Showing 1291 - 1300 of 2039 Items

Interview with David Lemoine by Mike Hastings

Date: 2008-08-05

Creator: David G Lemoine

Access: Open access

Biographical NoteDavid George Lemoine was born on May 25, 1957, in Waterville, Maine. His mother, Margaret Marden Lemoine, grew up on a potato farm in Freedom, Maine, and his father, George Macalese Lemoine, was a native of Waterville and a veteran of the Korean War. David grew up in Waterville and was graduated from Waterville High School in 1975. He attended Colby College and earned a degree in government in 1979. He worked as an intern in Senator Muskie’s Washington, D.C. office until Muskie was appointed secretary of state in May of 1980. When George Mitchell was appointed to Muskie’s vacated Senate seat, Lemoine continued as a member of his staff. He worked on the 1982 U.S. Senate reelection campaign, focusing on the Voter Checklist Project in Maine. Later he attended the University of Maine Law School, graduating in 1988. He served three terms in the Maine state legislature representing Old Orchard Beach, and at the time of this interview was in his second term as state treasurer for the state of Maine. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: Waterville, Maine; Colby College; 1974 Maine gubernatorial campaign; Senator Muskie’s Washington, D.C. office; working as a doorman in the Senate; Mitchell’s Senate appointment; the Voter Checklist Project; 1982 U.S. Senate campaign; Mitchell family gatherings in Waterville; Mitchell’s 1982 stump speech; a story similar to the “cow joke”; the state of Maine’s legislative and governing structure; and World Affairs Council of Maine’s International Leadership Award.


Interview with Paul Maroon by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Date: 2010-03-31

Creator: Paul P Maroon

Access: Open access

Biographical NotePaul P. Maroon was born in Waterville, Maine, on January 19, 1932. His father, Sam Maroon, worked for Wyandotte Worsted Mills and his mother, Nimera Maroon, was a homemaker. He attended Waterville High School with George Mitchell and they were childhood friends. He served in the Navy and, upon completing his military service, he attended Husson College. He participated in local (Waterville) fund-raising activities in support of Mitchell’s political campaigns. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: Waterville in the 1930s and 1940s; the Lebanese community in Waterville; Lebanese traditions; family relationship between the Maroons and Mitchells; Robbie Mitchell growing up; anecdotes about being childhood friends with George Mitchell; the 1974 gubernatorial campaign; Mitchell in high school; and anecdote about Mitchell’s popularity among Irishmen.


Interview with Andrea Maker by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Date: 2010-03-11

Creator: Andrea C Maker

Access: Open access

Biographical NoteAndrea (Cianchette) Maker was born in 1956 in Waterville, Maine, and grew up in Pittsfield, Maine. She came from a large, politically active family of both Democrats and Republicans. Her family’s construction business, Cianbro, evolved and grew during her childhood. While in college in New Hampshire, Maker interned for Bill Cohen. She attended the University of Maine School of Law for two years, then completed her third year at American University in Washington, D.C. During her third year of law school she worked for Senator Mitchell in the mailroom, drafting responses to atypical letters. After law school, Maker became a lobbyist representing clients in the Maine legislature on a number of issues. At the time of this interview she served on the board of the Susan Curtis Foundation and worked at Martin’s Point Health Care. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Pittsfield, Maine; Cianchette Brothers construction company (Cianbro): Chuck, Bud, and Lunk; growing up in Pittsfield; her father’s (Chuck’s) political life and friendship with Mitchell; shadowing Mitchell in 1977; Paula Silsby; law school; working in the mailroom of George Mitchell’s office; Gayle Cory and Christine Williams; an anecdote about having Mitchell over for dinner; Maker’s uncles in politics, Carl, Ival, Peter, Norris and Kenneth Cianchette; interning for Bill Cohen and a comparison between working for Cohen and for Mitchell; working with Susan Collins and Mike Hastings while in Cohen’s office; and Mitchell’s career and legacy.


Interview with Estelle Lavoie by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Date: 2008-06-09

Creator: Estelle A Lavoie

Access: Open access

Biographical NoteEstelle Lavoie was born in Lewiston, Maine, on November 23, 1949, and grew up there, the youngest of three children. Her father worked as a building contractor until his death in 1964, after which her mother worked part-time as a bank teller. Estelle attended Lewiston public schools and was graduated from Bates College (class of 1971), spending her junior year studying in Switzerland. At the end of 1972, she went to work for Governor Ken Curtis. By September of 1973, she had been hired as part of Senator Ed Muskie’s staff, working first as a caseworker and eventually as his legislative assistant. She attended law school at American University from 1978 to 1981 and transitioned to Senator Mitchell’s staff when he assumed Muskie’s Senate seat. She left Mitchell’s staff in the fall of 1983 and joined the law firm of Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios the following June. Her practice has evolved from health law to other political practice issues. She served on the Democratic State Committee from 1986 to 1990 and was a delegate to the 1988 National Convention. SummaryInterview includes discussions of: meeting Senator Mitchell; Mitchell’s appointment to the Senate; Indian Land Claims Settlement case and its importance to the State of Maine; other colleagues on the Mitchell staff and their job responsibilities; Mitchell’s retention of Senator Muskie’s staff; leadership styles of Senators Muskie and Mitchell; conceptualizing and forming the George Mitchell Scholarship and Research Institute; and Mitchell’s strengths including: intelligence, compassion, gratitude, modesty, speaking ability, hard work, and dedication.


