Maine’s top government officials on Friday praised former Gov. John H. Reed for his kindness, commitment to service and ability to achieve bipartisan consensus.
Reed, who died Oct. 31, at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., was one of only three Republicans to lead Maine since he took office in 1959. He was 91.
Maine’s governor from 1959 to 1966, Reed is credited with starting educational television in Maine and creating a network of University of Maine colleges, according to a 2008 article published in the Bangor Daily News. He also pushed to combine school districts to save money.
Only two Republicans have taken Maine’s highest office since Reed’s term: John McKernan (1987-1995) and Paul LePage (2011-present).
Reed “was very attentive to the feelings, the needs and the desires of the people,” Reginald Bowden, a Reed spokesman from 1961 to 1965, told the BDN in 2008. Bowden said there wasn’t a day in his administration that Reed didn’t get out and visit people.
“These are hard-working people, and I wanted to look after their interests,” Reed said at the time.
In a 2009 interview with Maine Ahead magazine, Reed said he would like to be remembered as a man “who did what was right and sought what was best for the people of Maine. I was respected, I believe, and made friends on both sides of the aisle and did my best.”
In that same interview, Reed was asked about his biggest fears for the state. He replied, “I have no biggest fear.”
In a statement issued Friday, Gov. Paul LePage described Reed as “a kind man, dedicated Navy veteran, and passionate about public service. It is a sad day for Maine as we have lost a man who contributed so much to our great state.”
McKernan and his wife, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, praised Reed’s “tremendous work ethic and can-do spirit, rooted in his Aroostook County upbringing” as a key to his success “when he was suddenly thrust into the governorship in 1959.” They also noted that three U.S. presidents, Democrat Lyndon Johnson and Republicans Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, appointed Reed to federal posts.
“We are profoundly saddened to learn of the passing of our extraordinary longtime friend, former Gov. John Reed — whose life exemplified the finest ideals of public service,” McKernan and Snowe said in a joint statement. “We will miss him tremendously, even as his legacy of service will long resonate throughout Maine.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, issued a statement from Caribou on Friday. “Gov. Reed devoted his life to public service,” she said. “No matter where Gov. Reed went, he never forgot his ‘County roots.’ Gov. Reed was a dear friend, and as a fellow native of Aroostook County, I know how proud he was of the people and the place he always considered home.”
Collins went on to note that, during his retirement in the Washington, D.C., area, Reed regularly attended annual Maine State Society breakfasts.
“He truly enjoyed sharing stories about our state and talking to people who shared his love of Maine,” she said.
Another Aroostook County native, state Rep. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, is the only current legislator who served during Reed’s governorship. Martin’s first term in the Legislature coincided with Reed’s final two years as governor.
“I can’t think of a kinder and more gentle person serving in that office,” Martin said in a phone interview Friday. “I never heard him say a negative word.”
Martin, who went on to become speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 1975 to 1994, noted that during Reed’s tenure as governor, Democrats achieved majorities in the Maine House and Senate for the first time since before the Great Depression, which started in 1929.
“In terms of his relationship with legislators, it’s one of the best that I’ve had,” Martin said. “That relationship was excellent with both parties. He refused to make a partisan issue of the Vietnam War.”
Rep. Robert Nutting, R-Oakland, Maine’s current speaker of the House, recalled meeting Reed as a youth on a school trip.
“I remember him then, and in later years, as a kind, thoughtful man,” Nutting said in a statement. “As governor, he will be remembered as a consensus builder who sought common-sense solutions to the challenges of his time.”
Reed was born in Fort Fairfield on Jan. 5, 1921. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine in 1942 and graduated from Harvard Naval Supply School in 1944. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve and was on active duty during World War II.
In 1954 he ran for the Maine House of Representatives. Serving a single term in the House from 1955 to 1957, he ran for the Maine Senate in 1957 and upon re-election in 1959 was chosen Senate president.
On Sept. 20, 1959, holding the highest office in the Maine Senate, Reed became Maine’s governor upon the death of Democrat Clinton Clauson. In 1960 he defeated Democrat Frank Coffin to serve out the remainder of Clauson’s term. He won his only full term as governor in a narrow victory over Democrat Maynard Dolloff in 1962, according to the National Governor’s Association website.
During his tenure as governor, Reed served on the executive committee of the National Governors’ Conference from 1963 to 1964 and 1965-1966. He was chairman of the association in 1965 and of the New England Governors’ Conference from 1965 to 1966. In November 1966, Reed lost a re-election bid to then-Maine Secretary of State Kenneth Curtis and was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the National Transportation Safety Board. In 1976 and 1981, he served as the U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands, according to the association’s website.
