A fourth independent candidate, state lawmaker Ed Crockett from Portland, has joined the increasingly crowded contest to become Maine's next governor.
Ed Crockett has represented parts of Portland and Falmouth as a Democrat in the Maine House for the past seven years. But Crockett said Thursday that he believes Maine's Democratic and Republicans parties have "lost their way" — has have the national parties in Washington, D.C., he said.
So Crockett recently unenrolled as a Democrat and announced on Wednesday that he will run as an independent using Maine's public campaign financing or "clean elections" system.
"My primary message is Maine needs a chief executive who has the courage and strength to put the people first and not partisan party politics," Crockett said in an interview. "I've seen how dysfunctional it's been and you can see it from afar at the national level."
Crockett grew up in a large, working-class family in Portland. He was the first in his family to graduate from college and, after earning his MBA, he eventually became a marketing and sales executive. Crockett said he was not involved in politics or party politics before deciding to run for the Legislature seven years ago.
"All of this party partisanship . . . it's created incredible vitriol and gridlock," Crockett said. "I see most of the candidates that are running are basically coming from that feeder system. And I don't think anything will change if that is the case."
In the Legislature, he serves on the Taxation Committee as well as the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.
There are three other independent candidates so far: state Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford, John Glowa of South China and Alexander Kenneth Murchison of Dover-Foxcroft. Meanwhile there are six Democrats and seven Republicans who have joined the race, with more potentially coming.
All of the candidates will have to collect petition signatures starting in January in order to qualify for the ballot. Unlike the major party candidates, however, the independents will not have to compete in the June primaries.
