Former Maine Governor and Democratic Congressman Joseph E. Brennan died Friday at his home in Portland, the Associated Press reported.
The 89-year-old former two-term governor of Maine and two-term congressman lived just a short distance from the tenement town where his Irish immigrant parents raised him and his seven siblings, Mr. Brennan. He died with his wife by his side. His longtime friend Frank O’Hara said this Saturday, the newspaper reported. AP.
According to the Associated Press, O’Hara said Brennan’s experience growing up in a working-class neighborhood stayed with him when he entered politics at age 29 as a candidate for the Maine House of Representatives. (Related: Former Congressman dies at age 82)
Democratic former Maine governor and U.S. Representative Joe Brennan dies at age 89 https://t.co/nwEFr3R3Fl
— Associated Press (@AP) April 7, 2024
According to the newspaper, Mr. Brennan served in the military, graduated from Boston University under the GI Bill, completed law school at the University of Maine, and served as a county district attorney, state attorney general, state representative and governor in Maine. He served as governor from his 1979 until his 1987.
Brennan also served as a representative for Maine’s 1st Congressional District in Washington, DC, from 1987 to 1991. WMTW report.
Another former Maine governor, Joe Baradacci, who led the state from 2003 to 2011, called Brennan a “friend, mentor and dedicated servant.” “He was a man of the greatest integrity, and he led the state of Maine through some difficult times,” Baradatti added.
Janet Mills, Maine’s current governor and fellow Democrat, said Brennan’s appointment as the state’s first female district attorney in 1980 was an important step toward becoming Maine’s first female governor. The Associated Press reported.
“Governor. Brennan has taught me and others that politics is about building relationships, that public service is about enriching the lives of others, not enriching ourselves, and most importantly… “It showed us that it’s about relationships with the people we serve,” she said.
According to the Associated Press, when the seat was left vacant in 1980 for Democratic Sen. Edmund Muskie to serve as secretary of state, Brennan appointed federal judge George Mitchell, who ended up in the U.S. Senate. He rose to become majority leader.
Mitchell said Brennan was “an outstanding leader and lawyer who understood the importance of a strong and fair judicial system to our democracy.”
