Ethan Strimling

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Ethan Strimling

Member of the Maine State Senate from the 8th district
In office 2003 – Present
Preceded by	Anne M. Rand

Born	October 19, 1967 (1967-10-19) (age 40) New York City, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Beeaker
Profession	Executive Director, Portland West
Website	http://www.ethanstrimling.com/

Ethan King Strimling (born October 19th, 1967) is a Democratic State Senator from Maine's 8th District. He was first elected to the Maine State Senate in 2002.

1 Education and political work
2 Public service
3 Election history
4 Congressional campaign
5 External links

[edit] Education and political work

Ethan Strimling was born and raised in New York City, and attended the Juilliard School for Theater from 1985 to 1987. Later, he attended the University of Maine, Orono and received his B.A. in History. He then pursued a Masters in Education degree from Harvard University, and received it in 1994.

After school, he went to Washington, D.C. to work as a legislative aide for then-First District Congressman Tom Andrews. He then came back to Maine to serve as State Treasurer Dale McCormick's Campaign Manager for her 1996 Congressional race.

[edit] Public service

Since 1997, Strimling has served as the Executive Director of Portland West[1], a non-profit social-service agency that works with at-risk kids and low-income families in Portland's West End.

In 2002, Strimling ran his first campaign for the Maine State Senate to succeed Anne M. Rand. He was elected in his first race with 74% of the vote, and again in 2004 with 76%. He was elected for a third term in 2006, and it runs until 2009.

In the State Senate, Strimling is the Chair of the Labor Committee and also a member of the Taxation Committee. He has also served as Chair of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, and in 2006, was Co-Chair of Maine's Homeland Security Task Force.

Strimling has also served on the boards of several political and non-profit committees, including Maine Won't Discriminate, Casinos NO!, and the Maine NAACP.

[edit] Election history

Strimling's first run for public office was for the Portland City Council in 1999. He was defeated by incumbent Jack Dawson in a very close race (24 votes). During a recount, the City Council awarded 35 disputed ballots to Strimling after his campaign argued that voters who had filled in a blank line below his name had intended to vote for him. When Dawson appealed the decision to Maine Superior Court, Strimling announced that he would step aside and give Dawson the Council seat. Strimling stated that the decision of the City Council in awarding him the disputed ballots had created the perception among some that the election had been stolen.

[edit] Congressional campaign

On Sep 27, 2007, Strimling announced he was running for Congress from Maine's 1st congressional district being vacated by Rep. Tom Allen. Allen has announced he will challenge Susan Collins for her Senate seat in 2008[2].