Visiting hours for Gov. Reed will take place at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, at Christ United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C., where the funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Interment with Masonic Burial Rites will be conducted in spring 2013 at Riverside Cemetery, Fort Fairfield.
Todays politicians could learn a lot from Governor Reed’s government service. The key thing we all remember aobut him and it was mentioned in the article. He was all about the people.
He was the first governor I had the pleasure meeting as a young girl. I was in 4-H at the time and we were invited for tea at the Blaine House. It was a wonderful day. I remember having my picture taken with him.
First and foremost, Governor Reed was a truly civil public servant, something missing in the state’s highest office these days. Secondly, he sought equilibrium among the many elements which make up our broad economic society, again a quality missing in today’s Blaine House occupant. Third, he would not have avoided all who disagreed with him, but instead would have been an open-minded listener.
I wonder what he thought about the erosion of moderation in his party as it came under control
of narrow, spiteful ideologues.
And the Democratic Party isn’t plagued with that problem? Or is it only a problem if one doesn’t agree with their thinking?
How many times have you seen Maine’s democratic party challenge the validity of it’s own national convention delegates, and then successfully restrict some of your own party’s delegates from participating in what they were elected to do? That would be…….none.
I have to agree with hpmcg. Sure, parties change, but the GOP is utterly nothing like I remember it. I was a Republican for over 30 years until this year when I finally changed to Independent. I could no longer go along with the infestation of religious zealots and socially conservative extremists. Today’s crowd called us “RINOs.” They are the real RINOs.
The GOP is so far gone the only part remaining is taking down the GOP sign outside the door and erecting the TP sign in its place.
As a former GOP’er, I can say the DNC has changed somewhat but it pales in comparison to the destruction of the GOP.
Maybe you can explain what you mean by this, because I’m genuinely curious. I hear a lot of people saying that the Republican party is far more conservative now than they ever have been, but I just have a hard time buying it. Take some social issues for instance: school prayer, gay rights, doctor assisted suicide. It seems to me that the Republican position on these issues is, if anything, more liberal than it would have been in 1950. Do you think the GOP is changing, or has it just changed less than you have?
If you exclude the MacArthyism era which was absurd and focused solely on Communists, I still think you’d have a socially neutral party, or at least, the same level of social concern/conscience as the DNC at the time. Do recall the Dixie Democrats prior to Reagan and under Carter were the ultra-religious types. Reagan wooed them to the GOP. That probably was the biggest influx of social conservatism into the GOP – the 1980 Reagan conversion of the Dixie Democrats to the Republican Party.
BTW, it was Maine’s Republican senator, Margaret Chase Smith, who shot down MacCarthy on the floor of the Senate with her famous “Declaration of Conscience” speech on 6/1/1950. Senator Smith and the GOP of that era were fiscally conservative (but not nuts like today) but socially liberal or neutral, as are most educated people.
The ultra-conservative of the time was Barry Goldwater and read what he had to say about what he feared would happen (and it did) if the religious crowd absconded with the GOP:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/05/13/barry-goldwaters-war-against-the-religious-right/
“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.”~Barry Goldwater
We can see from about 1980 on when Jerry Falwell waddled onto the scene how the normal Republicans faded away and were replaced by the ultra-social conservatives.
Look what Sen. Goldwater said about gays in the 1960’s:
“It’s time America realized that there is no gay exemption in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence.”~Barry Goldwater
“You don’t need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.”~Barry Goldwater
So, to answer your question, yes, I think the GOP has gone to hell in a handbasket and has strayed far from the original GOP that I remember. The DNC has remained pretty much the same or even move more toward the centrist view, IMHO. I think my views have changed somewhat in that while I have always been socially (civil rights) liberal, I thought trickle-down would work, and it probably would have, but it was not implemented correctly. The savings by the upper-income crowd instead of being reinvested into the middle-class factories, training, and so forth, instead was put into questionable financial securities, while the factories were allowed to rust away and/or be outsourced overseas. That’s the way I see it.
Your comment is breathtakingly absurd. The “religious preachers” that you’re certain came to take control of the GOP have almost NO say in the party…….or else Mitt Romney would not be the nominee in 2012. As I am sure an educated man of wisdom like you knows, most of them don’t even believe that Mormonism is actual Christianity. Rick Perry was their guy, and he got blown out of the water in the primaries. Michele Bachman was the Tea Party darling, and she got nowhere either.