Interview with David Emery by Mike Hastings

Date: 2009-12-18

Creator: David F Emery

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

David Farnham Emery was born on September 1, 1948, in Rockland, Maine. His father was a bookkeeper, accountant, and golfer (he also played baseball for the University of Pennsylvania), and his mother was a nurse. Both parents served in the military during World War II, his father as a staff sergeant and his mother as an officer. He grew up in a Republican family and attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts from 1967-1970. He was elected to the Maine legislature immediately after graduation, during the Vietnam War. In 1974, he was elected as a U.S. congressman during the Nixon administration and served from 1975-1982. In 1982, he was the Maine Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate and lost to Democrat George Mitchell in the election. He served as deputy director of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from 1983-1988. At the time of this interview he was involved in political polling and management consulting, as well as renewable energy resource strategies in Maine.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: election to Maine state legislature; early involvement in politics; Dick Berry; Sawin Millet; the 1974 House election and the recount; Emery’s win; Mitchell’s 1974 loss to Jim Longley; meeting Mitchell in the 1974 campaign; 1974 Maine congressional race recount and Peter Kyros, Sr.; the staff in the Congressional Office; Charlie Smith; Stan McGeehan, Emery’s campaign manager; Emery’s 1981 decision to run for Senate; political consulting/polling; Emery’s view of current politics in Maine; the 2nd and 1st Districts in Maine; and the 1982 U.S. Senate race.


Interview with Mike Hastings (1) by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Date: 2008-04-21

Creator: Michael 'Mike' M Hastings

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Michael M. Hastings, a native of Morrill, Maine, graduated from Tilton School (NH) in 1968 and Bowdoin College in 1972. Following a year of graduate study in Public & International Affairs at George Washington University, he worked for seven years as a foreign and defense policy aide to Senator William S. Cohen (1973-1980) and for four years for Senator George J. Mitchell (1980-1984). In October 1984, he joined the international staff of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and moved to Africa. Over a span of eight years, he worked as a CRS development administrator in Kenya, Tanzania, Togo and The Gambia. During the same period, he assisted in the provision of emergency food for people displaced by civil wars in the Southern Sudan and Liberia. In 1992, he returned to Maine to direct a “center for excellence,” focusing on aquaculture and economic development. Since 2004, he has worked for the University of Maine as its director of Research and Sponsored Programs. Between 1992 and 2008, he also served on several civic boards and institutions including the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, the Maine Oil Spill Advisory Committee, the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission, the Down East Institute, and the Maine Sea Grant Policy Advisory Committee. Between 1996 and 2001, he was elected three times to be a member of the Town Council of Hampden, Maine, where he resides with his wife, a middle school teacher.

Summary

The interview includes discussion of: the culture of Belfast, Maine during the ‘50s and ‘60s; family history; University of Maine campus atmosphere during the ‘60s; influential teachers; Bowdoin College atmosphere and cultural changes during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s; Ten-College Exchange; the draft and its effect on Bowdoin College students; influential Bowdoin College professors; Athern Daggett; Chris Potholm and connection to Bill Cohen; War Powers Act; working for the Cohen congressional campaign; political identity of Androscoggin and Oxford counties; the Cohen walk; differences between Maine’s Republican and Democratic parties; job responsibilities under Bill Cohen; description of Bill Cohen; appointment of George Mitchell to fill Edmund Muskie’s Senate seat; and moving from Senator Cohen to Senator Mitchell’s staff.


Interview with Steve Hart by Brien Williams

Date: 2008-12-11

Creator: W. 'Steve' Stephen Hart

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Walter Stephen Hart was born January 17, 1955, in Washington, DC, to Peter William Hart and Mary Jane Strauss Hart; his parents were librarians. He attended Arizona State University, where he earned a degree in mass communications. He worked at a radio station in New Hampshire and covered the 1980 presidential primaries. He returned to school at Ball State, graduating with a degree in journalism and a minor in public relations, after which he moved to Maine, where his wife was working. He worked for Maine congressional candidate Phil Merrill in the 1982 primary, and after Merrill lost to John Kerry, Hart worked as Kerry’s press secretary. Hart was hired as a legislative assistant to Senator Mitchell in March of 1983. He was primarily responsible for Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, Governmental Affairs and Energy and Natural Resources issues. He remained on Mitchell’s staff until the senator’s retirement in January, 1995. At the time of this interview Hart was deputy director of legislative affairs for the USDA Forest Service.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: 1982 congressional election in Maine; his role in Mitchell’s office; how Senate members and staff cooperate to get the best information; how Mitchell’s role changed when he became majority leader and how that impacted the staff; parochial interests; earmarks and the purpose they serve; Maine Blueberry Commission earmark; the Bicentennial Lighthouse Fund; the Coast Guard facility at Cape Elizabeth; maple syrup regulation on the Nurses Training Bill; the appropriations process; Mitchell staff salaries and his idea of “psychic remuneration”; the importance Mitchell placed on meeting with and responding to constituents; lobbyists’ role in providing information; the appropriations bill after hurricane Hugo; the senator’s division of time between the work of the Senate and being the public face of the Democratic Party; comparing Robert Byrd and Senator Mitchell as majority leaders; the reasoning behind retiring from the Senate when he did; anecdote about Hart and the chief of staff of Agriculture; Togus hearing on PTSD; the White Mountain National Forest nuclear waste disposal hearing; and the Northern Forest Study proposal hearings in Bangor.


