Former State Representative Patrick Corey has announced his candidacy for the Maine House District 107 representing part of Windham as an independent.
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| Patrick Corey has declared his intent to run for state representative in Windham's District 107 as an independent. He previously served four terms in the Maine House representing District 25 from 2014 to 2022. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
“I’m running for Maine House District 107 in 2024 as an independent candidate to put my experience, knowledge, and dedication to service to work for you,” Corey said. “After serving eight years, term limited for the 2022 cycle, in the Maine House of Representatives, I became unaffiliated with a political party. I timed this switch in my voter registration with the same day the new Legislature was sworn in. My constituents were served by the candidate they elected until I was no longer in office and people who worked on my campaigns would be OK with my change in status. Becoming independent was a personal decision and one I grew into based on my service and seeing how Maine’s people were left underserved by our two-party system.”
Corey said that over the last decade, partisanship at the Maine State House has grown out of control.
“At the beginning of my service, in 2014 it paled in comparison to what we witnessed nationally. Sadly, Augusta now mirrors Washington,” he said. “Being a moderate through my legislative service, I thought I could sway members of my party to the center. Over time, I became aware this was an impossible task, a realization echoed by moderate members on both sides of the aisle.”
According to Corey, our two-party system has resulted in bad governance, the inability to be self-reflective and act appropriately, policy objectives that are often rooted in the values of political extremes rather than the moderate views held by most Mainers, along with only offering binary and often miserable choices.
“When one party controls all the levers of government, they adopt a “winner-take-all” viewpoint and exclude others from the governing process,” Corey said. “When they share power, rather than striving to find common ground, they obstruct one another. I want to be clear. Those that serve in government and choose to serve as a member of a party are differently motivated than your typical registered voter. Up until this upcoming primary in Maine, people needed to be registered in a party to participate. Due to this past requirement, registered voters sought out those they ideologically aligned with and had the opportunity to pick that party’s candidate for the general election. This was by design. The parties have worked hard over the years to convince the electorate that there are only two ways voters should define themselves and that the only viable options for representation are members of their parties.”
He says he’s running again for the Maine House to make government work for the people once more and to introduce and endeavor to advance “good governance” legislation that enhances accountability, integrity, responsiveness, inclusivity, and transparency.
“My interest is in promoting positive policy based on its merit, not where or who it comes from and to hold politicians accountable for their transgressions regardless of who they are politically aligned with and within the law,” Corey said. “My promise is that I will always be receptive to not only hearing my constituent’s views but trying to understand where they come from.”
While in office, Corey said he took great pride in his work with the Windham Legislative Delegation including former State Senator Bill Diamond and former State Representative Mark Bryant.
“Whenever an issue was important for our community, we managed to put partisanship aside, working together on behalf of our constituents,” Corey said. “This wasn’t only recognized and appreciated by the people we represented, but by our colleagues in the State House as well. I will work to foster that type of collaboration and goodwill in the next Legislature.”
He said that running as an independent candidate will require him to collect twice as many signatures to get on the ballot.
“The upside is that I love talking with folks and hearing about what’s important in their lives,” Corey said. “I can collect them from Democrat, Republican, Green Independent, Libertarian, and unenrolled and independent voters. I really want a mix of party affiliations on my petition to run. Let me know if you would like to help me get on the ballot. I am grateful for your past and future support.”
Corey is a marketing and communications professional that also creates and sells original fine art. He is the President of Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a nonprofit that provides emergency heating assistance for Windham residents, and he serves on the board of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. He lives in Windham with his wife Sheila. <
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