Attorney General Aaron Frey and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows won additional, two-year terms on Wednesday during the first official day of the new legislative session.
Maine's constitutional officers are elected by state lawmakers every two years. And that means whichever party controls the most seats in the Legislature typically picks one of their own to serve as secretary of state, attorney general and state treasurer.
In the race for attorney general, Republican lawmakers nominated former officeholder William Schneider during the first gathering of the Legislature. But Frey, a Democrat who has held the position since 2019, won the majority of votes during secret balloting Wednesday evening.
Frey is a former lawyer and state lawmaker from Bangor. During a nominating speech, Democratic Sen. Mark Lawrence of Eliot said Frey understands how the legal system works from his 10 years as a defense attorney.
"The work he did in private practice is something that you cannot experience if you are in the attorney general's office, the DA's office or any other place," Lawrence said. "It's a practical understanding of what happens to people in our legal system in this country."
Bellows was also elected to a third term as secretary of state, defeating longtime Republican lawmaker and former state finance commissioner Sawin Millett of Waterford for the job. Bellows is a former state senator from Manchester who previously headed the ACLU of Maine.
In a unanimous vote, lawmakers chose Rep. Joe Perry of Bangor to serve as state treasurer. Perry is a convenience store owner who has served 11 nonconsecutive terms in the Legislature. He co-chaired the Taxation Committee during the last legislative session.
Matt Dunlap of Old Town was also chosen to serve another two-year term as state auditor. Dunlap previously served as Maine's secretary of state and represented the Old Town area in the Maine House.
Wednesday's proceedings were largely ceremonial as the newly elected lawmakers were administered the oath of office by Gov. Janet Mills and filled top staff positions in each chamber. They also formally elected Democratic Rep. Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford as House Speaker and Democratic Sen. Mattie Daughtry of Brunswick as Senate President.
Fecteau was just 28 years old in 2020 when he was chosen to serve his first term as House Speaker. In addition to being the youngest presiding officer in the country, Fecteau was Maine's first openly gay speaker. He was prevented from running for office again in 2022 because of term limits but was elected to represent his Biddeford district again last month.
Daughtry, meanwhile, was just 25 years old when she was first elected to represent Brunswick in the Maine House in 2012. She served four consecutive terms in that chamber before being elected to the Maine Senate in 2020. She is the fourth woman to serve as president of the Maine Senate.
