Eric Mehnert is the oldest of five children. He has three brothers and one sister. Eric was born November 1960, to Irene and William Mehnert. His parents, both educators, traveled around the country as they pursued their education, settling in Orono, Maine in 1975, where they joined the faculty at the University of Maine. The Mehnert Family (all twenty-two of us now) spend vacations summers & winters at the family cabin in Western Maine.
Eric is a graduate of Colby College Class of 1982 where he took a double major in Government and East Asian Studies. While in college he worked in Senator Edmund Muskie's office and State Representative Judy Kany's office. He took a semester off to gain practical experience as a campaign staffer on Edward Kennedy's run for President in 1980 and was a member of the National Field Staff coordinating the final push to the primaries in Maine, New Hampshire, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and Nebraska. He served as a delegate to the Maine Democratic Convention for several years and as the Town Committee Chairperson for the Democratic Party for the Town of New Gloucester, Maine. Most recently, Eric worked as Regional Coordinator for the Kerry Presidential Campaign's Voter Protection Project in Ohio. His responsibilities included organization of County Attorney's charged with the responsibility of ensuring that minority voters were not wrongfully prevented from voting. Eric is a graduate of Union University, Albany Law School Class of 1985, he has also attended the Tokyo University's summer International Relations Program in Tokyo, Japan.
Since Law School, Eric's career has taken him from private practice to the public sector. In private practice he has focused on civil rights work; handling employment discrimination cases, housing discrimination cases and defending the rights of those who have been institutionalized. He has also served as the Chief of Enforcement of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts's Commission against Discrimination. In that capacity he was responsible for advising the Commissioners on, and then prosecuting, discrimination actions in the name of the Commonwealth while supervising a staff of fifteen attorneys and forty investigators.
Eric met his wife of 21 years at Colby College. Cynthia M. Mehnert, after graduating from Colby, Class of 1983, continued her education at Suffolk University where she earned a law degree.
Eric and Cindy now have an active law practice in Bangor,
Maine and reside in Orono, with their children Kirsten (Age 14 ) and Bryce (Age 11) who are both active in
extracurricular activities, which includes caring for the newest member of the family, a yellow lab puppy named Eli.
Family recreation includes skiing, hiking, hunting and fly fishing.
Following his natural inclinations as well as the overall direction of his education, legal training, and life experiences, Eric's core values (beliefs) are well developed and focused on:
Initiating policies that strengthen and protect the employees and owners of small business while fighting excesses
of corporate greed, such as exporting jobs overseas;
Continued learning opportunities and training programs for all Maine citizens, especially those displaced or just
returning to the workforce;
Protecting our coastline and preserving our working waterfronts;
Extending access to health care and prescription drugs, particularly for low income seniors and families;
Providing education from Head Start through college that prepares our children to compete in the Information Age;
Developing a progressive environmental program insuring access to our natural resources for all Maine's citizens,
and at the same time ensuring we maintain the proper balance for all the forest users from the lumber industry to the
environmentalists and the sports men and women who enjoy this priceless asset;
Fighting for Civil Rights so that no person or population is disenfranchised;
Commitment to a strong defense policy, and maintaining the strength of our armed forces, while ensuring our
troops are deployed only for legitimate national security and humanitarian issues. He will support only those
actions which have a clearly defined mission, attainable military objective, and exit strategy;
Exploring both renewable and alternative sources of energy.
Eric's statement of his candidacy is as follows;
"The last time our government was more out of touch with the concerns of most Americans, William McKinley was President
and Congress was under the influence of the Coal and Oil Companies. This President, and his GOP allies in Congress, are
leading America in the wrong direction. I am seeking your help to do what I do best, propose and execute a different
vision of leadership that rises from the people and comes from our shared values. I believe that together, Maine's
citizens can offer positive options that will make a difference for Maine and for this country. As we once again ask
the question; What can each and everyone of us do to make a difference for ourselves, our families, our state and our
nation?
In today's political climate we need to step up our fight on behalf of Maine's working families. Now is the time for a change.I am prepared, eager, and ready for the challenge. With your support, we can, and will make a difference!"