John G. Richardson is 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. A Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, Richardson sought the Democratic Nomination for Governor of Maine in 2010. He withdrew from the race after questions raised about signatures collected by 4 campaign volunteers put his campaign's eligibility for Clean Elections funding at risk. He formerly served as Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the 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:...

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In the Legislature

In 1998, Richardson beat an incumbent Republican to win election to 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...

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As a freshman on the Banking and Insurance Committee, he led the effort to enact a Patient Bill of Rights. The following term, as chair of the Business and Economic Development Committee, he sponsored and wrote the economic development bond bill that passed on the June 2002 ballot. He also led the effort to pass a $12 million affordable housing bond to stimulate affordable housing in Southern and Mid-coast Maine.

In 2002, John was elected House Majority Leader in the 121st Legislature, where he was the political spokesperson for the House Democratic caucus.

Richardson was elected the 97th Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2005. As Speaker, As Speaker, he successfully led efforts eliminate a $1 billion budget deficit and to balance the budget, brokered legislation to cut taxes, and reformed the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement law to help small businesses and create jobs. He earned a reputation as a consensus builder - helping to end a long stretch of partisan budget battles with bipartisan agreement on a supplemental spending plan. But he also built and broadened his party's influence, leaving the House with a solid Democratic majority after it came within a couple votes of falling to the opposition.

Committee assignments

• Business and Economic Development (Chair)
• Banking and Insurance
• Rules and Business of the House (Ex Officio)

Commissioner

In 2007, Richardson was named Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. In his two and one-half years as Commissioner, he fought to stimulate economic growth by cutting red tape and improving communication between organizations that do economic development in the state. He brought a new focus to all of Maine's regions, and facilitated links between community development, tourism, innovation, and international trade to protect jobs, and to creating new and better jobs across the state.

Election History

Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
1998	State Representative District 49	General		John Richardson	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	1,351	51.1		Reginald G. Pinkham	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	1,294	48.9
2000	State Representative District 49	General		John Richardson	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	2,399	65.6		William J. Donovan	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	1,259	34.4
2002	State Representative District 49	General		John Richardson	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	1,884	63.3		Ronald G. Dumont	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	1,094	36.7
2004	State Representative District 63	General		John Richardson	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	2,920	61.5		Amy L. Mckenna	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	1,827	38.5