Catherine E. "Cathy" Breen (born 1965) is an American Democratic politician from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Breen, a Falmouth resident, served four terms representing

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

District 25, which includes the towns of Falmouth,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, Yarmouth,

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Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, Chebeague Island and part of Westbrook.

Early life and education

Breen earned a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

and a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

from the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

. She has worked as a middle school teacher and has lived in the greater

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

area since 2000. Breen has served on the Board of Directors of Community Counseling Center and has served on the Spurwink Board of Directors since 2013. She is also a graduate of the Institute for Civic Leadership’s collaborative leadership training program.

Political career

Breen was the Falmouth representative to the Greater Portland Council of Governments, a group of town leaders from 30 municipalities in the Portland area, for six years. She served on the Falmouth Town Council from 2005 until she termed out in 2011, including two years as chairwoman.

Maine State Senate

In 2014, Breen ran for the seat being vacated by independent Richard G. Woodbury, who did not seek re-election. In the general election, Breen was declared the narrow winner on election night. Her opponent, Republican Cathleen Manchester, requested a recount, after which Manchester was declared the narrow winner. On December 3, Manchester was provisionally seated by the Senate. On December 9, a Senate committee inspection invalidated 21 "phantom ballots" that had been discovered on election night for Manchester. Manchester immediately resigned and Breen was certified the winner. In 2015, Breen was named Legislator of the Year by the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Breen ran unopposed in the Democratic primary races in 2016, 2018 and 2020. In the 2016 general election, she defeated Republican Charles “Bart” Ladd 58%-42%. In 2018, she won over Republican Cathy Nichols 62%-38%, and in 2020 she defeated Republican Jennifer White 62%-38%. Breen served on the Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee. and as the Senate chair of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee in the 129th and 130th legislatures. She was a member of the bipartisan Land Conservation Task Force. In May of 2024 Breen became the Director of Government Affairs fo
Maine Conservation Voters

Personal life

Breen lives in Falmouth with her husband, Jay Geller. She has two adult children, Emma and Aaron.

Electoral history

Maine State Senate

External links

Senator Catherine Breen--Maine State LegislatureCathy Breen official campaign pageCatherine Breen--BallotpediaFacebook: Cathy Breen for State SenateFacebook: Senator Cathy Breen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Cathy 1965 births 21st-century members of the Maine Legislature 21st-century American women politicians Democratic Party Maine state senators Living people Maine city council members People from Falmouth, Maine Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Illinois Chicago alumni Women city councillors in Maine Women state legislators in Maine