Washington County lawmaker to seek Senate seat left vacant by termed-out president

AUGUSTA, Maine — Rep. David C. Burns, R-Whiting, has announced his candidacy for the District 29 seat in the Maine Senate, a district that encompasses all of Washington County and small portions of Hancock and Penobscot counties.

The seat currently is held by Senate President Kevin Raye of Perry, who is term-limited and has announced plans to run against Mike Michaud for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Burns is in his second term in the Maine House, representing District 32 and the communities of Eastport, Trescott, Whiting, Lubec, Cutler, Machiasport, Machias and Roque Bluffs. He serves on the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and also co-chairs the Government Oversight Committee.

For more than two decades, Burns was a Maine State Police detective based in Washington County. He now works as a private investigator.

Additionally, he’s been involved in numerous local agencies including as a trustee for Washington Academy, his alma mater, and as a board member of Eastern Area Agency on Aging, Regional Medical Center Lubec-Healthways, the Recovery Support Network, the Sunrise County Economic Council and the Whiting Planning Board.

Burns said he’s running for the Senate seat to continue advocating for the people of Washington County.

“I believe we have finally turned the corner here in Maine by creating a better environment to start and run businesses while responsibly protecting our natural resources and way of life,” he said. “Washington County has made great strides in recent years by keeping our pulp and paper industry operating, developing the necessary infrastructure in our port in Eastport to compete in the 21st century and keeping the correctional facility in Bucks Harbor, which employees 68 people here in this county.”