Harrison L. Richardson (1930 – February 26, 2009) was an American lawyer and 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 ...
. A
Republican, Richardson served three terms 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 ...
(1965–71) and one term in 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 ...
(1973–75). He represented
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 ...
in the Legislature.
Political career
Richardson was a proponent of Maine's first income tax, which was adopted in 1969 due to a crisis in funding mental health. He was also an early advocate of
container deposit legislation
Container-deposit legislation (also known as a container-deposit scheme, deposit-refund system or scheme, deposit-return system, or bottle bill) is any law that requires the collection of a monetary deposit on beverage containers (refillable o ...
, which was eventually adopted by the State in 1978. During his final two terms in the House, Richardson served as the Majority Leader. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for
Governor of Maine
The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive.
The current governor of Maine is J ...
in
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
, losing to
James Erwin. He also served two terms on 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 ...
Board of Trustees. He was also a trustee at
Maine Maritime Academy
Maine Maritime Academy (Maine Maritime or MMA) is a public college focused on maritime training and located in Castine, Maine. The academy was established by the 90th Maine Legislature on March 21, 1941. Unlike federal service academies, a cong ...
and the
American University in Bulgaria.
Professional career
A well-known trial lawyer, Richardson was named a Fellow to the
American College of Trial Lawyers
The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) is a professional association of trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, especially tri ...
in 1975.
Personal
Richardson played with 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 ...
football team
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
, where was an All-New England tackle. He served in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
, including 14 months in
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
. He died on February 26, 2009, at his home in
Gorham.
References
1930 births
2009 deaths
People from Cumberland, Maine
Politicians from Gorham, Maine
Maine Black Bears football players
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War
Majority leaders of the Maine House of Representatives
Republican Party Maine state senators
Maine lawyers
Players of American football from Maine
20th-century American lawyers
Sportspeople from Cumberland County, Maine
American athlete-politicians
20th-century members of the Maine Legislature
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