She made
her place in history in 1980 when she was elected
the first female House
Majority Leader and again in 1996 when she was elected
the first female Speaker of the House.
In 2004, Libby ran for public office once again
and won a seat as a Maine State Senator in Senate
District 24. As Senate Chair of the Legislature’s
Education Committee, she spearheaded the passage
of major legislation on school funding and higher
education. The state began its phased in approach
to funding 55% of school costs to improve education
and to lower the property tax burden. She also served
as the Senate Chair of the Office of Program Evaluation
and Government Accountability (OPEGA) and as a member
of the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs
Committee.
Libby Mitchell has dedicated her life to public
service and has a reputation for getting things done.
During the 122nd Legislature, Libby led the effort
to keep the University of Maine at Augusta as a separate
and strong part of the University system to better
serve
residents of central Maine. She was instrumental
in securing state funding for $2 million in historic
tax credits, a vital piece for the redevelopment
of the Kennebec Arsenal for housing and business
opportunities. When she served in the House of Representatives,
Libby sponsored legislation which led to the development
of the “First Park” technology and business
park in Oakland. First Park is now the home to the
T-Mobile call center, which has brought hundreds
of jobs to Central Maine.
Since her first days in the Legislature, Libby has
also been known as a leader of women’s rights.
Some of her groundbreaking legislation includes creating
a District Court Family Division and Women’s
Recognition Week within the Maine school systems.
Libby received several national awards of excellence
for her success as Director of the Maine State Housing
Authority from 1986 to 1990.
Senator Mitchell, active in her community, serves
as selectwoman for the town of Vassalboro. She also
serves on the Board of Maine General Health and Jobs
for Maine’s Graduates. She is also a member
of the Advisory Council of Kennebec Valley Community
College. She represents Maine on the New England
Board of Higher Education.
She received her B.A. from Furman University in
Greenville, South Carolina. She then went on to get
her Master’s at the University of North Carolina-Chapel
Hill and her J.D. at the University of Maine School
of Law. She became a member of the Maine Bar at age
66.
Libby lives with her husband Jim, who is a Judge
of Probate of Kennebec County. They have four adult
children and five grandchildren. Following in their
parent’s footsteps for public service, their
daughter, J. Elizabeth Mitchell, was elected in 1994
to the House of Representatives for the Portland
area; she served two terms. She continues to use
her health policy expertise with Maine Health. Their
son, Charles E. Mitchell, also a Maine Law graduate,
was elected in 1998 to the House to represent Vassalboro.
He served two terms and now serves as a counsel for
the American Civil Liberties Union. Their daughter,
Emily, is a current student at Maine Law. Their son
Will founded his own mapping business Mitchell Geographics.
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