Judy Ayotte Paradis (born January 17, 1944) 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 ...

. From 1986 to 1994, she represented

Madawaska, Maine Madawaska is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,867 at the 2020 census. Madawaska is opposite Edmundston, Madawaska County in New Brunswick, Canada, to which it is connected by the Edmundston–Madawaska B ...

while serving in the

Maine Legislature The Maine State Legislature is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. ...

as a 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 ...

(1986-1992) and 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 ...

(1992-1994). In 1991, she won the Toll Fellowship from the National Council of State Legislatures. In December 2011, during an event in Northern Aroostook County, Paradis told Governor

Paul LePage Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 74th governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the mayor of Waterville, Maine, from 20 ...

, "You come off as a bully" during a workshop regarding large cuts to MaineCare proposed by the LePage administration.

Personal

Paradis was born on January 17, 1944, in St. Agatha, Maine of

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

parents. Bilingual, she speaks English and

Acadian French Acadian French () is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has seven regional accents, including Chiac and Brayon. Phonology Since there was relatively little linguistic contact with F ...

. She studied French at the University of Maine Fort Kent. She then taught French at Wisdom Middle High School in her hometown and nearby

Madawaska High School Madawaska Middle/High School is a public secondary school, serving grades 7 through 12, located in Madawaska, Maine, United States. The school serves students in from Madawaska, Saint David, and Grand Isle. The building also hosts the area's ad ...

. She was inducted in the

Maine Women's Hall of Fame The Maine Women's Hall of Fame was created in 1990 to honor the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Maine. The induction ceremonies are held each year during March, designated as Women's History Month. Nominees are chosen by th ...

in 2005.

References

1944 births Living people People from Madawaska, Maine Women state legislators in Maine University of Maine at Fort Kent alumni Members of the Maine House of Representatives Maine state senators American people of French-Canadian descent Schoolteachers from Maine American women educators 21st-century American women 20th-century members of the Maine Legislature 20th-century American women politicians {{Maine-MESenate-stub