Date: 2008-09-27

Creator: Marcia Ann Gartley

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Marcia Ann (Bacha) Gartley was born on October 2, 1952, in Bradford, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Rixford, Pennsylvania, in the Appalachian Mountains, with her mother Mary, her father George, and three brothers. Her father worked in the Pennsylvania oil fields. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in political science. She moved to Maine in the 1970s and in 1987 began to work in Senator George Mitchell’s Presque Isle office as a case worker. She has remained active in Aroostook County Democratic politics, serving as city chair, county chair, and treasurer. She has also worked for Governor John Baldacci and Representative Mike Michaud. At the time of this interview she was a contractor for the United States Department of Agriculture.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: University of Pittsburgh; case work in the Presque Isle field office; Senator Mitchell as majority leader; Aroostook County Democratic Party; outer space anecdote and Mitchell’s response; Loring Air Force Base closure; the potato industry and farming in Aroostook County; the Presque Isle community; the Vahlsing case; and Senator Mitchell’s decision to step down.

Date: 2008-10-06

Creator: John N Diamond, Marcia L Diamond

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

John Nathan Diamond was born on November 12, 1954, in Bangor, Maine. His father, Nathan Diamond, was a musician and a teacher, and his mother, Eleanor Diamond, was active in the community and in local politics. John followed politics with his parents, who were registered Republicans until 1978 when they changed their party affiliation and became Democrats. As a teenager, John volunteered for Elmer Violette and Bill Hathaway in 1972. After graduating from Bangor High School, he attended the University of Maine, graduating in 1977. He became involved in the Carter and Muskie campaigns of 1976. He worked for the Lewiston Sun-Journal after college, covering local politics, and then took a job running Jim Henderson’s primary campaign of 1978. He worked for Bill Hathaway in the general election that year and then took a job as a staffer in the Maine state House majority office. In 1980, he was elected to a House seat representing Bangor, and in 1982 he was reelected unopposed. Not having to campaign much for himself, he worked for Mitchell’s 1982 campaign. He met Marcia in 1985 and they were married September 13, 1986. They have two children and live in Bangor, Maine, where John worked for the University of Maine system as executive director of external affairs at the time of this interview. Marcia LaRochelle Diamond was born on June 8, 1962, in Bath, Maine, to Mary Sullivan LaRochelle and Neil LaRochelle. Marcia was the fourth of six children. Her father was a principal in the Bath school system, and he ran a family business called LaRochelle and Sons Market Gardens. Her mother encouraged her to get involved in politics in order to broaden her experience beyond being a teacher, which was the career that Marcia aspired to achieve. Marcia attended the University of Maine, Farmington, graduating early in order to intern in Mitchell’s office in Washington D.C. She began in the press office, and when the term of her internship was over she was hired as assistant press secretary. After a few years, she moved back to Maine to provide Senator Mitchell’s office with a press presence at home. After marrying John and finding that Mitchell’s seat was safe for the 1988 campaign, Marcia retired from her political career and pursued teaching. She began teaching sixth grade at East Corinth School and became involved in the Odyssey of the Mind program. After a hiatus rearing her children, she returned to teaching at St. Mary’s Catholic School, which merged with St. John’s Catholic School in 2000 to become All Saints Catholic School, where Marcia served as principal at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: growing up in Maine; the 1972 election; the University of Maine; the 1976 election; John’s running for the legislature in 1980; the Penobscot County Democrats; taking John’s seventy-five year old grandmother to see President Carter during his visit to Bangor in 1980; Bangor in the 1960s and 1970s; Marcia’s connection with Gayle Cory; Marcia’s internship in Mitchell’s Senate office in Washington, D.C. and subsequent work in Mitchell’s press office; Marcia’s decision to return to Maine; how John and Marcia met, their first date, and John’s proposal; how John got involved in Mitchell’s 1982 campaign; the field operation in 1982; how Mitchell developed his public persona; forecasting that nuclear and environmental issues would become crucial issues in the 1980s; the campaign strategy of following up on phone calls with letters about issues relevant to the phone conversation; the Fourth of July Parade in Bangor as a turning point in the 1982 campaign; election night, 1982; Marcia’s involvement with Odyssey of the Mind; John’s and Marcia’s small business; Marcia’s career in education; John’s work with Maine Public Broadcasting; how Marcia learned from Gayle Cory to never take “no” for an answer; and the forgotten luggage story.