What in god’s name are you talking about, man? See beyond your filters and solipsism.
As much as they do not like Romney – and we heard it many, many times, including references to his “not Christian” religion of Mormonism, they would elect anyone as long as it is not Obama. The ultra-conservatives are a strong base and an important part of the party. Romney was a compromise and selected as he was the only candidate that had the slightest chance to win against Obama (as the polls today indicate). Huntsman might have had a chance but a bit too intellectual for the PBR crowd.
The real control behind the RNC are the Karl Rove types but they pull the strings and bring along the thundering masses of the religious crowd and, of course, the candidates must play to that tune.
No, I will stick with my original statements. The RNC has become the party of the ultra-conservatives and the ultra-religious. I will add, “… and/or the politicians realize this and must pay lip-service to this crowd if they ever hope to be elected whether or not they truly believe in all the religious claptrap they continuously espouse.”
50% of the population is Republican. You can spin it anyway you want; the fact is you became a liberal and the rest of us didn’t. Get over it.
I completely disagree. If you go back and look at the history and policy of the RNC from let’s say the 1940’s to current, you can see this well-documented change in the party. Look at Barry Goldwater – the arch “conservative” of the time. Take Nixon, Ford, and even Ike Eisenhower. You did not run into the religious nutbars we have in the party today. Nixon was a Quaker. Do you know the religions of the others? Most people do not, because religion had nothing to do with their political careers – nor should it.
Let’s make a distinction here, first and foremost. The term “conservative” was hijacked by the religious crowd. Before the religious crowd turned “conservative” into meaning ultra-religious, anti-social, anti-civil rights and, as an after-thought, fiscally conservative, the term meant smaller government (but not just because of dollars), and social-issue neutral or liberal (meaning – do what you want but don’t expect the government to pay for it).
“Conservative” back then was closer to the Libertarian movement in that government was limited, taxes were lower, and charitable programs were at the state level. This followed the William F. Buckley model. Social issues were not the business or concern of the government. The government had a fixed-role and babysitting the public was not part of it. Religion was kept out of the government. There are many examples of this in history.
The RNC of old was mostly the “country club Republican” of which I considered myself one. College-educated, focused on business, intellectual, progressive with science and technology, and very much into education.
Contrast that with today’s RNC. The focus is on ultra-religious conservatism and an economic policy that believes that government has utterly no role and everything should be determined by the free-market. Tell that to Ike Eisenhower and his inter-state highway system or Dick Nixon signing the law that created the Environmental Protection Agency. The RNC of yesteryear realized that government has a role in working with the private sector to grease the skids for business.
I realize today’s Tea Party who has taken over the RNC has no more of a grasp of history than that of a gnat. It would behoove them to look at their roots and compare the platforms of yesteryear with those of today. They might also consider putting forth candidates comparable to those of the past – if they can find them. I do not see how anyone could possibly compare the RNC of yesterday with the likes of Palin, Bachmann, O’Donnell, Akin, Perry, and Jan Brewer (R-AZ). I watched those RNC Presidential candidate debates. It was embarrassing.
So, who has changed? The RNC or me?
Oh, and by the way, as of 2010, only 29% of the electorate is Republican. The rest are Democrats and Independents.
Do you mean Republicans like Michael Bloomberg, Charlie Crist, Bob Dole, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, George Bush the first, Bush the second, William Weld, Richard Lugar, Colin Powell, etc. etc. etc?? Did you mean THOSE Tea Partiers?? Just wondering.
You will note those Republicans are from a much older generation. Not a one is under 50. Most are pushing 70. And, Bush-43? Not really a TP guy as the TP crowd really came after he was well into politics, but he was a bible-thumper. Of the names you mentioned, who is left in office? Collins, yes. Snowe, out in January. Lugar’s out in January. Bloomberg – really? He’s all over the place. Weld, former-governor.
As I mentioned, I was a Republican for 30+ years. The RNC of today has lost and is continuing to lose quality people. When the TP took over, I left and joined the Independents.
I’ve no problem with your point; they too have “their my way or the highway” types. As for the guv’s office, the Dems haven’t got one presently boarding at the Blaine House, and no governor of either party within my memory which goes back to Frederick Payne, including Jim Longley who was combative enough foe anyone, has been as rude and close-minded as the current specimen.
