Joseph Baldacci (born February 21, 1965) is an American attorney and 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 ...

. Baldacci serves 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 ...

representing District 9, serving Bangor and Hermon. He grew up in Bangor and attended 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 ...

and the

University of Maine School of Law The University of Maine School of Law (UMaine Law or Maine Law) is a Public university, public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Ma ...

. Following law school, Baldacci returned to Bangor and opened a law practice, serving on the Bangor City Council beginning in 1996. Baldacci served 12 years on the Council, including two terms as chair/mayor, before being elected to the Maine Senate in 2020. He also made a brief run for

Maine's 2nd congressional district Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering , it comprises nearly 92% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metr ...

seat in 2016 but dropped out before the Democratic primary in June.

Early life and education

Baldacci was born in Bangor and grew up there working in his family's restaurant, Momma Baldacci's, with his seven siblings. His father served on the Bangor City Council. Baldacci attended the University of Maine and graduated in 1987 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in political science, continuing to the

, where he completed his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1991. While at Maine Law, Baldacci co-founded the Maine Association for Public Interest Law (MAPIL) to help provide scholarships for law students pursuing public interest law opportunities, an organization that is still granting scholarships today.

Law career & political office

Following law school, Baldacci returned to Bangor and started a law practice. He was first elected to the Bangor City Council in 1996 and re-elected in 1999, also serving a term as City Council chairman and Mayor—in Bangor, these two titles belong to one position—and remaining on the council until 2002. Baldacci was elected to the City Council again in 2011 in a race that also unseated two incumbents, and was re-elected in 2014. In July 2015, Baldacci announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for Maine's 2nd congressional district, challenging incumbent Republican Bruce Poliquin. He dropped out in February 2016 and endorsed fellow Democrat Emily Cain for the nomination. Baldacci was again elected City Council chairman and mayor of Bangor in November 2016. In a 2021 interview, Baldacci recalls deciding during his final term as City Councilor that he would run for the Maine Senate. He explained that his experiences navigating and becoming familiar with local policies over his 12 years on the council had helped him feel prepared for the position, and that his daughters were in college by then, making the increased time commitment more feasible for his family. In 2020, Baldacci ran for the Maine Senate District 9 seat vacated by term-limited incumbent Geoffrey Gratwick. In the Democratic primary, he defeated Victoria Kornfield 53%-47%, and in the November general election he received 55% of the vote in the three-way race with Republican Sean Hinkley and independent Kristie Miner. Since his 2020 term began, Baldacci has served on the Health and Human Services committee and is the chair of State and Local Government committee.

Personal life

Baldacci lives in Bangor with his wife Elizabeth, who is also an attorney. The couple has two adult daughters, Caroline and Olivia. Baldacci and his brother

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 ...

, a former U.S. Congressman and governor, frequently hold spaghetti dinners to support local needs and causes. The dinners feature Mamma Baldacci's secret spaghetti sauce recipe.

Electoral record

References

External links

Maine Senate Democrats: Joe BaldacciSen Joseph Baldacci (D-Penobscot): Maine State LegislatureJoe Baldacci on FacebookJoe Baldacci on TwitterCity Council Chronicles Interview #14: Bangor, ME Councilor Joe BaldacciBeacon podcast: Congressional candidate Joe Baldacci on the issues
September 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldacci, Joe 1965 births Living people Maine lawyers Bangor City Council members Democratic Party Maine state senators University of Maine alumni University of Maine School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the Maine Legislature