Jump to content

Joseph E. Brennan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joseph E. Brennan
Brennan as governor
Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission
In office
November 10, 1999 – January 1, 2013
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Preceded byWilliam Hathaway
Succeeded byWilliam P. Doyle
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 1st district
In office
January 7, 1987 – January 3, 1991
Preceded byJohn R. McKernan Jr.
Succeeded byThomas Andrews
70th Governor of Maine
In office
January 3, 1979 – January 7, 1987
Preceded byJames B. Longley
Succeeded byJohn R. McKernan Jr.
Attorney General of Maine
In office
January 2, 1975 – January 3, 1979
GovernorJames B. Longley
Preceded byJon Lund
Succeeded byRichard Cohen
Member of the Maine Senate
from the 10th district
In office
January 3, 1973 – January 1, 1975
Preceded byGerard Conley
Succeeded byPhilip Merrill
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
from the Portland district
In office
January 6, 1965 – January 6, 1971
Serving with 11 at-large members
Personal details
BornJoseph Edward Brennan
(1934-11-02)November 2, 1934
Portland, Maine, U.S.
DiedApril 5, 2024(2024-04-05) (aged 89)
Portland, Maine, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseConnie LaPointe Brennan (m. 1994)
Children2
EducationBoston College (BS)
University of Maine (LLB)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service
1953–1955

Joseph Edward Brennan (November 2, 1934 – April 5, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician from Maine. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 70th governor of Maine from 1979 to 1987 and in the United States House of Representatives for Maine's 1st congressional district from 1987 to 1991.[1] Brennan was a commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission during the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations.

Early life

[edit]

Brennan was born on November 2, 1934, in Portland, Maine.[2] He lived on Kellogg Street, on the third floor of tenement housing on Munjoy Hill.[3][4] He was raised in a family of eight children, with his parents being Irish immigrants.[4] Brennan graduated from Cheverus High School,[5] Boston College, and the University of Maine School of Law. Brennan served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955.[6]

Government service

[edit]

Legislative service

[edit]
Brennan in 1973

Brennan won election to the Maine House of Representatives in 1964, and served three terms.[6] When first elected to the Maine House he did not own a car and hitchhiked up from Portland.[7] In 1970, he was elected Cumberland County district attorney. During his service as district attorney, his Munjoy Hill house was shot up, with bullets landing by his infant daughter. This led Brennan to support the ban on assault-style weapons in the United States.[8] He was elected to the Maine Senate in 1972.[6]

Attorney General and Governor of Maine

[edit]
Brennan in 1988

Brennan ran for governor of Maine in 1974. That year he became the first candidate in the post-Watergate years to call for campaign finance reform. He also voluntarily disclosed his personal finances. Brennan lost the Democratic nomination to George J. Mitchell.[9] The Maine Legislature selected Brennan to be the Maine Attorney General on January 2, 1975.[10] As attorney general, Brennan took part in negotiations with both Wabanaki tribes and the federal government on what became the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1980, a federal law enacted during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.[4]

Brennan ran for governor again in 1978 and won the election, then was reelected by a wider margin in 1982, serving a total of eight years. As governor, Brennan launched education reforms, pressed for tough highway safety measures, and helped to establish the Finance Authority of Maine.[4] Among the notable people Brennan appointed as governor was future Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, whom Brennan nominated to the US Senate seat formerly occupied by Edmund Muskie upon Muskie's resignation to become Secretary of State, and future Governor of Maine Janet Mills,[4] whom Brennan appointed as the first female district attorney in the New England region.[11][12][4]

United States Representative

[edit]

In 1986, Brennan ran for the U.S. House in Maine's 1st congressional district and defeated Republican Rollin Ives 53% to 44%.[13] in 1988 Brennan was reelected to the House by a margin of 63% to 37%.[14]

In Congress Brennan opposed President Ronald Reagan Administration’s interventions in Central America and Iran. he also supported the balanced budget amendment as a Congressman.[15]

Later gubernatorial and Senate campaigns

[edit]

Brennan ran for governor again in 1990, losing to Republican John McKernan by 13,728 votes.[16] He ran again in 1994, losing to Independent Angus King by 7,878 votes, but placing second, ahead of Republican Susan Collins.[17] He faced Collins in another statewide election in 1996, running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Bill Cohen,[18] which Collins won by 32,196 votes.[19]

Later career

[edit]

In 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Brennan to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission, a small independent agency that regulates shipping between the U.S. and foreign countries.[20] He was re-nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed for a second term at the FMC in 2004.[21]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Brennan married Connie LaPointe in 1994. He had two children: J.B. Brennan, who is a veteran of the United States Secret Service, and Dr. Tara Brennan, who holds a Doctorate of Psychology from LIU Brooklyn.[22]

Brennan died of natural causes at his home in the Portland neighborhood of Munjoy Hill (where he grew up), on April 5, 2024, at the age of 89.[6][23]

