Holly Stover (Johnathan Riley photo)
State Rep. Holly B. Stover, D-Boothbay, is focused on continuing her work of making sure Mainer’s have access to their most basic needs in her reelection to House District 48.
Stover faces James William “Bill” Hunt III, R-Southport, to represent House District 48, which consists of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, South Bristol, Southport, and Westport Island. Stover serving her third term in the House.
Born and raised in Boothbay, both sides of Stover’s family go back several generations. She said she has two brothers who live out of state, nieces and nephews, and lots of cousins who live in the area.
“This is my home,” she said.
Stover’s career has focused on adults and children’s mental health, domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and child welfare.
Stover earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and human services from Nasson College in Springvale and attended the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine.
Stover is currently the executive director of Community Resource Council, a nonprofit assisting those with food insecurity, heating, or addiction in the Boothbay region. She is also the director of development for Lincoln County Dental, a nonprofit, low-income dental service provider.
“The poorer you are, the harder it is to access oral health care in this state and in this county, so Lincoln County dental provides critical services to people in need,” she said.
Stover has served in an elected position representing Boothbay on the Boothbay Region Water District for two years. She’s been the vice president of the board of directors of the Boothbay Village Railway Museum for three years, having served six years in total on the board. She has been the president of the board of the Boothbay Region District Nurse Program for seven years, which aims to manage people’s healthcare needs at home. She has also been a trustee on LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus board for the past decade.
Stover said she wants to continue her legislative service because she’s passionate about the community and the people who live here.
“I feel as though we’ve done some incredibly great work over the past six years, but there’s still work to be done,” she said.
Prior to when Stover took office as a state representative in 2018, she worked for the state of Maine for nearly 25 years. For 17 of those years, she served as the regional director for adult and children’s behavioral health with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, formerly the state Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services, which included working with mental health, adult and children’s developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services.
In 2022 she received the Legislative Award from the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
“I have spent my career developing, creating, and running programs for the most vulnerable people in our state,” she said. “Regardless of when I worked for the state or the nonprofit sector, findings ways to address the most basic needs … it sort of brings all of my work across my career into my work as a legislator.”
Stover said her career has helped prepare her to be an effective legislator by helping her understand the process of putting forth initiatives. In addition, being a longtime resident involved in her community helps Stover know what the people of her area, and Maine, need the most, she said.
“I have a deeper understanding of what, especially local people, need from the daily work I do and systemically, what is best for Maine, because I have been part of both sides of these issues,” she said. “As a nonprofit director for an agency that provides an array of services to vulnerable people who are also now my constituents, I understand firsthand the struggles and challenges that local people face because I deal with it every day professionally.”
Those basic needs, according to Stover, include affordable housing, food scarcity, child care affordability, and heating homes during the winter, which are among the concerns of her constituents in District 48.
“The economic challenges that we are facing are significant for all of us. I think anybody living in even the most moderate to middle income are facing challenges,” she said.
Some of the ways state Legislature has addressed housing issues was by passing and implementing L.D. 2003, a bill making it easier for the development of accessory dwelling units on properties. While bills like this are a step in the right direction, according to Stover, housing is not an issue with one answer.
“I think for coastal communities in my district, L.D. 2003 has been a challenge,” she said. “We can’t address our affordable housing crisis in the state without the ability to create new units of housing and L.D. 2003 is a vehicle to do that, but I also want to recognize the hardship that small, rural, coastal communities face in implementing L.D. 2003.”
Another issue Stover believes the Legislature should address is the impact the emergency response rule proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration could have on small communities.
According to Lincoln County fire department officials, the proposed regulations would increase financial burdens on emergency services by requiring the implementation of additional safety measures, which could possibly result in reduced manpower and limited resources.
“It’ll be our responsibility as legislators to lead and inform OSHA that these are unacceptable changes,” Stover said. “This is like L.D. 2003, it works great in urban settings, but when you get into rural areas, it doesn’t work so well.”
If the proposed changes do pass, Stover said it’ll be the Legislature’s responsibility to work with the state on better funding for municipal fire departments.
One of Stover’s proudest accomplishments was being the lead sponsor on L.D. 1532, “An Act to Eliminate Single-Use Plastic Carry-Out Bags” in 2019. She also reflected on legislation she sponsored to improve services addressing mental health, substance abuse, and both domestic and sexual assault.
“I’m from here, I’m a local person, so there’s value in knowing people and their history and the struggles, and being able to help address those struggles where you can,” she said.
Stover is endorsed by the Maine chapter of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, National Association of Social Workers, Committee to Protect Health Care, Maine Education Association, Maine Planned Parenthood, Maine Conservation Voters, Local 1989, and Maine Service Employees Association.
When Stover has a moment, she likes to cook, spend time with family, read, and be near the water.
For more information, go to Re-elect Holly Stover for Maine on Facebook.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
