Maine County Commissioners Association elects 2025 leadership

AUGUSTA — The Maine County Commissioners Association held their annual meeting in Augusta on Jan. 8 and selected their leadership for 2025.

Commissioner Andre Cushing of Penobscot County was elected as president, Commissioner Robert Sezak of Somerset County was elected vice president and Commissioner Sawin Millett of Oxford County is slated to serve as secretary/treasurer.

More than a third of the commissioners elected in November are new to county government but many have a depth of experience in public service. 

Cushing, a commissioner since 2018 has served on two town councils and was a member of the Legislature from 2008-18 serving in both the House and Senate where he was chosen by his peers to serve as assistant majority leader in both bodies. 

Sezak, a commissioner since 2016, served on two town councils and as a board member of the Kennebec County Water District.

Millett, newly elected commissioner of Oxford County has a lifetime of public service; first in the Legislature and then in the executive branch where he served four administrations; as an education commissioner, then as associate commissioner for the Department of Mental Health  and then in two administrations as a commissioner for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.

The Maine Association of County Commissioners serves all 16 counties and their commissioners advocating for resources for counties to serve their residents with service ranging from the jails and rural patrol to emergency management, regional 911 services, and emergency management to the registries of deeds and probate.

As president, Cushing’s goal is to build stronger relations with the municipal associations and the sheriff’s association. Additionally, county government must seek solutions to the challenges facing our cities and towns today with workforce issues and the growing demands on local government. Several counties are already working on ideas to help their communities collaborate. For example, Cumberland County now provides assessing services, Aroostook is looking into providing county level code enforcement resources, and Penobscot County helped 10 rural communities form the state’s first fire district. There are many other responsibilities from animal control, to public works and administrative services that are becoming more challenging to find staffing to cover.