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Senator Dennis S. Damon, D-Hancock,
was elected to public office in November of 1992,
where he served as a Hancock County Commissioner.
Later, he was elected to serve in the Maine State
Senate in 2002, 2004, and again in 2006.
Prior to the start of major legislative business
in the 122nd Maine Legislature, Damon was asked to
serve as the Senate Chair of the Joint Select Committee
on Property Tax Reform. He was recognized by Governor
John Baldacci and Republican and Democratic lawmakers
as being a key figure to the success in the passage
of Maine’s most historic tax reform in 30 years.
Currently, he is the Senate chair of the Joint Standing
Committee on Marine resources and Joint Standing
Committee on Transportation – the only Senator
to be appointed as chair to two committees.
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Economic development and Maine’s
economic future are his central focus. He is committed
to advancing the dialog and policies that will define
and develop Maine’s economy. Other areas of
interest include promoting and strengthening Maine’s
foundation for growth, education, transportation,
energy, information, technology, the environment
and tax reform.
Prior to being elected to the Senate, Damon served
on the board of County Commissioners of Hancock County,
the Governor's Intergovernmental Restructuring Task
Force, the Brewer to Calais Railroad Study Commission,
and the Maine Ferry Service Advisory Committee. He
also chaired the Maine Rural Development Council.
His work on these committees played a major role
in preparing, and prompting him to run for the State
Senate.
Senator Damon was born in Bar Harbor, Maine in 1948.
He attended Stetson Grammar School and graduated
from Mount Desert High School, both in Northeast
Harbor. He received a Bachelor of Science degree
in education from the University of Maine at Orono.
He has also worked as a schoolteacher, coach, entrepreneur,
and small business owner. As a teacher, he developed
and taught a course entitled "The Maine Fisherman." As
a coach he was named Maine high school "Baseball
Coach of the Year." He has served as American
Legion baseball coach, Zone Commissioner and presently
is the Field Director for Maine. Damon is a fourth-generation
commercial fisherman with extensive experience in
many fisheries including ground fish, shrimp, scallops,
lobsters, and herring.
Senator Damon is a resident of Trenton, Maine, where
he lives with Bonnie, his wife of thirty-seven years.
The couple has three grown children: Erin, a graduate
of Wheaton College and the University of Wisconsin
at Milwaukee, Sadie, a graduate of the Culinary Institute
of America, and Doyle, who attended Maine Maritime
Academy.
Former Maine Senate President Beverly Daggett and
former Speaker of the House of Representatives
Pat Colwell appointed Senator Damon as the Maine
legislative
appointee to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission in January 2003. He was reappointed
by current Senate President Beth Edmonds and
Speaker
John Richardson. In 2007 he was reappointed for
his third term by Senate President Beth Edmonds
and House
Speaker Cummings. Senator Damon welcomes the opportunity
to work with fishermen, managers, scientists, and
fellow legislators in representing Maine fishing
communities on important regional and national
fisheries issues. |
