Democrat Henry Beck ran unopposed in House District 76 in Waterville. The 22-year-old Colby College student is already a member of the Waterville City Council. At the top of his list of priorities are finding jobs for returning veterans and making alternative energy projects for homes more affordable. "You know we have all kinds of alternative energy credits and those are all fine and good but what happens is that people can't afford to put a solar panel on their house or a wind turbine on their small business. So I want to look at ways, how can we work with the consumers and the installers to create a rebate program to make installation affordable and create jobs in the process."

 

When the House reconvenes, Beck will be the youngest state lawmaker. He'll join Democrat Adam Goode of Bangor, who won more than 70 percent of the vote in Maine’s House District 15 race. Goode says his experience as an environmental organizer with the Maine Peoples' Alliance has given him a strong sense of what Maine people want from their elected officials. "I just felt very strongly that there's a lot of people who do this type of thing who are great policy experts, which is really important, but also felt strongly that there aren't a lot of people who run for office who have backgrounds working with everyday people about issues that are important to their lives and really have that grassroots background where they've had thousands of conversations with people about their struggles getting by from day to day."

 

Goode praised the help of the Maine Clean Election Act, a voluntary program that provides public financing of political campaigns for candidates running for Governor, State Senator, and State Representative. Candidates who choose to participate may accept very limited private contributions only at the beginning of their campaigns.

 

Republican Representative Doug Thomas of Ripley says he sees the benefit of having youthful energy and a balanced legislature in Augusta, but he points out that inexperience can lead to mistakes. "We're at a time right now, where we can't afford to be making mistakes." Thomas says the young, first-time legislators hardly know what it's like to pay a mortgage and raise a family in Maine. "I don't think they've lived long enough to have gone through the things in life that average Maine people go through. And I think it's hard to understand how tough it can be to make a living in a poor and especially in a rural area. So I hope that, I hope that those legislators who are young and who do lack experience will listen to some of the older members."

 

Tarren Bragdon, CEO of the Maine Heritage Policy Center and formerly the youngest state representative, elected at the age of 20, says young legislators are usually aware of the importance of listening to those with seniority. "My piece of advice to young people serving would be appreciate that life experience means a lot more after you have it, but not having it really limits your perspective. So be sure you talk to lots of people, particularly people who have more life experience and recognize that it's much better to ask questions than to jump to conclusions."

 

Goode of Bangor points out that no matter what a legislator’s age, no one has all the solutions to Maine's problems. "Being an elected official doesn't mean that you know all the answers. It means you know to listen to people and know what their concerns are. And yeah, I'm not a senior citizen, but my grandmother is a senior citizen so I know the issues that she faces. Yeah, I don't own a home, I rent a home, and there's not a lot of people in Augusta who rent homes and understand those issues that people face when they're renters."

 

Other members of the so-called Generation Y who've been elected include: 26-year-old Steven Butterfield of Bangor; 23-year-old Tyler Clark of Easton; 25-year-old Elsie Flemings of Bar Harbor; 29-year-old Andrew O’Brien of Lincolnville; and 23-year-old Sean Flaherty of Scarborough. 29-year-old incumbent Benjamin Pratt of Eddington was re-elected to his second term. And 28-year-old Emily Cain of Orono was unopposed in her re-election bid for a third term in the House.

 

The House Clerk's office is still gathering information on those who've been elected and says it is too soon to tell whether this year brings a record number of lawmakers in their 20s.