Joseph E. Brennan

Joseph Edward Brennan (born November 2, 1934) is an American Democratic Party lawyer and politician from Maine. He served as the 70th Governor of Maine from 1979 to 1987. He is a former commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission.

Joseph Brennan
Brennan in 2011
Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission
In office
November 10, 1999  January 1, 2013
Nominated byBill Clinton (1999)
George W. Bush (2004)
Preceded byWilliam Hathaway
Succeeded byWilliam P. Doyle
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 1st district
In office
January 7, 1987[1]  January 3, 1991
Preceded byJock McKernan
Succeeded byThomas Andrews
70th Governor of Maine
In office
January 3, 1979  January 7, 1987
Preceded byJim Longley
Succeeded byJock McKernan
Attorney General of Maine
In office
January 2, 1975  January 3, 1979
GovernorJim Longley
Preceded byJon Lund
Succeeded byRichard Cohen
Member of the Maine Senate
from the 10th district
In office
January 3, 1973  January 1, 1975[2]
Preceded byGerard Conley[3]
Succeeded byPhilip L. Merrill[4]
District Attorney of Cumberland County, Maine
In office
1971–1973
Member of the
Maine House of Representatives
for Portland
In office
January 6, 1965  January 6, 1971
11 members elected At-Large
Personal details
Born
Joseph Edward Brennan

(1934-11-02) November 2, 1934
Portland, Maine, United States
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Constance Brennan
Children2
EducationBoston College (BS)
University of Maine (LLB)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1953-1955

Born in 1934 in Portland, Maine, Brennan lived on Kellogg Street on Munjoy Hill.[5] Brennan attended Cheverus High School,[6] Boston College and the University of Maine School of Law, and became Cumberland County District Attorney before winning election to the Maine House of Representatives (1965–1971) and the Maine Senate (1973–1975). When first elected to the Maine House he did not own a car and hitchhiked up from Portland.[7] His first statewide candidacy was for Governor in 1974; he lost the Democratic nomination to George J. Mitchell, whom he would later appoint to the U.S. Senate. Appointed State Attorney General in 1975, Brennan ran for governor again in 1978, winning the primary and general elections. Brennan was reelected in 1982, serving as governor from 1979 to 1987. In 1986 he ran for the U.S. House in Maine's First Congressional District and won with 53% of the vote. When he was District Attorney his Munjoy Hill was shot up with bullets landing by his infant daughter, this led Brennan to support the ban on assault style weapons in America.[8]

After two terms in the House, Brennan ran for governor again in 1990, losing to Republican John McKernan. He ran again in 1994, losing to Independent Angus King, but placing second, ahead of Republican Susan Collins. He would face Collins in another statewide election in 1996, running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Bill Cohen, a race which Collins won.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Brennan to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission, a small independent agency that regulates shipping between the U.S. and foreign countries. He was renominated (by President Bush) and confirmed for a second term at the FMC in 2004.

Electoral history

Maine U.S. Senate Election 1996
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Susan Collins 298,422 49.2%
Democratic Joe Brennan 266,226 43.9%
Green John Rensenbrink 23,441 3.9%
Maine Gubernatorial Election 1994
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Angus King 180,829 35%
Democratic Joe Brennan 172,951 34%
Republican Susan Collins 117,990 23%
Maine Gubernatorial Election 1990
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John R. McKernan 243,766 47% -
Democratic Joe Brennan 230,038 44% -
Independent Andrew Adam 48,377 9% -
US House election, 1988: Maine District 1
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 167,623 60.11%
Republican Edward S. O'Meara 111,125 36.78%
Majority 79,864 26.44%
Turnout 278,748
Democratic hold Swing
US House election, 1986: Maine District 1
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 121,848 53.16%
Republican H. Rollin Ives 100,260 43.74%
Labor for Maine Plato Truman 7,109 3.10%
Majority 21,588 9.42%
Turnout 229,217
Democratic gain from Republican
Maine Gubernatorial Election 1982
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joe Brennan 281,066 61% -
Republican Charles Cragin 172,949 38% -
Maine Gubernatorial Election 1978
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joe Brennan 176,493 48% -
Republican Linwood E. Palmer, Jr. 126,862 34% -
Independent Herman Frankland 65,889 18% -

References

Legal offices
Preceded by
Jon Lund
Attorney General of Maine
1975–1979
Succeeded by
Richard Cohen
Party political offices
Preceded by
George Mitchell
Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine
1978, 1982
Succeeded by
James Tierney
Preceded by
James Tierney
Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine
1990, 1994
Succeeded by
Tom Connolly
Preceded by
Neil Rolde
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Maine
(Class 2)

1996
Succeeded by
Chellie Pingree
Political offices
Preceded by
Jim Longley
Governor of Maine
1979–1987
Succeeded by
Jock McKernan
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Jock McKernan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 2nd congressional district

1987–1991
Succeeded by
Thomas Andrews
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