IBEW 1837 Member Makes A Run for the Maine House

July 5, 2012 - IBEW Local 1837 member Aaron Gilman has been a mechanic at Maine's Bangor Hydro Electric for the last six years. This November, he hopes to add "State Representative" to his résumé after being recruited to campaign for the Maine House of Representatives.

Maine's 12th House District includes Gilman's hometown of Enfield as well as Edinburg, Howland, Lincoln, Maxfield and Plantation of Seboeis, plus part of the unorganized territory of North Penobscot. He'll be running on the Democratic Party line against the incumbent, Republican Party candidate Jeffery Gifford.

A close follower of politics in Maine's  State Capitol of Augusta, Gilman has thought about seeking elected office for a long time. Watching all the recent attacks on workers' rights convinced him that now was the time to get off the sidelines. "I decided to run because we need people in Augusta that know how hard the people that came before us fought for the benefits and rights we enjoy as workers," Brother Gilman said. "We need people to stand up for all the workers in Maine."

At the June 16th convention of the Maine AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE) held in Portland, Gilman received the unanimous endorsement of labor delegates. In addition to having the backing of his Union Brothers and Sisters throughout the state, Aaron is also lucky to have the support of his wife Renee, an IBEW 1837 member herself and a Customer Service Representative at BHE.

“We are so excited that Aaron and other members are stepping up to run for State Legislature," said Sarah Bigney from the Maine AFL-CIO. "Aaron started to get more involved with the political process this past year and it quickly became clear to me and all of us that he is a leader. We need more workers like Aaron to run, and we’re going to do everything we can to help him win in November.“

"It's extremely important that Union members do their homework before they vote," Brother Gilman continued. "We do not need more anti-worker politicians in office. We need working people to represent us!"