WALDOBORO — Clinton Collamore, Bremen native and long-time Waldoboro select board member, has announced his candidacy for State House District 45 which, under the redistricting, includes Bremen, Friendship, Louds Island, Waldoboro and Washington.

“This area is home to the oldest residents in the oldest state in the country,” said Collamore, a registered Democrat. “We need a voice who knows our neighbors and the issues they are going through — struggling to afford to pay their property taxes, their heating bill, and their prescriptions at the pharmacy counter. It would be my honor to represent their voices in Augusta and make commonsense decisions to solve the real problems we are all facing.”

Collamore is a fourth generation lobsterman, and a graduate of Medomak Valley High School and the University of Maine Augusta where he obtained bachelor’s degree in public administration. He has served as the President of the Machinist Union at Bath Iron Works, where he worked as a machinist for 20 years. Clint is happily married to his wife Rhonda and is the father of two children and five grandchildren, including the fifth and sixth generations of lobstermen launching from Bremen.

“Fishing regulations continue to expand. Lobstermen have jumped through so many hoops over the years,” Collamore said. “Now with NOAA and their additional laws and regulations regarding the Right Whale population, this might be the last straw for some of us. Time will tell. I would challenge all legislators to go an entire term without adding new rules and laws that would restrict the lobster industry.”

“Clint would make an excellent State Representative. He has been around this business for years,” commented Larry Wallace, a wharf owner in Friendship. “We need all the help we can get. Clint understands the process, rules and laws that we have had to abide by for many years”

In addition to being a fisherman, Collamore has served as a Waldoboro selectman for over 18 years where he and others have overseen the creation of new ball fields, the expansion of the town office, and building the new public works garage.

Like his father Gilbert, Collamore has devoted his life to serving his community. He has been a member of the Waldoboro Shellfish Commission, the Waldoboro Masonic Lodge, the Rockland Elks Lodge, the Maine Lobsterman’s Association, and a life member of the Sportsman Alliance of Maine.

Craig Prior, Bremen fisherman and lobster dealer says, “Clinton has been around these waters since the early 1960s. He is always trying to make the industry easier on fishermen. Clinton keeps a lot of us up to date with issues being discussed in Augusta. Clinton would be an excellent State Rep.”

Incumbent legislator Jeffrey Evangelos from Friendship has previously announced he would not seek re-election after serving four non-consecutive terms in the Legislature, and offered praise in a news release for Collamore. 

“Clint is a great candidate to replace me. He’s a longtime former dedicated Select Board member in Waldoboro, knows his community, lobsters in Bremen and his family all lives in Waldoboro,” Evangelos said. “A sure bet in my mind, I wish him the best.”

“The negativity and divisiveness in politics has been awful for everyone who depends on our elected officials to go to work and get things done,” said Collamore. “We need more leaders who won’t play games, but make decisions on what’s best for our community. That’s the type of Representative I’ll be in Augusta.”