Nice little slur there. And it’s hilarious to me personally, seeing as MY old party (that would be the Dems)– the party I labored long and hard for— left me behind years ago, as it veered into whatever ditch happened to be furthest left at any given time.
AND THAT was an actual radicalization, unlike your fantasy one.
It’s odd, indeed, that we’ve been left behind by the same crew, except in my case it happened when the so-called Democratic Leadership Conference and their popular front man Bill Clinton,realized that for their purposes, Wall Street banksters were far more lucrative and powerful than traditional allies labor and what was left of the progressive New Deal coalition. All the party’s big dogs, hungry hounds led by the likes of Robert Rubin and Larry Summers swung from the legacy of FDR while skillfully maintaining that long-standing image during campaign season. They still do. Realizing that social and identity politics are no threat to the folks in the upper stories, they went along with them which drove conservative Dems wild, and some walked out – some becoming Republicans in reaction. No matter, either way the global banksters and corpocrats lose nothing, just as they lose nothing next Tuesday, either way it goes. I don’t believe the party went too leftward, unless one is thinking of Harry Truman’s and Lyndon Johnson’s eras. I think its most leftward point was perhaps during Nixon’s presidency when party rule changes made it more inclusive than ever before, and thus more willing to advocate for hitherto excluded constituencies. Carter, a very cautious liberal, helped move it more to the center in the late 70’s. Mondale was a true believer, having cut his teeth in the New Deal era, but the Reaganites took care of that. Had it not been for Teddy Kennedy, hampered by personal problems, the old progressive wing would have collapsed even earlier. None have been since, except perhaps for Dukakis who wasn’t in the center of things long enough to leave a footprint. That’s my take on it. Lastly, I don’t think the observation of the GOP’s big swing rightward or the growth of mean-spirited rehetoric within it is necessarily a fantasy.
The last GREAT REPUBLICAN to serve as GOVERNOR of Maine
RIP John Reed
using someones death to tear down others? what a scumbag comment.
I am just stating the TRUTH, you evidently do n ot agree. He was a Great Governor, we have not had a decent man serve from the Republicans since. He went on to do more great things in D C and beyond.
Hopefully there will come a time when the state of Maine will be graced with a governor that shows as much feeling for the well being of all his constituents.
RIP Governor Reed.
A great man of integrity from “The County.” Blessings to his family.
A fine man, whose humaneness was an integral part of his distinguished career.
I am very sorry to hear of Gov. Reed’s passing. I first met him at the State House in Maine when I was in fourth grade, as I recall. He came down and visited our class who was on tour of the Capitol that day. He also was a regular at the Maine State Society meetings here in DC. His wife predeceased him some years ago. Nicest guy around.
He was a Republican like the kind I remember. Not this crowd I see these days.
Sorry to hear this.
I seem to recall going to Augusta when artist John McCoy unveiled his official portrait.
When my brother took his 8th grade class to Augusta, they were always well received by Governor Reed in his office.
To partially quote my neighbor: He was a Republican of his time. Today he would be considered one of the far left leaning Democrats.
The humble Farmer
Isn’t that the truth! It is hard to believe how far to the right the GOP has careened the past of decades. The RNC & DNC I remember as a kid worked hand-in-hand for the people. Look at Maine’s history – John Reed, Bill Cohen, Margaret Chase Smith, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins on the Republican side. Ed Muskie, George Mitchell, Ken Curtis, Bill Hathaway, and Joe Brennan on the Democratic side.
I cannot think of a one that did not reach across the aisle to the other party.
Today, we have a bunch of bible-thumping zealots with their version of God on their side. Can you imagine if any of the people of today were around during the time period of the people I mentioned? They wouldn’t have made it past polling warden in their political careers. As Ron White says, “You can’t fix stupid.”
Governor Reed, a UMO classmate of my father’s, convinced my dad to leave his civil engineering job in New York City to return to Maine to be a part of a government that truly was FOR the PEOPLE. I will always thank Mr. Reed for his leadership because it brought my family here, to this wonderful state. I was very young then, but I always remember how excited we’d get when he’d come by to visit at the holidays. Such a nice man. RIP.
He was from the dreaded private sector: a big farmer through and through. He had agriculture and the land in his blood, as his family had for 100 years prior to him. They settled and farmed three miles from my ancestors’ farmland and homes. They knew him and his kin well.
Today’s politicians have nothing in common with this man of the land and of the common people, this true man of “Old Maine”. LePage comes close…….another real person.