Over my six years in the Legislature, I have been honored to serve with many smart, creative and highly capable colleagues. Among those, Portland’s own Heather Sanborn has been a real standout.

Heather is seeking the Democratic nomination for the District 28 Maine Senate seat (part of Portland and all of Westbrook) being vacated by Mark Dion, and I believe she would be the best choice in the June 12 primary.

Though she is serving her first term in the Maine House, she brings to the job years of experience as a public school teacher, a lawyer, a successful businessperson and a parent. This background has allowed her to quickly master the legislative process and to be effective from her first day.

She has become one of the most vocal consumer protection advocates in the State House. Just weeks into the session, she wrote a bill to crack down on “zombie debt,” an unfair debt collection practice where shady people use legal tricks to force low-income families to pay debts that were already settled. When the bill got its public hearing, there were a lot of nervous bank lobbyists hanging around. Even so, Heather not only got the bill passed unanimously, but also convinced the governor to sign it into law.

As a member of the energy committee, she took the lead in advocating for more affordable access to clean, renewable solar energy. And when Central Maine Power customers experienced widespread unusually high bills, it was Heather who grilled CMP executives and regulators, refusing to back down each time they offered a new excuse. She had spent countless hours doing her homework and was unfazed when they attempted to overwhelm lawmakers with a torrent of technical jargon.

Heather is a remarkable leader, and Portland and Westbrook will benefit with her in the Maine Senate.

Erik C. Jorgensen

Democratic state representative

Portland