Janet T. Mills

Janet Mills
55th and 57th Attorney General of Maine
Assumed office
January 7, 2013
Governor Paul LePage
Preceded by William Schneider
In office
January 6, 2009 – January 6, 2011
Governor John Baldacci
Preceded by Steven Rowe
Succeeded by William Schneider
Personal details
Born Janet Trafton Mills
(1947-12-30) December 30, 1947
Farmington, Maine, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s)
Stanley Kuklinski
(m. 1985; d. 2014)
Relatives Peter Mills (brother)
Education University of Massachusetts Boston (BA)
University of Maine School of Law (JD)
Website Government website
Campaign website

Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as the Attorney General of Maine. She was first elected by the Maine State Legislature on January 6, 2009, succeeding G. Steven Rowe. Her second term began on January 3, 2013, after the term of Republican William Schneider. She is the first woman to hold the position of State Attorney General in Maine. Prior to her election, she served in the Maine House of Representatives representing the towns of Farmington and Industry. She is the Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine in the 2018 gubernatorial election.

Political career

Mills was an assistant attorney general from 1976 to 1980, prosecuting homicides and other major crimes. In 1980, she was elected district attorney for Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties, a position to which she was re-elected three times. She was the first woman district attorney in New England.[1]

In 1994, Mills was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Congress in the Democratic primary.

Mills was elected to the board of directors of the Maine Women's Lobby in 1998.[2]

In 2002, Mills was elected to the Maine House of Representatives as a Democrat. During this time, she served on the judiciary, criminal justice, and appropriations committees. She had been elected to her fourth term when the Joint Convention convened in December 2008 to elect the new Attorney General. Out of several candidates, Mills was elected and became the 55th Attorney General of Maine on January 6, 2009.[3] When Republicans gained control of the Maine Legislature in 2010, Mills, a Democrat, was not reelected to another term. In January 2011, she was elected vice chair of the Maine Democratic Party in January 2011.[4] She joined the law firm Preti Flaherty in February 2011 as a lawyer with the firm's Litigation Group in its Augusta, Maine office.[5] When Democrats regained control of the Legislature in the 2012 elections, she was again chosen to be Attorney General, resigned as vice chair of the Maine Democratic Party,[6] and took the oath of office as Attorney General on January 7, 2013.[7] She was re-elected to her position on December 3, 2014, despite the Maine Senate coming under Republican control.[8]

Republican Governor Paul LePage opposed Mills being Attorney General, due to many disputes between them over the legality of some of LePage's policies.[9] On January 28, 2015, LePage requested that the Maine Supreme Judicial Court give its opinion as to whether it is legal for the Governor's office to need the permission of the Attorney General's office to retain outside counsel when the AG declines to represent the State in a legal matter. LePage did so after two instances of Mills declining to represent LePage in matters which she determined had little legal merit, though she approved his requests to have outside lawyers.[10] On May 1, 2017, LePage filed a lawsuit against Mills, asserting that Mills has abused her authority when refusing to represent the state in legal matters, or taking a legal view contrary to that of the LePage administration. [11]

2018 gubernatorial election

On July 10, 2017, Mills announced that she would be seeking the Democratic Party nomination for Governor of Maine in 2018.[12] She was one of several candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor in 2018. She won the nomination in June, finishing first after four rounds of ranked choice voting gave her 54% to her closest competitor's 46%.[13]

Personal life

Mills was married to Stanley Kuklinski, with whom she has five stepdaughters and three grandsons. Kuklinski died due to the effects of a stroke on September 24, 2014.[14] Mills resides in Farmington, Maine. She is also the sister of Peter Mills, a former state senator and gubernatorial candidate.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Office of the Maine AG: Biography of Attorney General Janet T. Mills". www.maine.gov. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  2. ↑ "Mills elected to Maine Women's Lobby board". Sun Journal. December 22, 1998.
  3. ↑ Harrison, Judy (January 6, 2009). "Janet Mills takes oath as Maine's first female AG". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Portland lawyer chosen as Maine Dems chairman". Bangor Daily News. January 24, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Former Maine Attorney General Janet Mills Joins Preti Flaherty", Preti Flaherty
  6. ↑ "Ben Grant Re-Elected as Chair of the Maine Democratic Party", Maine Democratic Party
  7. ↑ "Maine constitutional officials to take oaths". Central Maine. January 7, 2013.
  8. ↑ Mistler, Steve (December 4, 2014). "Hayes wins election as state treasurer". Kennebec Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  9. ↑ Cousins, Christopher (December 5, 2014). "Split Legislature creates uncertain re-election path for Democrats in Maine constitutional offices". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ Moretto, Mario (January 28, 2015). "Maine high court to weigh questions about AG Mills' refusal to represent LePage". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  11. ↑ Cousins, Christopher (May 1, 2017). "LePage sues attorney general for not representing his legal positions". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  12. ↑ Thistle, Scott (July 10, 2017). "Maine Attorney General Janet Mills enters 2018 race for governor - Portland Press Herald". Press Herald. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  13. ↑ Shepherd, Michael (June 20, 2018). "Mills wins Maine Democratic gubernatorial nomination after ranked-choice count". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, ME.
  14. ↑ Koenig, Paul (September 29, 2014). "Husband of Maine attorney general dies from effects of stroke". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Steven Rowe		 Attorney General of Maine
2009–2011		 Succeeded by
William Schneider
Preceded by
William Schneider		 Attorney General of Maine
2013–present		 Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Mike Michaud		 Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine
2018		 Most recent
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