About Charlie

I have deep roots here and love this place. My mother's family settled in Turner in 1803, and we moved back to the old farmhouse when I was in middle school. I graduated from Leavitt High School, went on to Bowdoin College and Columbia Law School but came home right away to start both work and family life right here. My wife Jane, whom I met at Leavitt, and I raised 5 children and have always played an active role in our community.

I served for 20 years on the Board of School Directors of MSAD 52, governing the schools of Turner, Leeds, and Greene, chairing the board for 17 of those years.  I had previously served on the Leeds Planning Board, and for many years more recently have moderated the Leeds Annual Town Meeting.  When asked in recent years I have also moderated the annual budget meeting for MSAD 52.  I am an ordained elder of the Leeds Community Church (Presbyterian) and once served as its Clerk of Session.  When not at work, I enjoy spending time with my family, staying involved in my children’s lives as they explore the world independently in adulthood but also connecting with my grandchildren as much as possible.  I also hike in all seasons, having summited all of the 67 4000-foot peaks in New England, and all 48 White Mountain 4000-footers in winter.  The Maine high peaks in winter are a challenge that still lies ahead!

I’ve always worked hard.  I worked part time and summers to help pay for my education.  I went to law school because I saw it as a way to serve the common good, not just a way to make a living, and I wanted the tools to help improve my community and state.  I started my professional career as a staff attorney at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, working for consumers to ensure affordable telephone and electric rates and quality service, and pursuing the same goals in water, gas, and transportation cases.  In 1984, I accepted the position of General Counsel to the newly formed Maine Health Care Finance Commission, the mission of which was to make health care more affordable. 

I left the Commission for private practice at the law firm of Preti Flaherty in 1992.  In private practice I have often represented clients who took issue with the ways they were regulated by government agencies, including agencies that I had worked for in the past.  As a result, I understand these issues from both sides. I know how important it is to fashion solutions that protect the public but to do so in ways that allow businesses to be viable engines of economic activity, providing good jobs for all of us.  I understand the mechanics of government and what it takes to act fairly and effectively on behalf of the public.  I can apply those experiences directly to representing you in Augusta.