Friends and colleagues of Bill Diamond are describing the former secretary of state and longtime lawmaker as a statesman who devoted the final years of his life to the issue of child welfare.
Diamond, who was from Windham, died over the weekend at the age of 80. He worked for decades as a teacher, principal and superintendent primarily in the schools around his hometown. But Diamond would also become a well-known figure under the State House dome during the roughly 40 years he served in the Maine House and Senate or as secretary of state.
"He was a mentor to many — and he was always a teacher to everybody," said Rep. Jeff Timberlake, a Turner Republican who worked closely with Diamond and considered him a good friend. "And he made everybody feel equal, it didn't make a difference which side of the aisle you was on."
Timberlake said he remembers meeting Diamond soon after his own first election to the Maine House back in 2010. Looking back, Timberlake chuckled as he describes himself at that time as a "ball of fire thinking that I was going to change the world." But Timberlake said Diamond taught him to slow down and to be more diligent because legislative changes don't happen overnight.
"He really taught me that it takes both sides of the aisle to make it work," Timberlake said.
Another Republican, Patrick Corey, represented Diamond's hometown of Windham in the Maine House while the Democrat served in the Senate. Like Timberlake, Corey credits Diamond with mentoring him on the always-complicated and oftentimes-messy legislative process and on the importance of bipartisanship.
"Bill was not only a constituent he was a friend and a colleague and an incredible mentor," Corey said.
Diamond wasn't always regarded as being so nonpartisan, however.
Some Republicans criticized his performance as secretary of state during a 1992-93 ballot-stuffing scandal involving staff of longtime Democratic House Speaker John Martin. But in the aftermath, Diamond implemented the Legislature's directives to overhaul the recount process, including ensuring cast ballots be stored in special locked, metal ballot boxes and that all recounts be conducted in a centralized location. That process is still used today.
After returning to the Legislature, Diamond stayed involved in some of the issues he managed as secretary of state. He wrote a law after the 2016 elections that aimed to better protect voters from intimidation at the ballot box. And Diamond was the lead author of the bill making it illegal to talk on a handheld cellphone while driving.
But the issue he is arguably best known for in recent years is child welfare.
Diamond helped lead the Legislature's investigations into several high-profile abuse deaths of children whose families were in the child welfare system. And since leaving the Senate in 2022, Diamond formed a nonprofit called Walk A Mile in Their Shoes that has aimed to continue pressuring the Maine Department of Health and Humans Services to make additional reforms to child protection, foster care and family support programs.
In April 2024, the group released a 32-page report of recommendations that included adding more clinicians, paralegals and other support staff to help the overburdened caseworkers. The report was based on interviews with frontline DHHS workers, families and advocates.
"Every case should have a team approach and people have told us that up and down the state," Diamond said during a press conference highlighting the report. "No longer can we rely or expect one caseworker to go in and do all of the work that they do, especially when they have an overload of 30 or 40 cases when they should have 12."
Tributes to Diamond also flowed in from other state leaders after his death was announced on Monday.
“Bill Diamond was a dedicated public servant and leader, an incredibly compassionate and kind person, and a wonderful friend," Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement. "He was a tremendous advocate for the safety and well-being of Maine’s children through his many years as an educator and legislator but especially as the founder of Walk a Mile in Their Shoes. I am deeply saddened to learn of his passing and send my heartfelt condolences to his wife Jane.”
Diamond's family has not disclosed his cause is death. He had posted on his nonprofit's website earlier this year, however, that he was stepping aside temporarily to deal with a a quote "challenging medical issue."
"I want our supporters to know that we will not lose focus on what we feel is the most critical issue facing Maine’s children," Diamond wrote. "We’ve built an army of dedicated volunteers and advocates who have brought our mission so far. Our patrons have been absolutely amazing in helping us accomplish our mission. We need your help more than ever.
We at Walk a Mile in Their Shoes are committed to our mission. I need a little time before I’ll be able to return and devote 100%."
Timberlake served with Diamond on the legislative committee that has spent years investigating a slate of child deaths. And he said Walk A Mile in Their Shoes will continue the advocacy that Diamond started when he created the group.
"I think Bill made a difference there," Timberlake said. "I think they listened. They see it and they knew he wasn't going away and he was going to be a person that was going to chase to the end, and that's what he did."
