Legere drops Senate District 4 race; will run for House instead

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    MILO — Joseph Legere of Milo would still like to go to the statehouse in November, but in a different chamber.
    Legere, who was running in the Republican primary against Sen. Doug Thomas and Rep. Paul Davis for the Maine Senate District 4 seat, has withdrawn his candidacy and filed paperwork to run for House District 120 instead.

    “We sat down with Doug (Thomas) and we told him that the only reason we were running against him was that he just looked tired,” Legere said. “His heart was in the legislature, but he just didn’t seem to be up to it.”
    But after the conversation, Legere said he came to the conclusion that Thomas “is a better man for the job than I’d be. When it comes down to real-world experience, he has it. He’s a man that doesn’t forget where he’s from because he’s still there.”
    Legere said that he has had no direct contact with Davis. “I have no idea how he feels about me dropping out of the senate race,” he said.
    Legere now faces a primary against Norman E. Higgins, a former SAD 4 superintendent of schools, in the June Republican primary. Higgins announced his candidacy last week. House District 120 consists of Atkinson, Brownville, Dover-Foxcroft, Lake View, Medford and Milo. So far, no Democratic candidate has emerged in the race.
    “It actually makes me feel better to be running against someone in the primary,” Legere said. “I want to earn the voters’ trust and respect. It’s a position that should be earned, not given away.” Legere added that he “really hasn’t changed the campaign – just the destination. Our major campaign theme is to help bring jobs to the district. We have the workforce to get it done.”
    Legere, a long-distance truck driver, is making his first run for public office. He’s a member of the Milo Budget Committee and the Sebec Volunteer Fire Department. He and his wife, Star, have three children.