WESTFIELD – Westfield First Selectperson Robert L. Glidden Jr. has announced his candidacy for the Maine State House District 6 representing Blaine, Bridgewater, Easton, Fort Fairfield, Mars Hill and Westfield. Jacqueline Lundeen, who is term limited, vacates the seat.
“With the support of the voters, I can be a strong voice to represent their ideas in Augusta,” said Glidden. “Strong schools, good jobs, affordable health care, and well maintained roads are essential to District 6 so that children graduating from our schools have a great place to live and raise their families.
“I know that District 6 is more than a bedroom community for the bigger towns. There are employers who came here and stay here because of the work ethic and the resources available here,” he said. “I believe with sensible development that does not ruin the environment, more employers will see the benefit of moving to the area.”
Keeping schools open in District 6 is important to Glidden.
“I know the distrust and confusion that is presented by the governor’s plan to consolidate schools. In my former work, I learned that local people getting together to build a better community worked better than a mandate from above forcing cooperation,” he said. “That is the real strength of all of Aroostook County. We have had to cooperate with one another to survive. We have gotten very good at that, and we have all had to make our dollars go further by eliminating duplication and waste.
“I will fight for local control of our schools. Living in Westfield, I have seen the damage done to our community when the decision was made to close our school. I will work to see that schools remain open in District 6,” said Glidden.
Glidden said he has learned a lot from his parents over the years.
“My father and mother are both in their 80s and live in Houlton,” he said. “Dad worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service keeping our borders safe. I learned from him to do my best and that doing your best has to be a work in progress. I hope to put what I have learned to use in the Legislature.”
Glidden and his wife, Pamela, moved to Westfield in August 1978 and raised two daughters, Katherine and Alexis.
“I have strong roots in the community I chose. People in the towns of District 6 have been very good to my family and me,” he said. “I hope they give me the chance to pay them back by working for them in Augusta.”
Glidden graduated from Houlton High School in 1967. He attended the University of Maine at Orono where he received a degree in secondary education, social studies. A social worker with the state Department of Health and Human Services for 32 years, Glidden headed the program that assisted welfare recipients to find work. He also supervised the adoption and foster care licensing programs, as well as child protective services and all other aspects of child welfare. He retired from state government in 2007 to become a community organizer.
He is a trained mediator, and has held mediations for families, the Maine Human Rights Commission, the Maine Department of Corrections Restorative Justice Program, and the Department of Human Services.
Glidden is a past president of the Statewide Service Providers Coalition to Prevent Adolescent Pregnancy. He chaired the Aroostook Council to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect, and served as chair of Child Development Services – Aroostook. He is a former member of the Presque Isle Kiwanis Club, is a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, and is a retired member of the Maine State Employees Association and served several terms as chair of their political action committee.
Glidden is running as a “clean” candidate under the Maine Clean Election Law. His treasurer is Pamela Glidden, and his campaign manager is Michael B. Allen of Easton.
For more information, call 540-6609.
Robert L. Glidden Jr.
