WINDHAM – Kaile Warren, the former Windham town councilor and proprietor of the national handyman company Rent-a-Husband, has stepped into the race for the District 26 Senate seat, which has been roiled by the death of Republican candidate, Stuart “Toby” Pennels.

Pennels was the third official Republican candidate this election cycle to face Windham Democrat Bill Diamond, a former secretary of state and longtime member of the Legislature who is widely considered a favorite for the seat. The 55-year-old Casco-based financial adviser and Iraq War veteran died Sept. 4 from injuries suffered in an Aug. 3 motorcycle accident near Rangeley.

First came state Sen. Gary Plummer, R-Cumberland, the current seat-holder and former four-time member of the Maine House of Representatives. Plummer dropped out of the race in early February for family reasons. Then there was David Call, an ammunition salesman from Standish with scant political experience who withdrew as well.

Into the latest breach steps Warren, who became the subject of national headlines when the Maine Attorney General’s Office slapped him with a criminal indictment in 2009, following complaints from half a dozen irate Rent-A-Husband promissory note holders that Warren was not paying them back. It was the beginning of a four-year legal imbroglio that finally came to an end in March when the attorney general, who had dropped the criminal charges in 2011, dismissed subsequent civil action against him.

Under the terms of a consent judgment, Warren transferred just under $2 million to the state to distribute to his investors. On Feb. 28, Warren also reached a confidential settlement with Ace Hardware and the two law firms, Preti Flaherty and Marcus Clegg & Mistretta, that had drafted investment contracts and agreements for him.

Warren, who said he feels “absolutely horrible” about Pennels’ death, said that he is proud of his recent tangles with the law. He hopes voters see it as a heroic tale of one man overcoming government persecution.

“I believe the legal proceedings I have been involved in will very much be a positive with voters,” Warren said. “My case was a classic example of how government wrongfully attacks and cannibalizes its citizens and businesses. The strength, knowledge and sheer determination that it took to beat two wrongful felony indictments is the exact strength, knowledge and determination that I believe Maine citizens and business owners want pushing government back on their behalf, when need be.”

“If people feel government oversteps, then they need to vote for me, because I will be a strong protector of people’s rights,” Warren added. “I can relate to people on this issue.”

If elected, Warren said he would defend the rights of businesses big and small, and work hard to make Maine’s workforce more skilled and youthful by reforming education. Warren said that, unlike other politicians, his zeal for reform would not ebb once he reached Augusta.

“I believe that people are fed up with government and that they know change is needed,” Warren said. “Change comes hard, because change has a higher degree of uncertainty than keeping the status quo. Bill Diamond is more about chugging along with the status quo. I represent change, the kind of change people know is needed, but fear going for.”

Diamond, who described the race to date as “a combination of unusual and very, very sad,” said he welcomed Warren into the race.

“Like many people I’m familiar with him,” Diamond said. “I’m sure he’ll run a very positive campaign.”

“It has been an unusual race to say the least – probably the most unusual,” Diamond added. “The saddest part of the whole thing has been Toby’s terrible accident and death. That kind of overshadows the whole thing.”

Plummer said that “literally nobody stepped forward” to replace Pennels after he was withdrawn from the race last month. Then, a mutual friend of Warren’s and Plummer’s put the two in touch. After speaking with Warren, Plummer encouraged him to run. Plummer said that Warren’s recent legal travails could be seen in different ways by the voters of District 26.

“For some people it’s going to be a liability,” Plummer said. “Some people are going to say he fought government and he won, and see that as an advantage.”

“It’s kind of a David and Goliath – a little guy against the institution, or government in general, issuing indictments against him,” Plummer added. “I think it’s more than just saving his own skin – obviously that was what was involved. I think there were a lot of people that gave him little or no chance of beating the odds, but he did.”

Warren, who said he was impressed with Plummer’s legislative record, said he has no plans to vote in line with Gov. Paul LePage, if he is re-elected. Warren said he would vote independently of party affiliation, especially when it comes to voting for Maine’s next Attorney General.

“The Attorney General voting is done in secrecy and almost always strictly along party lines,” Warren said. “People need to think about this. Voting strictly along party lines, and in secrecy runs contrary to what I believe people want to see from their chosen leaders. I will vote on merits, not political orders.”

“The other issue that I hope voters understand is that once you have been wrongfully indicted, you have one of two choices,” Warren added. “You can curl up and become a victim of it, or you can openly and proudly push on with your life’s goals and become a survivor of a wrongful government action. I am a survivor, and I deeply relate to all who are or want to be.”