Electoral history

[edit]
1974 Democratic gubernatorial primary results[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic George J. Mitchell 33,312 37.52
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 23,443 26.41
Democratic Peter S. Kelley 21,358 24.06
Democratic Lloyd LaFountain 7,954 8.95
Democratic Aaron Levine 1,545 1.74
Democratic Jack Smith 1,165 1.31
Total votes 88,777 100.00
1978 Democratic gubernatorial primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 38,631 52.19
Democratic Philip L. Merrill 26,803 36.21
Democratic Richard Carey 8,588 11.60
Total votes 74,022 100.00
1978 Maine gubernatorial election results[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 176,493 47.80% −
Republican Linwood E. Palmer Jr. 126,862 34.36% −
Independent Herman C. Frankland 65,889 17.84% −
Majority 49,631 13.44%
Democratic gain from Independent Swing
1982 Democratic gubernatorial primary results[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 56,990 76.80
Democratic Georgette Berube 17,219 23.20
Total votes 74,209 100.00
1982 Maine gubernatorial election results[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan (Incumbent) 281,066 61.91% −
Republican Charles Cragin 172,949 38.09% −
Majority 108,117 23.81%
Democratic hold Swing
US House election, 1986: Maine District 1[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 121,848 53.16%
Republican H. Rollin Ives 100,260 43.74%
Labor for Maine Plato Truman 7,109 3.10%
Majority 21,588 9.42%
Turnout 229,217
Democratic gain from Republican
US House election, 1988: Maine District 1[29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan (incumbent) 167,623 60.11%
Republican Edward S. O'Meara 111,125 36.78%
Majority 79,864 26.44%
Turnout 278,748
Democratic hold Swing
1990 Maine gubernatorial election results
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John McKernan Jr. (incumbent) 243,766 46.68% −
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 230,038 44.05% −
Independent Andrew Adam 48,377 9.27% −
Plurality 13,728 2.63%
Turnout 522,181
Republican hold Swing
1994 Democratic gubernatorial primary results[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 56,359 56.2
Democratic Tom Allen 23,881 23.8
Democratic Dick Barringer 9,136 9.1
Democratic Robert Woodbury 8,150 8.1
Democratic Donnell Carroll 2,618 2.6
Total votes 100,144 100.0
1994 Maine gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Angus King 180,829 35.37%
Democratic Joseph Brennan 172,951 33.83%
Republican Susan Collins 117,990 23.08%
Green Jonathan Carter 32,695 6.39%
Write-in Ed Finks 6,576 1.29%
Write-in 267 0.05%
Total votes 511,308 100.00%
Independent gain from Republican
1996 Democratic U.S. Senate primary results[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 48,335 56.68%
Democratic Sean Faircloth 21,204 24.87%
Democratic Richard A. Spencer 10,236 12.00%
Democratic Jean Hay Bright 4,524 5.31%
Democratic Jerald Leonard 939 1.10%
Democratic Write-ins 35 0.04%
Total votes 85,273 100.00%
United States Senate election in Maine, 1996[32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Susan Collins 298,422 49.18% −12.16%
Democratic Joseph E. Brennan 266,226 43.88% +5.24%
Independent John C. Rensenbrink 23,441 3.86% N/A
Constitution William P. Clarke 18,618 3.07% N/A
Write-in 70 0.01% N/A
Majority 32,196 5.31% −17.39%
Turnout 606,777
Republican hold

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Congressional Record: Daily Digest of the 100th Congress, First Session. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1987 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ Hunt, Matt. "Joseph E. Brennan – The Blaine House, Home of Maine's Governors". blainehouse.org. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Boyhood Home of Governor Brennan". Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sharp, David (April 6, 2024). "Joe Brennan, Democratic former governor of Maine and US congressman, dies at 89". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Maine". Official Congressional Directory. 100. U.S. Government Printing Office: 88. 1987. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Joseph Brennan, former Maine governor, congressman and political leader, dies at 89". Press Herald. April 6, 2024. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Brennan, McKernan have similar pasts > Gubernatorial candidates took comparable political paths to Blaine House". Bangor Daily News. October 20, 1990. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Senate races draw national leaders> Kennedy's visit boost for Brennan". Bangor Daily News. October 19, 1996. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Mitchell will face Erwin in November". Kennebec Journal. June 12, 1974. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Legislature under way: Brennan, Scribner selected for posts". The Bangor Daily News. January 2, 1975. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Office of the Maine AG: Biography of Attorney General Janet T. Mills". maine.gov. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  12. ↑ Woodard, Colin (September 16, 2018). "Janet Mills' mission: Break yet another glass ceiling". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Brennan celebrates bittersweet victory". Journal Tribune. November 5, 1986. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "THE 1988 ELECTIONS: Northeast; MAINE". The New York Times. November 9, 1988. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Governor Joseph Edward Brennan - Walker Cremations, Funerals and Gatherings serving Southern Maine". February 22, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
  16. ↑ "How Maine voted: Governor's races 1990 – 2018". Press Herald. October 5, 2022. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Unfettered By Party, He's Set To Govern". The New York Times. November 18, 1994. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  18. ↑ Broder, David S. (October 24, 1996). "Republicans Hope Senate Candidate Can Go Against The Grain In Maine". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Maine Sends Second GOP Woman To Senate". CNN.com. November 5, 1996. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  20. ↑ "President Clinton Names Joseph. E. Brennan as Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission". The White House (Press release). February 3, 1999. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Bush names Democrats to federal boards – UPI Archives". UPI.
  22. ↑ "Obituary of Joseph Brennan". Bangor Daily News. April 8, 2024. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  23. ↑ Ledford, David (April 6, 2024). "Former Maine governor Joseph Brennan dies at 89". FOX 22/ABC 7. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Maine Primary Election Results - June 11, 1974" (PDF). Maine.gov.
  25. ↑ Guide to US Elections. Vol. II (Fifth ed.). CQ Press. 2005. pp. 1497–1499. ISBN 978-1-56802-981-8. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  26. ↑ "Maine Primary Election Results - June 8, 1982" (PDF). Maine.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2024.
  27. ↑ Guide to US Elections, Fifth Edition, Volume II. CQ Press. 2005. pp. 1497–1499. ISBN 978-1-56802-981-8. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  28. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 4, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. ↑ "Maine Governor Primary Results". Maine SOS. June 14, 1994. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  31. ↑ "Maine Primary Election Results - June 11, 1996 - U.S. Senator - Democrat - Summary by County". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_E._Brennan&oldid=1373536350"