AUGUSTA, Maine — Rep. Lynne Williams of Bar Harbor has stepped down from the Legislature after accepting an “unexpected professional opportunity.”
Williams, a Democrat who was serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives, informed House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, of her move in a letter included in Tuesday’s House calendar.
The Legislature’s website said the resignation took effect April 1. Williams did not share more details on her new job and did not respond to a phone call and text message seeking comment, but she told The Maine Wire, the news arm of the conservative Maine Policy Institute, that she was taking a state job as a worker’s compensation mediator.
“Thank you to my constituents for the honor of representing them and thank you to my colleagues and the staff at the State House for working together on behalf of Maine people,” Williams wrote in her resignation notice.
Williams has been a practicing attorney, specializing in marijuana business law and civil rights. After receiving her doctorate in social psychology, she worked in southern California as an organizer and also served as a fundraiser and campaign advisor for progressive candidates. Williams also served on the national staff of then-Colorado Sen. Gary Hart’s presidential campaign from 1983 to 1984, per her biography on the Legislature’s website.
She sought the Maine Green Independent Party’s nomination for governor in 2010 but did not gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Williams represented House District 14, which includes the towns of Bar Harbor, Cranberry Isles, Lamoine and Mount Desert. House Majority Office staff said a special election will not be held before the end of the current session, which is scheduled to end this month.
