State Rep. Lydia Crafts, D-Newcastle, has announced she will not seek reelection to represent House Distrct 46. (LCN file)
No matter what happens at the polls next fall, residents Maine House District 46 are virtually guaranteed to send a new representative to Augusta for the start of the 133rd Legislature.
Three-term incumbent Rep. Lydia Crafts, D-Newcastle, announced she will not seek a fourth consecutive term in office this year. In a statement posted to her website and her official Facebook page Sunday, Jan. 31, Crafts said she was proud to be elected to represent Mainers in Augusta and the decision to not seek reelection was a difficult one to make.
“Working for the people of Maine has taught me how complex leadership is, how difficult conversations and disagreement are vital to our democracy, and how important it is to maintain our integrity, even in the face of chaos,” Crafts said. “My choice has not been easy, because in the midst of all of the absurdity in politics, I am still able to find so much joy in the work.”
Expanding on her statement in a Tuesday, Feb. 3 phone interview, Crafts said a reevaluation of her personal life requires she focus on her children at this time, including her 10-year-old daughter Kestrel and 19-year-old stepdaughter Amelia.
Throughout her tenure in Augusta, Crafts said she has always done her best to model an appropriate balance of her professional and home life. After talking with her children, she felt it was clear that she needed to focus on her family at this time, she said.
“I spent the last six months really considering it and when I talked with my kids it became obvious that this was for the best,” Crafts said.
Crafts stressed she is not burned out on politics nor is she frustrated with the current tenor of political debate. Quite the contrary, she said, she is proud of the bipartisan work ongoing in Augusta and she has faith in Maine’s democratic process.
“My faith in Maine politics has not changed,” she said. “My excitement for this work is a just as strong now as it was when I first ran for office.”
Crafts said her experience in the Maine Legislature has been decidedly bipartisan.
“Even in the face of divisive national politics, the people I work with hold a lot of hope for working together still and there is no better place to do than the transportation committee where we pass bipartisan bills that help all Mainers,” she said.
Crafts, who chairs the House Joint Standing Committee on Transportation, said she will complete her term in office this year. Her main priority is making sure the transportation committee’s infrastructure plan has the funding in place and the jobs scheduled in order to move forward.
“There are some huge structural gaps in our infrastructure funding, so I am still hard at work, focused on bipartisanship,” she said.
Crafts’ decision leaves House District 46 without a defending incumbent and for the moment, without a single Democratic candidate. House District 46 consists of Bristol, Damariscotta, Newcastle, Nobleboro, and Monhegan Plantation
In a written statement, Lincoln County Democratic Committee Chair Ken Mestrich praised Crafts’ effectiveness as a legislator and promised to look for one or more strong candidates to seek the party’s nomination in primary voting Tuesday, June 6.
“Lydia Crafts has been a thoughtful, hardworking, and principled representative for House District 46,” Mestrich said. “She has brought seriousness and integrity to her work, and she’s been a strong advocate for her constituents and for Maine values more broadly. From the committee’s perspective, our focus now is on ensuring that voters in the district continue to have a strong Democratic candidate who can build on that record of service. We’re confident there is a deep bench of committed people in Lincoln County who care deeply about public service, and we’ll be working in the coming weeks to support that process.”
Crafts, a self-described “born and bred” Mainer, grew up in the Belfast area. After high school she earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Smith College in Northampton, Mass. and went on to earn a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maine.
After working as a program manager for child-mentoring nonprofit Big Brothers Big Sisters in college, Crafts became a public school social worker, transitioning into private practice after her first term in the Legislature.
For more information, go to lydiacrafts.com.
