Anna Morkeski (J.W. Oliver photo, LCN file)
A former Republican state committeewoman, and Damariscotta resident, has registered as a candidate for the Maine House of Representatives.
Anna Morkeski, 28, filed candidacy papers Dec. 28, 2015 to represent District 90, which consists of Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta, Monhegan, Newcastle, and parts of Nobleboro and South Bristol.
This is Morkeski’s second run for office, having previously run for the same seat in 2014. Morkeski was defeated by incumbent Rep. Mick Devin, D-Newcastle, who received 60.26 percent of the vote.
After indicating she was interested in participating in an interview Jan. 26, Morkeski did not return several email and phone messages.
Morkeski holds elective office within the local party as the secretary of the Damariscotta Republican Committee, according to the Lincoln County Republican Committee website. She was the vice chairwoman of the committee and the chairwoman of its delegation to the Maine Republican Party Convention in 2012.
She was elected to represent Lincoln County on the Maine Republican State Committee at the convention.
In September 2012, Morkeski stepped down as state committee-woman and Damariscotta vice chairwoman to accept a position as field coordinator for the John Birch Society in Maine.
In April 2013, Morkeski was laid off by the society in an effort to reduce state coordinators for financial reasons, after which she returned to local Republican office and was re-elected as a delegate to the state convention.
In a 2014 interview with The Lincoln County News, Morkeski said she would advocate for local control in government and work to return decision-making power to the people if she were elected.
Morkeski also said she supports a minimum wage set by the free market, not the government.
Since the 2014 election, Morkeski has been involved in a series of legal issues.
Morkeski was arrested and charged with class D criminal OUI after driving her vehicle off the road, striking a street sign, and driving into a snowbank in Damariscotta March 10, 2015, according to court documents.
Morkeski’s blood-alcohol level was 0.15 grams per 210 liters of breath at the time of arrest, according to court documents. In Maine, it is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more.
According to court documents, Morkeski was arrested again and charged with class E violating a condition of release March 31, 2015 in Damariscotta.
Morkeski pleaded guilty to operating under the influence July 13, 2015 and served 48 hours in Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. She was also ordered to pay a fine of $500 and her license was suspended for 150 days.
Morkeski was also sentenced to serve 48 hours in Two Bridges Regional Jail for the charge of violating condition of release, although it was not clear whether the sentences were concurrent.
On Nov. 2, 2015, Morkeski was charged with class E theft by unauthorized taking after allegedly stealing a can of Twisted Tea from the Waldoboro Smoke Shop, according to court documents. She is scheduled to appear on that charge at the Lincoln County Courthouse in Wiscasset on Thursday, Feb. 11.
According to documents Morkeski filed in order to receive a court-appointed attorney, she has been unemployed since being laid off by the John Birch Society.
Morkeski is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management and a Bachelor of Science degree with a focus on biological systems and entomology, a branch of zoology dealing with insects.
Lincoln County Republican Committee Chairman Stuart Smith said he had not known Morkeski intended to file papers to run, however, with her announcement, the party has a candidate in each of the House and Senate districts in the county.
Smith declined to comment on Morkeski’s legal matters.
