McGowan for Maine

BY DOUG HARLOW
Staff Writer, Kennebec Journal

January 5, 2010

During a campaign rally in Canaan in 1990, Patrick McGowan jogged across U.S. Route 2 from McGowan's General Store to the Canaan Motel for a media whistle stop with former California Gov. Jerry Brown.

McGowan, then a state representative from Canaan, grew up in nearby Pittsfield and was challenging Maine's 2nd District U.S. Rep. Olympia Snowe, now a ranking U.S. senator, in that year's election.

This time around, McGowan, 53, is running for governor.

McGowan, most recently the commissioner of the Maine Department of Conservation, plans to announce formally today his plan to run in the Democratic primary, according to a news release from his campaign.

Gov. John Baldacci said Monday he had sworn in Deputy Commissioner Elizabeth Townsend, of Portland, as acting commissioner to succeed McGowan. Townsend, also a former state representative, grew up in Canaan, where her parents still are active in government and environmental issues.

"Patrick is a political animal," Louise Townsend, a longtime Canaan selectwoman, said Monday. "I'm sure he'll be a strong candidate."

McGowan expects to make his announcement for governor today at three locations, starting in Fort Kent, making him the first gubernatorial candidate in recent memory to announce a candidacy in the St. John Valley, said Dan Cashman in McGowan's press office.

In addition to Aroostook County, McGowan also will make the announcement in Bangor and Portland.

McGowan will discuss his plans for Maine's future and talk with local supporters, officials and members of the media at each location.

A graduate of Maine Central Institute, a high school in Pittsfield and the University of Maine at Farmington, McGowan joins a field of more than 20 candidates -- eight Democrats, six unenrolled, six Republicans and two Green Independent, according to the state's Ethics Commission -- seeking to win the Blaine House in November.

Before becoming Maine's Conservation Commissioner, McGowan was regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. He served in the Maine House of Representatives for a decade, between 1980 and 1990.

McGowan also worked as finance director of the Baldacci for Governor campaign.

He lost twice to an incumbent Snowe in the early 1990s.

He was appointed by former President Clinton to serve as regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration in New England, where for seven years he managed six field offices and supervised a $5 billion loan portfolio.

Baldacci appointed him commissioner of the Department of Conservation in 2003.

McGowan's father, Bernard E. "Barney" McGowan, of Pittsfield, also served in Maine's House of Representatives, having been first elected in 2000. His mother, Ann McGowan, is an author and former editor of the Morning Sentinel newspaper in Waterville.

Rep. Jeff McCabe, D-Skowhegan, said McGowan's record makes him a good candidate for governor.

"Patrick's knowledge of the business community in the area is very exciting and promising," McCabe said Monday. "He is committed to Maine's natural resource base. Patrick continues to be a leader in expanding clean energy opportunities to Maine people and Maine industries."

Clinton "Bill" Townsend, a semi-retired real estate and environmental attorney and Elizabeth Townsend's father, said he is proud of his daughter and of their longtime friend, Patrick McGowan.

"We're busting our buttons with pride," he said of his daughter, 49. "She was born right here in Skowhegan and grew up here in Canaan."

Townsend has been deputy commissioner of the Department Conservation since 2007.

Before joining the department, she was executive director of the Maine League of Conservation Voters and the Maine Conservation Voters Education Fund.

As for running for governor, Bill Townsend said McGowan has the credentials.

"I know Pat McGowan extremely well ... way back when he was running his store in Canaan 20 years ago," he said. "I think he'll be a formidable candidate; he's bright, he cares about issues and he's a hard campaigner. I think he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

"It's going to be a very interesting race because there are a lot of good, strong candidates. To see how it shakes out will be very, very interesting."

Doug Harlow -- 474-9534
dharlow@centralmaine.com