Joseph E. Brooks (February 24, 1942 – March 26, 2022) was an American politician, journalist and social service agency director 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 ...

. An Unenrolled (independent) member of 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 ...

, Brooks represented a portion of rural

Waldo County Waldo County is a county in the state of Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,607. Its county seat is Belfast. The county was founded on February 7, 1827, from a portion of Hancock County and named after Briga ...

including his residence in

Winterport, Maine Winterport is a New England town, town in Waldo County, Maine, Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,817 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The Winterport Historic District, extending several blocks along Main Stree ...

. He served in the Maine House previously from 1996 to 2002. Brooks was originally from

Brewer, Maine Brewer is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor metropolitan area. The city is named after its first settler, Colonel John Brewer. The population was 9,672 at the 2020 census. Brewer is the sister city ...

and graduated from John Bapst Memorial High School in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. Brooks served in the Army National Guard from 1959 to 1972. He also worked as a newspaper editor and journalist with 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 ...

from 1961 to 1998. Brooks died in

on March 26, 2022, at the age of 82.

References

1942 births 2022 deaths Politicians from Brewer, Maine Maine independents People from Winterport, Maine Members of the Maine House of Representatives Journalists from Maine 20th-century members of the Maine Legislature 21st-century members of the Maine Legislature {{Maine-MERepresentative-stub