Richard G. Woodbury
Member of the Maine Senate
from the 11th district
In office
2010–2014
Preceded byGerald Davis
Succeeded byCathy Breen
Personal details
Born (1961-10-10) October 10, 1961 (age 62)
New Haven, Connecticut
Political partyUnenrolled
SpouseDeborah Woodbury
ProfessionEconomist

Richard Glen Woodbury (born October 10, 1961) is an American politician and economist from Maine. Woodbury served as an unenrolled State Senator from Maine's 11th District, representing part of Cumberland County, including the population centers of Falmouth and Cumberland as well as his residence in Yarmouth.[1] He was first elected to the Maine State Senate in 2010 after defeating incumbent Republican Gerald Davis and Green Independent Chris Miller. The Democrat in the race, Cynthia Bullens, dropped out of the race and endorsed Woodbury, though her name remained on the ballot.[2] He served three terms from 2002 to 2008 in the Maine House of Representatives.[3] He has also been a visiting scholar with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and written extensively on tax reform in Maine.[4]

126th Legislature

After winning a closely contested race for re-election in November 2012, Woodbury was the "policy architect" of a dramatic tax overhaul put forth by a bipartisan "Group of 11" legislators. Woodbury's tax plan called for the reduction in the state's income tax and increased consumption taxes as well as eliminating Maine's estate tax. The Portland Press Herald said the plan sought "to slash the state's income tax rate in half and make a host of other sweeping changes, including raising sales and excise taxes and eliminating exemptions".[5]

Woodbury also introduced a resolution calling on Maine's congressional delegation to support a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision in Citizens United v. FEC and the notion of corporate personhood.[6]

Woodbury announced on January 21, 2014, that he would not seek re-election.[7]

Days before the 2014 general election, Woodbury and others began a statewide citizen's initiative to replace Maine's plurality voting system with a ranked choice voting system as is used in Australia and for electing the mayor of Portland, Maine, among other places.[8]

Personal

Woodbury's father, Robert Woodbury, was chancellor of the University of Maine System and ran for governor in 1994. Woodbury earned his B.A. from Williams College in 1983, his M.A. from Harvard University in 1988 and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard in 1991.[3] Woodbury has been an economist with National Bureau of Economic Research since 1998.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Senate District 11 Senator Richard G. Woodbury Cumberland County". Government of Maine. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  2. ^ Lear, Alex (September 15, 2010). "Democrat Bullens withdraws from Senate District 11 race, backs independent Woodbury". The Forecaster. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Senator Richard G. Woodbury". VoteSmart.org. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  4. ^ Anderson, Amy (February 3, 2010). "Former Yarmouth Rep. Woodbury seeks Senate seat held by Falmouth's Davis". The Forecaster. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  5. ^ Mistler, Steve (April 30, 2013). "Maine coalition to propose dramatic tax reform". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  6. ^ Long, Robert (April 29, 2013). "Call for constitutional amendment to end 'corporate personhood' on way to Maine Senate". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  7. ^ Cousins, Christopher (January 21, 2014). "Democrat Steve Woods jumps into race for state Senate seat being vacated by Woodbury". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  8. ^ Moretto, Mario (October 27, 2014). "Maine lawmakers seek to end strategic voting, 'spoilers' with petition for ranked-choice voting". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 19 December 2014.


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