Charles P. Pray
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Charles P. Pray (born August 15, 1945) is an American 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 ...
. Pray was born in the
paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
of
Millinocket, Maine Millinocket is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,114 at the 2020 census. Millinocket's economy has historically been centered on forest products and recreation, but the paper company closed in 2008. Histor ...
on August 15, 1945. He grew up in northern
Piscataquis County, Maine Piscataquis County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16,800, making it Maine's least-populous county. Its county seat is Dover-Foxcroft. The county was incorporated on March 23, 183 ...
attending a one-room schoolhouse from 1954-1959. He attended
Maine Central Institute Maine Central Institute (MCI) is an independent high school in Pittsfield, Maine, United States that was established in 1866. The school enrolls approximately 430 students and is a nonsectarian institution. The school has both boarding and d ...
, graduating from Stearns High School in his birthplace of Millinocket in 1964. He then attended
Ricker College Ricker College was a small college located in Houlton, Maine, United States. It opened in and closed in . It began as Houlton Academy in 1848, before being subsequently renamed Ricker Classical Institute in 1887. It became Ricker Junior Colleg ...
in Houlton. In 1966, he enlisted with the US Air Force and served in Southeast Asia during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Finishing with the Air Force in 1970, he returned to Maine and enrolled at the
University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...
, from which he graduated in 1973 with a B.A. in political science. In 1974, he was elected to the
Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...
to represent Piscataquis County and the northern area of Penobscot County, which was the largest legislative district east of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. From 1978-1982, Pray served as Assistant Majority Leader of the Maine Senate. From 1982-1984, Pray served as Majority Leader. In 1984, Pray was elected by his peers as
President of the Maine Senate The position of President of the Maine Senate was created when Maine separated from Massachusetts and achieved statehood in 1820. The Maine Legislature had one year terms until 1880, when an amendment to the Maine Constitution took effect to pr ...
, a position he held until a surprise defeat in 1992. He is one of two individuals to serve four terms but is the only Senate President in Maine history to hold the office for 8 full years. During the 1992 election, Pray was defeated by Stephen Hall of Guilford, which the
Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig an ...
called a "stunning defeat". Following the end of his term in the Maine Senate, Pray held several positions at both the federal and state level. In the linton administration he served as Special Assistant/Senior Adviser to the Assistant Secretary for Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs at the United States Department of Energy in a Senior Executive Administration Service position in Washington, D.C. In 2003, Governor
John Baldacci John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he also served in the United States House of Representatives from 199 ...
appointed Pray to the position of State Nuclear Safety Advisor following work he was involved with while at the Department of Energy. Pray served as Director of Congressional Affairs for the National Nuclear Security Administration in 2010 in the Obama Administration. In 2011, Pray jumped into the debate on the proposed creation of a
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
on land owned by
Roxanne Quimby Roxanne Quimby (born July 11, 1950) is an American businesswoman notable for founding the North Carolina–based Burt's Bees personal-care products company with the eponymous beekeeper Burt Shavitz.Associated Press"Burt's Bees Founder Wants to ...
which was part of the Senate district Pray represented. He called for a comprehensive study of the effects of that a national park might have on not only tourism, but the entire economy of the region. In late 2012 and early 2013 Pray served as the acting Town Manager for his home town of Millinocket, Maine. In July 2013 he was nominated by the Penobscot County Commissioners to serve a four-year term on the Maine Land Use Planning Commission, the State's planning commission for communities without a planning board and the vast unorganized territories of Maine. In 2015 Pray was encouraged to fill the term of one of two vacant seats on the Millinocket Town Council where he received the top vote count. In 2016 he was elected to a full three-year term. In July 2017 Pray was named Executive Director of the Maine County Commissioners Association representing Maine's sixteen counties operation a number of services including Registration of Deeds, Probate, Sheriffs, Jails, Emergency Management, Waste and other activities of services. In the position he interacts with municipal, State and federal entities as well as the sixteen counties assuring coordination a degree of uniformity of operations. Pray remains active advising and outline strategies for elected and potential political candidates. He serves on the State Democratic Party's Executive Committee, Chairs the local tri-town Democratic Party Committee, serves as a member of the regional Housing Association, Vice Commander of the local Veterans' of Foreign Wars, a member of the American Legion Honor Guard and serves on several organizations. Pray remains active advising and outline strategies for elected and potential political candidates.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pray, Charles P. 1945 births Living people University of Maine alumni Presidents of the Maine Senate Democratic Party Maine state senators People from Millinocket, Maine People from Piscataquis County, Maine Ricker College alumni United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Maine city managers United States Air Force airmen 20th-century members of the Maine Legislature