Cynthia Dill (born January 6, 1965) is an American lawyer and politician from

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, she served in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

and

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constituti ...

, representing the 7th district which is composed of

South Portland South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state, incorporated in 1898. At the 2020 census, the city population was 26,498. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is si ...

, her hometown of

Cape Elizabeth Cape Elizabeth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The town is part of the Portland–South Portland– Biddeford, Maine, metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, Cape Elizabeth had a population of 9,5 ...

, and a small portion of Scarborough. Dill was the 2012 Democratic nominee to replace outgoing Senator

Olympia Snowe Olympia Jean Snowe (; born February 21, 1947) is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States Senator from Maine from 1995 to 2013. Snowe, a member of the Republican Party, became known for her ability to influence the outcome ...

and represent Maine in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

, but came in third in the general election behind former independent governor

Angus King Angus Stanley King Jr. (born March 31, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Maine since 2013. A political independent since 1993, he previously served as the 72nd governor of Maine from ...

and Republican Secretary of State

Charlie Summers Charles E. Summers Jr. (born December 26, 1959) is an American politician, businessman, and Iraq War veteran. A Republican from the state of Maine, he served as Acting Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs in the Trump Administ ...

Life, education, and career

Dill is married and has two children. She received her bachelor's degree from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

and her

J.D. JD or jd may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''JD'' (film), a 2016 Bollywood film * J.D. (''Scrubs''), nickname of Dr. John Dorian, fictional protagonist of the comedy-drama ''Scrubs'' * JD Fenix, a character from the ''Gears of War'' vi ...

from

Northeastern University School of Law Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL) is the law school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as an evening program to meet the needs of its local community, NUSL is nationally recognized for its cooperative legal ed ...

. Dill is an adjunct instructor at

Southern Maine Community College Southern Maine Community College is a public community college in South Portland, Maine. It is part of the Maine Community College System. History Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) opened in Augusta, Maine in 1946 under the name "Mai ...

, a civil rights lawyer, and the director of the Common Cause Digital Democracy Project. She served on the

Town Council. While serving on the Town Council, Dill said her priority was to protect and support the state's businesses and natural resources and the elderly, disabled and children. She voted to support gay marriage and said she would "happily and without reservation" support it if the issue would come up again. She strongly supported education, saying, "I am committed to improving the education funding formula and more importantly making needed reforms to education as a whole."

Maine House of Representatives

Elections

Dill was first elected to the

in 2006 to represent Maine's 121st House District, based in Cape Elizabeth. She defeated Republican nominee Jennifer Duddy 52%-48%. In 2008, she won re-election to a second term with 61% of the vote. In 2010, she won re-election to a third term with 58% of the vote.

Tenure

She was a leading proponent of the Three Ring Binder Project, a nationally recognized private/public partnership that will bring

high-speed Internet Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

access to rural parts.

Committee assignments

She served on the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary and the House Ethics Committees

Maine Senate

Elections

Following the resignation of State Senator

Larry Bliss Lawrence Steven Bliss (born December 29, 1946) is an American educator and former politician from the state of Maine. A Democrat, he served in the Maine House of Representatives (2000–2008) and the Maine Senate (2008–2011). He resigned as a s ...

in 2011, Dill won a special election to replace Bliss, defeating former Republican State Representative Louie Maietta 68%-32%.

Tenure

Dill is a strong supporter of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

.House District 121: Lusk challenges Dill in Cape Elizabeth
''

The Forecaster ''The Forecaster'' is a regional newspaper in southern Maine. It is published weekly and distributed for free. It publishes several different versions, including "The Forecaster" covering the city of Portland; "Northern Forecaster", which cover ...

'', October 6, 2010 In November 2011, Dill formed a group
"The Friends of the Maine Woods"
to support

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 Do ...

's bid to donate land to create a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

in the

Millinocket 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. History ...

region of Maine. The town council of Millinocket and the

Maine State Legislature The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Aug ...

passed resolutions opposing the creation of the proposed national park.

Committee assignments

She served on the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary.

2012 U.S. Senate election

In January 2012, Dill announced that she would seek the

's nomination for the U.S. Senate then held by incumbent Republican U.S. Senator

. Dill won a four-way Democratic Senate primary on June 12, 2012. She faced Republican

, independent candidates

and Danny Dalton, and

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties * Outline of libertarianism ...

-affiliated independent Andrew Ian Dodge in the November election, in which King was victorious.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dill, Cynthia 1965 births Living people Maine lawyers Maine local politicians Democratic Party Maine state senators Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Northeastern University School of Law alumni People from Cape Elizabeth, Maine Southern Maine Community College faculty University of Vermont alumni Women state legislators in Maine 21st-century American women