Two years ago, Tim Marks, a Democrat and former state trooper, won a seat in the Maine House Representatives over his Republican opponent, Raymond Soule, by a 200-vote margin.
On Tuesday, Marks lost his seat by around the same margin in an election seen as a victory for Republicans in Maine and across the country.
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Jeff Hanley, who beat Marks in his first attempt at a political office, said he senses people are shifting to more conservative views.
“Nothing radical, it just seems like the public at large is more (politically) right than we believe sometime,” he said. “I’m a conservative man, so that’s how I live and that’s how I’ll vote.”
Marks said the election likely is the end to his short politcal career.
Marks, who retired from the Maine State Police in 2011 after 25 years, was perhaps best known in the last legislative session for sponsoring a bill vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage that would have overhauled the state’s concealed-weapon permit law by creating a confidential permitting system for police and for sponsoring a successful bill targeting repeat felony drunken drivers.
Marks told the Kennebec Journal before the election he would have sponsored a “constitutional carry” bill next session to get rid of the state’s concealed weapons permit system. Last year he was the only Democrat on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to support a similar bill.
Marks, 54, of Pittston, said he wasn’t surprised with the result of the election because the Maine Republican Party ran effective Facebook ads against him. He also said he thinks some people in the area were opposed to him because of interactions with him as a state trooper. One fellow resident also drove around with a large sign telling people to remember Ann Chadwick, Marks said, a reference to a controversy last year that led to Marks’ resignation from the Pittston Board of Selectmen and the ouster by voters of the other two board members. The selectmen let Chadwick go after more 20 years as town clerk because they said she failed to address concerns about her poor job performance.
On Tuesday, Marks lost most decisively in his hometown of Pittston, which voted for Hanley, another Pittston resident, by a 839-589 margin. In Marks’ victory two years ago, he nearly doubled the number of his opponent’s votes in Pittston, 1,033 to 528.
Hanley, 63, said he knew he had an uphill battle because his opponent was the incumbent. Hanley, a part-time electrician and a retired welder and pipefitter for Sappi Fine Paper, said the first thing he will do when he gets to the State House is listen and learn from the people already there.
“The big thing is I don’t want to do any dramatic action. The key to governing, I think, is to lead people along. You need governing, you just don’t need too much,” Hanley said.
Hanley, whose brother Stephen Hanley served in the Maine House for eight years, said he’s grateful and humble to win the election.
“Now I’ll just do what I said I was gonna do, govern logically,” he said.
In other local Maine House of Representatives races:
Republican Jeffrey Pierce, of Dresden, defeated the incumbent, Democrat Peter Kent, of Woolwich, 2,597 to 2,210, for Maine House District 53, representing Dresden, Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Woolwich and part of Richmond.
Republican Brian Hobart, of Bowdoinham, defeated Democrat Alice Elliott, of Richmond, 2,528 to 1,990, for Maine House District 55, representing Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Perkins Island and most of Richmond.
Republican Gary Hilliard, of Belgrade, defeated Democrat Richard Tracy, of Rome, 2,689 to 1,952, for Maine House District 76, representing Belgrade, Fayette, Mount Vernon, Rome, Vienna and Wayne.
Democratic incumbent Lori Fowle, of Vassalboro, defeated Republican Ray Bates, of Windsor, 2,189 to 1,785, for Maine House District 80 representing part of Augusta, Vassalboro, Windsor, Somerville and Hibberts Gore.
Democratic incumbent Craig Hickman, of Winthrop, defeated Republican Lee Fellman, of Readfield, 2,992 to 1,648, for Maine House District 81, representing Winthrop, Readfield and part of Monmouth.
Republican Randall Greenwood, of Wales, defeated Democrat Rachel Sukeforth, of Litchfield, 2,273 to 1,962, for Maine House District 82, representing Litchfield, Wales and part of Monmouth.
Democratic incumbent Gay Grant, of Gardiner, defeated Republican Curtis Ayotte, of Farmingdale, 2,226 to 1,802, for Maine House District 83, representing Farmingdale and Gardiner.
Democrat Charlotte Warren, of Hallowell, defeated Republican Darrick Banda, of Manchester, 2,496 to 2,022, for Maine House District 84, representing Hallowell, Manchester and West Gardiner.
Democrat Donna Doore, of Augusta, defeated Republican Kim Davis, of Augusta, 2,040 to 1,522, for Maine House District 85, representing Augusta east of the Kennebec River.
Republican incumbent Matt Pouliot, of Augusta, defeated Democrat Monica Castellanos, of Augusta, 2,238 to 1,088, for Maine House District 86, representing Augusta west of the Kennebec River.
Paul Koenig — 621-5663
Twitter: @paul_koenig
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