Dana Childs was a Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 politician, lawyer and jurist. Childs, who served as both a Democrat

Maine Democratic Party

The Maine Democratic Party is the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of Maine.-Current Democratic officeholders:The Maine Democratic Party is the minority party in both the Maine Senate and Maine House of Representatives. The party, however, holds both of the state's U.S...

 and Republican

Maine Republican Party

The Maine Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Maine. It was founded in Strong, Maine on August 7, 1854. The state Chairman is Charles M. Webster....

, represented Portland

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

 in the Maine House of Representatives

Maine House of Representatives

The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state. Each voting member of the House represents around 8,450 citizens of the state...

. He served a two-year stint as Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives

Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives

The Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives is the speaker and presiding officer of the Maine House of Representatives, the lower house of the Maine Legislature.-List of speakers:...

 as a Democrat from 1965 to 1966. In 1966, Childs ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Maine

Governor of Maine

The governor of Maine is the chief executive of the State of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive....

, but lost to eventual Governor Kenneth M. Curtis

Kenneth M. Curtis

Kenneth Merwin Curtis is an American lawyer and former politician. He is currently a principal in the law firm of Curtis Thaxter Stevens Broder & Micoleau Limited Liability Company, P.A....

.

In 1973, Childs was nominated and later confirmed for the position of probate judge for Cumberland County

Cumberland County, Maine

Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 281,674. Its county seat is Portland, and is the most populous of the sixteen Maine counties, as well as the most affluent. Cumberland County has the deepest and second largest body of water in the...

 largely because of his friendship with Republican leader David J. Kennedy

David J. Kennedy

David J. Kennedy was a Maine politician and pharmacist. Kennedy, a Republican, represented Milbridge in Washington County from 1959 to 1972, including terms as Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 1963 to 1964 and again from 1967 to 1972. He retired from politics in 1972...

. Childs also served as a lobbyist for the Maine Central Railroad

Maine Central Railroad

The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...

 alongside Kennedy after their political careers ended. He continued that position until the 1990s. Besides his political and law careers, Child was an avid horse enthusiast, serving as President of the Maine Harness Horsemen's Association. He died at his home in Westbrook

Westbrook, Maine

Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 17,494 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.-History:...

 on April 23, 1999 from a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

.