WINDHAM – Democrats were unable to find a replacement candidate for the race to succeed Bill Diamond in the Senate District 12 seat, jeopardizing the party’s ability to regain control of the Maine Senate in November and raising questions about the capability of its local committee.

Reid Scher of Windham was slated to represent his party in the three-way race against Republican state Rep. Gary Plummer and Martin Shuer, an independent, both of Windham. But he withdrew earlier this month, citing time constraints.

“I gave it a lot of thought and the nature of my life and the commitment that it took just led me to conclude that I could not really at this point make a serious run at the Senate,” said Scher, who also serves as chairman of the Cumberland County Democratic Committee. “I felt staying on the ballot and holding myself out as a serious candidate would do a disservice to the people of the district. They deserve someone who will actually be able to devote the time to the race that they deserve.”

The lack of a Democratic candidate in the district covering Windham, Raymond, Standish, Casco, Frye Island and Hollis comes as a disappointment to Diamond, who has held the District 12 seat for the last eight years and is prohibited from running again due to term limits. He said it might be a reflection of the popularity of Plummer, who has served in some town, county or statewide political office almost continuously since 1975.

“It looks to me like they’re going to let this seat go, which probably says more about Gary Plummer than it does about anything else,” Diamond said.

“I’m sure they’ve asked people to run, I don’t know,” Diamond continued. “It seems to me in a district of 45,000 people, there’s probably a Democrat somewhere that might like to run. So I’m really amazed they didn’t find a candidate.”

Statewide, Democrats aren’t fielding candidates in nine House races as well as the local Senate race. Republicans have failed to recruit one Senate candidate and three House candidates.

One of the most likely local Democrats to fill Diamond’s seat would have been Windham’s Mark Bryant, who served as the House District 110 representative for the last eight years. But Bryant said he notified party leadership two years ago that he would be taking a break once his term was complete.

“I put a lot of thought into that and obviously there was a lot of pressure there for me to run,” Bryant said. “But I had told them way back I wasn’t running, so they had early warning a couple years back.”

Bryant said his understanding was that Scher was a paper candidate, meaning he was holding the spot until a committed candidate came forward.

“I think that Reid had said from the start that he didn’t intend to run in November, that he would hold a place that would allow anyone to come forward,” Bryant said. “I didn’t get the feeling, and I can’t speak for him, that he felt he would be the nominee. He was holding a place and made it clear that that was basically his interest. No one else stepped forward and he bowed out in the end. That’s my understanding.”

When asked whether he intended all along to be the Democratic nominee, Scher said, “I was asked to run because they couldn’t fill the slot on the ballot and I agreed to have my name put on the ballot, and it was not simply a paper candidacy. I really explored what it would take not even necessarily to win, because you go in and you understand you might lose, but to run a serious campaign that people deserve in terms of knocking on doors, and I didn’t feel I could do justice to the candidacy.”

Bryant, like Diamond, is shocked no Democrat is competing for the Senate seat.

“I’m just surprised that one of the 10 largest towns in the state of Maine that there’s not a Democrat who wants to step up and challenge or vie for the seat,” Bryant said. “That is quite a statement.”

Bryant said the Windham Democratic Town Committee is in difficult straits and recently has been without three of its four officers. Bryant has called a meeting for early August to take stock of the party’s condition.

“When the only officer left is the treasurer, you certainly need to regroup. So I’ve called a meeting to regroup,” Bryant said. “Being one of the 10 biggest towns in the state and not having an active town committee is certainly a symptom of why there’s not a Democratic Senate candidate out there. And as one of the leaders of the Democrats in Windham, I feel a responsibility to make it a more vibrant group.”

The candidates

The two remaining candidates, Plummer and Shuer, aren’t quite sure what to make of the implications of Scher’s withdrawal.

Plummer said it affects his campaign little.

“I’ve made my plan from the beginning to get out there and work, to meet people, to talk with people and that’s what I’ve been doing,” he said. “So, I’m going to do basically what I would have done if it had been a three-way race.”

Shuer, who serves on several local committees but not in elected office, said a two-man race helps his chances.

“Yes, there are very clear differences in what my candidacy represents to the residents of District 12 when looking at Rep. Gary Plummer’s record and our positions on many issues,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to engage the public in this campaign effort and hope that they will support my aspiration to serve and effectively represent them in Augusta. I believe my ability to voice and thoughtfully represent the concerns of most voters is what will lead to a successful outcome on Election Day.”

Plummer, who is term-limited from running for the House District 111 seat after four terms, said running against Shuer will be similar to running against a Democrat.

“I’ve known Martin well for several years now. I see him as a progressive,” Plummer said. “He was a Democrat not too long ago. I looked at a list that was maybe three or four years old and he was Democrat.”

When asked if he is a progressive, Shuer said, “While I don’t like labels, it’s important for District 12 voters to know my positions on the issues. To that end, I’m likely ‘progressive’ on many social, educational, environmental, and infrastructure issues, but ‘moderate’ on fiscal matters along with my advocacy for greater government transparency and accountability. My advocacy is really about doing what’s important for all Mainers: good jobs, good schools, protecting the environment and our natural resources, affordable health care and improving our failing infrastructure.”

Larger picture

Diamond said the lack of a Democrat in the District 12 race may seem inconsequential locally, but in fact could play a part in statewide decision-making if the November vote is tight.

“This is huge because there is a chance, and not an unreasonable chance, that the Democrats and Republicans could be very close in terms of who’s going to have the majority next time,” Diamond said. “If you look at the various seats, people agree there are chances for Democrats to pick up a few seats. The irony would be they don’t get a candidate for this and they lose 18-17.”

Sen. Barry Hobbins of Saco, the Democratic leader in the Senate, is likewise surprised no Democrat has stepped up in the district and pointed to Chuck Quintero, the head of recruitment for the Democrats in Augusta. Quintero did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Hobbins said Shuer seems ideologically similar to a Democrat.

“I understand there’s an independent candidate running … I know philosophically [he is] consistent on many issues [as Democrats]. I think [he’s] very progressive,” Hobbins said. “So then the question comes down, with no Democratic candidate in the race, where will the Democrat voters go?”

Diamond and Reid Scher haven’t gone so far as to endorse Shuer against Plummer, and don’t expect they will.

“I’m not endorsing anybody. I don’t think my endorsement would mean anything anyway. I don’t think the voters care who I endorse,” Diamond said. “And if the Ds don’t get anybody, I think Gary’s certainly the high odds-on favorite. I think anybody would agree with that.”

Scher, as head of the county Democrat committee, likewise said the Democrats are loath to endorse individuals in other parties.

“Obviously, we’re going to look at the race, but pretty much we endorse Democrats for fairly obvious reasons,” Scher said. “That said, I expect people will look at the makeup of the race and what our goals are in Augusta and see if there’s any action we should be taking in this race. I don’t really expect it, but it will be discussed. But, in reality, I don’t see any Democratic committees endorsing Independents.”

Hobbins, who said any Democrat would have trouble beating the well-known Plummer, said Diamond would be in the running for a fifth term if he had his way.

“Bill has big shoes to fill, and it’s a significant loss both to the Democratic Party and to the institution of the Senate itself, because he was so instrumental and has shown such leadership. So it’s a very difficult district for Democrat. Very competitive. Bill’s been able to garner support throughout and cross party lines,” Hobbins said. “I wish him well but a good example of why term limits are unfortunate is Bill Diamond not being able to continue in public service.”

Reid Scher.jpgGary Plummer
Martin Shuer