Interview with Mary and Harold Friedman by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Date: 2008-09-08

Creator: Mary Mitchell Friedman

Harold J Friedman

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Mary (Mitchell) Friedman was born on September 30, 1957, in Waterville, Maine, one of seven siblings and niece to George Mitchell. Her father, Robert “Robbie” Mitchell, worked for the FDIC, and her mother, Janet (Fraser) Mitchell, was an elementary school teacher. Mary grew up in Waterville, attending St. Joseph’s school, Waterville Junior High School, Waterville High School, and then she continued on to Colby College. She earned her law degree from the University of Maine School of Law and practiced law for approximately fifteen years. She spent three years in Washington, D.C. as a trial lawyer for the Constitution Torts Division at the Department of Justice and later returned to Maine. She has served on the board of the Mitchell Institute since its founding in 1995, and has been chair for eight years. Harold Friedman was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on December 4, 1942. He grew up in Detroit and attended Wayne State University, then earned his law degree from Boston University. In 1975, while he was a federal prosecutor in New York, he went to Maine and met George Mitchell, who recommended him to the law firm Preti Flaherty, where he was subsequently hired. He met Mary Mitchell there, and they later were married. At the time of this interview, he was a trial lawyer with the firm Friedman, Gaythwaite, Wolf & Leavitt in Portland, Maine.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: family history at Colby College; founding the Mitchell Institute; the Mitchell Institute’s intent and expansion; higher education in Maine; Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement; life with the Mitchell family in Waterville; cribbage; the 1968 presidential election and the younger generation of the Mitchell family being politically active; Hubert Humphrey’s visit to Mrs. Mitchell; volunteering for the Muskie presidential campaign in 1972; the 1974 Maine gubernatorial campaign; George Mitchell’s campaign strategy for his senate campaign; growing up in Detroit; summer work on Martha’s Vineyard and the Kennedy presence there; George Mitchell’s accessibility; and the Mitchell family’s roots shaping their commitment to public service.


Interview with Scott Hutchinson by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Date: 2009-10-07

Creator: Scott F Hutchinson

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Scott Frederick Hutchinson was born in Gardiner, Maine, on April 16, 1929, to Helen Frances and Scott Arthur Hutchinson. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was employed by New England Telephone Company, rising in the ranks from line worker to vice president. Scott’s childhood was spent living in various communities throughout New England. He attended Northeastern University, and after college served in the Army during the Korean War. Coming back to Maine, he began a career in banking. During Ken Curtis’ campaign for governor, he served as treasurer. He then served as treasurer for Ed Muskie’s senatorial campaigns, vice presidential campaign, and as treasurer for Muskie's presidential primary race. He served as George Mitchell’s campaign treasurer.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: working on Muskie’s staff with Mitchell in 1976; Maine gubernatorial campaign (1974); why Mitchell lost to Longley; Joe Angelone; Mitchell's running for Senate majority leader; Mitchell’s 1982 reelection campaign; David Emery; Mitchell’s relationship with Bill Cohen; the role of Independents in Mitchell’s campaigns; campaign changes for Mitchell between 1974 and 1982; and Hutchinson’s reaction to Mitchell’s announcement of retirement.


Interview with Patrick Griffin by Brien Williams

Date: 2009-05-07

Creator: Patrick J Griffin

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Patrick J. Griffin was born June 22, 1949, in New York to Daniel and Edith Griffin. He attended St. Peter’s College in New Jersey, then the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for graduate studies in urban policy. He worked as a Health, Education and Welfare fellow for a year, then spent a year on the Senate Budget Committee staff before becoming a member of Senator Byrd’s leadership staff, the Democratic Policy Committee staff, and later a Senate Floor staffer, where he met Senator Mitchell. He held the position of secretary of the Democratic Caucus, an elected position. He later started a lobbying firm with David Johnson, returning to politics to join the Clinton administration.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family, educational, and career background; responsibilities of Senate floor staff; majority leader race an Inouye; Iran-Contra; Acid Rain and Senator Byrd; Crime Bill; Byrd’s decision to move to the Appropriations Committee; Griffin’s relationship with Senator Byrd; experiences in the Clinton White House; health care debate; Mitchell-Clinton relationship; background on the Northern Ireland appointment and Clinton conversation; comparison of several majority leaders; and Tip O’Neill.