Justin Loring Alfond (born January 8, 1975) is an American politician and real estate developer. He served as a
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
State Senator from the 8th District, which represents much of
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
. Alfond was first elected to the State Senate in 2008 to replace Democrat
Ethan Strimling
Ethan King Strimling (born October 19, 1967) is an American non-profit executive and politician from Maine. Strimling was elected Mayor of Portland, Maine in 2015. Strimling previously served as a Democratic state senator from 2003 to 2009. Af ...
; he beat former State Senator
Anne Rand
Anne M. Rand (born July 27, 1946) is an American politician from Maine. She served in the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine State Senate for 10 terms between 1986 and 2008.
Rand was born in Portland, Maine and raised in the city's ...
and Cliff Ginn. He was re-elected in 2010 and 2012. In 2012, he faced Green Independent Party Chair Asher Platts. Alfond won with 71% of the vote in a two-way race.
Following his re-election to a third term in November 2012, he was chosen as
President of the Maine Senate
The position of President of the Maine Senate was created when Maine separated from Massachusetts and achieved statehood in 1820.
The Maine Legislature had one year terms until 1880, when an amendment to the Maine Constitution took effect to prov ...
by his fellow Democrats in the Maine Senate. Upon being re-elected to his fourth term, he was chosen to be the leader of the now-minority Democrats.
Alfond was the second youngest Senate President since 1880, when
Joseph A. Locke
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...
. He then attended
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...
Maine Citizens for Clean Elections noted in a published report that Alfond, despite funding his own campaigns through public financing, raised significant money through a leader political action committee (PAC). He raised over $192,000 for the Alfond Business, Community & Democracy PAC between its creation in 2009 and 2012.
On November 21, 2013, Alfond voted against allowing a bill submitted by Rep. Diane Russell (D-Portland) which would have legalized, taxed, and regulated the use of marijuana in the state, to proceed to debate during the second session of the 126th Legislature, which typically only addresses a limited number of bills. The Maine Legislative Council, of which Alfond was a member of as Senate President, voted 5-5, meaning that no legislative action would be taken until at least 2015. Disappointment was expressed over the vote since Alfond represents Portland, a city that only weeks prior voted overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for adults over 21.
On December 18, 2013, Alfond announced that he submitted emergency legislation to attempt to help resolve a lease dispute between the Portland Pirates and the Cumberland County Civic Center by allowing the team to receive a share of alcohol revenue, which was illegal under Maine law but the Pirates had originally sought.
On June 30, 2014, the Talking Points Memo website claimed that some Maine adherents to the sovereign citizen movement called for Alfond and a fellow Democrat,
House Speaker
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerfo ...
Mark Eves
Mark W. Eves is an American politician and family counselor who served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives for the 146th district from 2008 to 2014. He was also a Democratic candidate in the 2018 Maine gubernatorial election.
Early ...
, to be tried, convicted, and
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...
for
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
during meetings with Governor
Paul LePage
Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 74th Governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, LePage served two terms as a city councilor in Waterville, Maine, before bein ...
in 2013. LePage has denied that such discussions took place, even after learning audio recordings exist of two men claiming such a discussion took place.
Personal life
He is married to Rachael Weinstein.
In 2004, he founded the Maine Chapter of the League of Young Voters, serving for four years as its Director. He serves on the boards of many organizations, including Avesta Housing, Opportunity Maine, Maine Initiatives, Kennebec Valley Community College, the New England Board of Higher Education and the New England Secondary School Consortium. He lives in Portland's West End.Biography Maine Senate Democrats