Legislative races shaping up in county, but only two primaries scheduled

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    Some familiar faces will be on the November general election ballot in Piscataquis County, but there will only be two primary races this year — both involving Republican candidates for the Maine Legislature.  
    March 17 was the deadline for party candidates to file their nomination papers for state and county offices, but unenrolled candidates have until June 2.

    So while Republican Sheriff John Goggin won’t face a Democratic opponent in November, Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Dennis Dyer will be on the ballot as an unenrolled candidate.
    Also, some candidates may not be actively seeking the office, but serving as a “placeholder” for a replacement candidate later in the year.
    Rep. Paul Davis of Sangerville is challenging incumbent Sen. Douglas Thomas of Ripley in Senate District 4 which includes all of Piscataquis County and some smaller communities in Somerset County.
    Davis had served in the Maine Senate for eight years — including one term as Republican leader — and is finishing up his third term in the Maine House.
    Thomas is seeking his third term in the Senate after serving for six years in the House.
    The Democratic candidate for Senate District 4 is David F. Ziemer of Orneville Township, vice-chair of the Piscataquis County Democratic Committee, who won’t face primary opposition.
    The other Republican primary race is in House District 120 where Norman Higgins of Dover-Foxcroft will face Joseph Legere of Milo.
Higgins was employed at SAD 4 for 32 years as a social studies teacher, principal at Piscataquis Community High School and superintendent of schools.
    Legere, a long-distance truck driver and volunteer firefighter, is also making his first run for public office.
    The Democratic candidate, unopposed in the primary, will be Donald Crossman of Milo who has served on the SAD 41 Board of Directors for eight years including the last two as chairman. He retired from the Dorthea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor as a clinical nurse manager.
    Rep. Raymond Wallace of Dexter will face a familiar opponent in November as Democrat David Pearson, also of Dexter, has filed nomination papers to run against the Republican lawmaker for the third time.
    Wallace defeated Pearson in a special election for an open seat in November 2011. The vacancy occurred when former State Rep. Fred Wintle resigned from office after being charged with pointing a firearm at a Morning Sentinel photographer a few months earlier. Wallace defeated Pearson again in Nov. 2012.
    With Rep. Peter Johnson of Greenville reaching term limits this year, Paul Stearns of Guilford will be running under the Republican Party banner this year. Stearns is a retired SAD 4 superintendent who is making his first bid for public office. Previously, he was principal of SeDoMoCha Middle School in Dover-Foxcroft for four years and principal of Valley High School in Bingham for three years.
    His Democratic opponent will be Richard A. Gould of Greenville, who served in the Maine House for 10 years back in the 1990s. He is also a former Greenville selectmen, school board chairman and member of the Maine Board of Environmental Protection.
    House District 120 is technically an open seat this year since incumbent Paul Davis’ hometown of Sangerville was moved into District 119 due to reapportionment.
    The new boundaries for Piscataquis County’s three commissioners’ districts could have potentially forced incumbents Fred Trask and Eric Ward to run against each other this year. However, Ward has declined to seek reelection. So James White of Guilford, a truck driving instructor at Tri-County Technical Center, has filed nomination papers and will run for Ward’s seat as a Republican.
    Other Republican candidates for county officers are incumbent Linda Smith of Dover-Foxcroft for register of deeds and newcomer Johanna Greenfield for county treasurer. Greenfield is the owner-operator of Synergy Accounting Systems in Dover-Foxcroft.
    The Democrats did not field candidates for county races this year. However, veteran incumbent District Attorney R. Christopher Almy of Charleston, the chief prosecutor for Piscataquis and Penobscot counties, will run opposed on the Democratic ticket.