AUGUSTA, Maine — Former Maine House Speaker John Martin of Eagle Lake filed on Thursday to run for his old seat in the 2024 election.
The 82-year-old Democrat is a legendary figure who has been revered and reviled for his hardball tactics. First elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1964, he was speaker for nearly 20 years until 1994 and has been in the Legislature for 54 years. He was the inspiration for a 1993 referendum that imposed term limits, something he has opposed.
Martin, who left the House due to term limits in 2022, is running for the seat that is being vacated by Rep. Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, a former NASCAR driver who is seeking the Republican nomination for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. Lucien Daigle of Fort Kent is the only Republican who has filed to run for the western Aroostook County district so far.
Martin has found ways to control things out of his leadership position. He has recently been an influential member of the budget-writing committee. Martin was slowed by a 2021 head injury that required neurological surgery, but he quickly returned to Augusta to finish his term.
He said he is running this time in part because of the “lack of continuity” that the Legislature has struggled with in the face of term limits.
“I’ve been there long enough to know how the system works,” Martin said.
Martin may be the most important state lawmaker in Maine history. He effectively wrote the modern rules that the Legislature operates under — from banning smoking in the House chamber to barring lobbyists from sitting at lawmakers’ desks. He is the reason why Maine has shoreland zoning, and he has directed an outsized share of state funds to his rural area.
He has seen setbacks as well, most notably in 1994, after two of his aides were convicted in a ballot tampering scandal. While Martin was never implicated, it came on the heels of the term-limit referendum. He also lost a surprise 2012 election to former Rep. Mike Nadeau, a Republican from Fort Kent before winning the seat back.
The former speaker said he feels good physically and wants to return to crafting the budget, demurring after being asked how long he wants to continue serving.
“It depends on how long the good Lord will let me stay on this earth,” he said.