A three-term Boothbay Harbor selectman is seeking election as a Republican to the state legislature next year. Tricia Warren had a special guest introduce her July 28 during her announcement at the Lincoln County Republican meeting in Boothbay. Former Gov. Paul LePage introduced her as a candidate he’d like to see in Augusta. LePage served as governor from 2011 to 2019. He is running to unseat Gov. Janet Mills in 2022. He told the audience he preferred working with female legislators.

“I’m proud to introduce Trish because she’s a lady,” he said. “I’ve worked with both parties, and women seem to be the best to work with. They are mothers. They won’t pass legislation which will hurt their children. Men negotiate. ‘If you vote for my bill, I will vote for yours.’ I don’t like that.”

Warren is also the select board’s vice chairman and chairman of the town’s Broadband Committee. As a prospective legislator, Warren described statewide broadband expansion as something “near and dear to my heart.” As broadband committee chairman, Warren has advocated for more “fiber to the home” expansion in Boothbay Harbor. She believes state-wide expansion would create better health care and educational services. “Broadband is becoming a bigger part of our lives. It’s been such an important tool during the pandemic,” she said. “We saw how important it became in distance learning for our kids’ education.” Broadband expansion would also provide better access for seniors seeking medical attention, she said.

“This is an older community. The pandemic has made traveling to doctor visits difficult and telemedicine would help seniors communicate with their doctors,” she said.

As broadband committee chairman, she also advocated for more downtown “hot spots” so people without internet can still have service.

Warren was born in Woodstock, New York and moved to Boothbay Harbor as a child. She graduated from Boothbay Region High School in 1997. She has two children, ages 13 and 15. She graduated from Radford College (Virginia) with degrees in foreign languages and marketing. Warren works at Boat House Bistro as a manager. As a legislator, she wants to draw from her past experiences to make a better future for the region.

She has served on the local school building committee, volunteered on the Windjammer Days Committee and wants state government to provide more support for local education and expand vocational education. Warren believes graduates need more skills following graduation. “You need something more than a diploma. I want graduates who may not be going to college to have some skills they can use,” she said.

In the past two years, Warren has witnessed the devastating impact the coronavirus has had on the local tourism industry. As a restaurant manager, she has seen several businesses close due to the pandemic and others struggle to find employees. She doesn’t support the weekly federal $300 bonus unemployment payments and incentives to lure workers back to their jobs. As for pandemic-related state policies, Warren disagrees with several state directives made by Gov. Mills. Warren believes face masks and vaccinations should be a personal choice, not state mandated.

She is undergoing cancer treatments and decided against becoming vaccinated. “This should be a personal decision. For me, there isn’t enough research how vaccines impact a cancer patient. I understand the concern about the pandemic and have disagreed on how the state has handled it, Warren said.

She concluded her remarks to the Republican audience telling them they shouldn’t vote for her because she is a Republican. “I want you to be confident in me. I  want you to vote for me, and I promise to do my best for everyone,” she said.

Warren is the first local candidate to announce her candidacy for the June 2022 Republican primary. Democrat Holly Stover is the current Maine House District 89 representative. She is a two-term incumbent.