BELFAST — State Legislative candidate Arthur House, Jr. has withdrawn his candidacy for District 39 in the Maine House of Representatives, he told PenBayPilot.com in an email Jan. 23. 

District 39, under the newly redrawn legislative districts, encompasses the communities of Belfast, Belmont and Northport as of the 2022 Elections. 

The Belfast resident had filed with the Maine Ethics Commission as an unenrolled candidate in November 2021, and noted in his emailed statement he was appreciative of the early support, professional assistance and guidance he had received. 

“As you may or may not be aware, both my wife and I are in our early 70s and not as spry as we wish to be,” he wrote. “I would have run for office earlier and with much enthusiasm, had we not become so concerned about health and exposure issues, that do not seem to afflict the younger among us.”

Furthermore, he added he is “cognizant of unquestionable viciousness in politics today, growing in a more negative atmosphere” and that “it is hard to justify fighting for a political seat today which seems more and more not to be attractive or even remotely motivational. Truly not a great place to be today.”

Though he has withdrawn his candidacy, he noted he would consider being available, in some capacity, to other legislative candidates in a behind-the-scenes capacity. 

With House pulling out, incumbent Janice Dodge (D-Belfast) is now the lone candidate seeking the District 39 seat.