Nancy Smith of Monmouth, Faircloth and Rep. Herb Clark of Millinocket were all nominated and Faircloth won on the second ballot.
Senate Republicans started the leadership caucuses last Tuesday, electing Sen. Carol Weston of Waldo County as minority leader and Sen. Richard Rosen of Hancock and Penobscot counties as assistant.
The full Legislature will meet Dec. 6, when members will be sworn in and confirm joint leadership positions like Senate president and House speaker, which Democrats control by virtue of their majority.
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