Governor John Baldacci of Maine was born in Bangor, Maine on January 30, 1955. Baldacci was first elected to public office in 1978, when he became a member of the Bangor City Council. In 1982 he was elected to the Maine Senate and in 1994, Baldacci went to Washington to represent Maine's second district in the House of Representatives.
During his terms in Washington, Baldacci supported the rights of women, gays, and other individuals and groups whose civil rights have long been threatened. As with most politicians who lean toward the liberal ideology, Baldacci supported abortion rights, the rights of gays to adopt, the funding of Family Planning as a component of US aid abroad, and in 2001was in favor of a moratorium on the execution of death penalties until more DNA testing could be done. In addition, Baldacci supported economic development, increased funding for research and development, and improvements to education.
While in Congress, Baldacci maintained contact with his constituents by coming home to Maine each weekend. As a result, Baldacci had a reputation as a politician who stayed in touch with the people. When home in Bangor, he would often be seen at his family's restaurant, Momma Baldacci's.
Since becoming Governor of Maine in 2002, Baldacci has faced a wide spectrum of issues-from health care reform to Maine's bear baiting referendum to citizen supported referendum's on property tax relief. Baldacci has taken public positions on many of these issues, even addressing professional and civic groups to garner support for his position. For example, prior to the vote on a referendum to force the state to immediately fund public schools at fifty-five percent, Baldacci addressed a group of certified public accountants at a workshop in Augusta.
In December of 2003, Baldacci spoke to the Ninth Annual SAM Sportsman's Congress regarding the bear baiting referendum. The bear baiting referendum would have made it illegal to hunt bear with dogs, to bait bears during a hunt, or to trap bears.
Baldacci, along with officials from Maine's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, opposed banning these practices. Baldacci believed that these professionals, including several well-credentialed biologists, knew what was best for the bear population and the State of Maine.
But like all politicians, Baldacci has been the focus of attacks, which are intended to assault his character and reduce support by his constituents. An article titled "Does John Baldacci belong to a secretive, powerful conservative Christian group?" appearing at The Portland Phoenix.com focuses on Baldacci's living arrangements during part of his term in Washington. The article states that "According to the Los Angeles Times, Harper's magazine, and the Associated Press news service, his former address, 133 C Street, S.E., two blocks from the United States Capitol, is legally and actively a church, and the six to eight congressmen and US senators domiciled on the top floor are brothers in "the Family" or "the Fellowship," a mysterious, 60-year-old, conservative, worldwide group dedicated to ending the traditional American separation between religion and politics."
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