Date: 2008-05-12

Creator: Harold 'Hal' Pachios

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Harold “Hal” Pachios was born July 12, 1936, in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. He attended Princeton and Georgetown Law. He served for two years on a Navy transport ship, worked for the Peace Corps as a congressional liaison, then held numerous positions in politics and government including at the Democratic National Committee, VISTA, the White House (as associate White House press secretary), the Department of Transportation, and for Senator Edmund S. Muskie's vice presidential campaign. A long time-friend of Mitchell, at the time of this interview he practiced law at Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios, in Portland, Maine.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: meeting and developing a friendship with George Mitchell; social dinners with Mitchell; tennis and golf as a reflection of Mitchell’s focus and concentration; Mitchell’s parents and their family values; Senator Muskie’s influence; decision to run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee; “throw your hat into the ring”; Mitchell’s 1974 gubernatorial campaign; the boating story; dining with Mitchell; Mitchell’s relationship with his brother Robbie; cribbage; difference between Mitchell and other politicians; Mitchell’s love of sports; and Mitchell’s busy schedule.

Date: 2009-11-24

Creator: Brett O'Brien

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Brett O’Brien was born on January 27, 1963, in Inglewood, California, to William and Rosalie O’Brien. He spent most of his youth in San Diego and attended Harvard, graduating in 1985. He worked for the American University in Cairo, Egypt, completed a master’s program at the London School of Economics, and then worked at the Congressional Research Service in foreign affairs and national defense. He worked for Congressman Jim Bates from San Diego, California, as a legislative assistant in foreign affairs. He began working for George Mitchell on the Democratic Policy Committee as a researcher and writer, which also included being an assistant to the Senate majority leader’s aides.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: O’Brien’s educational background; his interest in international relations; working at the Congressional Research Service; working on the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and meeting Mitchell; Defense Authorization Bill; Mitchell’s addressing Maine issues, such as Bath Iron Works, from Washington; working on the Middle East portfolio, especially foreign assistance to Lebanon; the military base closure process and Loring Air Force Base, Brunswick, Charleston, and Long Beach bases; and Mitchell’s decision-making process.

Date: 2008-11-26

Creator: Joan S Pedersen

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Joan (Speed) Pedersen was born on February 11, 1940, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her mother was a legal secretary for an attorney’s office and her father worked in distribution for Firestone Tire. She grew up in West Roxbury, a heavily Irish Catholic part of Boston. She married and moved to Cape Cod, and later to Maine. From 1982-1984, she worked in Senator Mitchell’s field office in Lewiston, Maine, serving constituents. She later worked for Senator William S. Cohen and Representative John E. Baldacci.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: growing up in Boston in the 1940s and 1950s; work as a caseworker in Senator Mitchell’s field office; heart transplant case for a veteran; gun control and abortion issues dealt with in the office; the relationships among Mitchell’s staff; Senator Mitchell’s reputation; Pedersen’s interactions with the Senator Mitchell; anecdote about her teenage daughter answering her phone when the Mitchell called; interaction between the Washington, D.C. staff and the Maine staff; daughter’s work in Northern Ireland; increased workload for caseworkers when Mitchell became majority leader; arrival of computers in the office; roles of the press secretary and the scheduler; state staff’s serving as the Mitchell’s eyes and ears; office security; transition to working for Senator Cohen after Mitchell left the Senate; Mitchell’s and Cohen’s working relationship; Mitchell’s qualifications for playing a role in the new administration; the value of bipartisanship and how Maine politicians have exemplified it; Mitchell’s confidence in his staff; and Pedersen’s feelings about having worked for Mitchell.

Date: 2009-09-11

Creator: Patricia 'Pat' A Sarcone

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Patricia Ann Sarcone was born in Newport, Rhode Island. She grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and was graduated from St. Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas, with a degree in business administration. In 1969 she joined Iowa Senator Harold Hughes’s staff in Washington, DC, where she remained until 1975. She then worked on Iowa Senator John Culver’s staff until 1980, when she joined Walter Mondale’s presidential campaign. She worked for Occidental International before joining Senator George Mitchell’s staff in 1988, working as Mitchell’s executive assistant until he retired in 1994, when she transitioned to work for Senator Tom Daschle.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: role on Iowa Senator Harold Hughes’s staff; recollections of the Humphrey-Muskie campaign; working on Mondale’s presidential campaign; Sarcone’s joining Senator Mitchell’s staff and transitioning into Gayle Cory’s job as executive assistant to Mitchell; role and responsibilities as executive assistant; Monday morning meetings with the staff; Mitchell’s schedule; the Majority Leader’s Office; relationship between his personal office and the Majority Leader Office; women on staff; mood in the office when Mitchell announced his retirement; the transition to Senator Tom Daschle; Mitchell’s relationship with Senator Bob Dole; and Mitchell’s legacy.

Date: 2009-04-14

Creator: Timothy Agnew

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Timothy Agnew was born May 18, 1954, in Stamford, Connecticut. His parents were Jane Gillespie Agnew and Chares Dutiel Agnew, who owned a small plastics manufacturing business. He grew up in Stamford, attended Vassar College majoring in political science, and received his law degree from University of Virginia in 1980. He joined the law firm of Thompson, Ashley and Bull in Portland, Maine. After leaving the law firm in 1984, he began working at the Finance Authority of Maine, where Governor McKernan appointed him CEO in 1988; he served as CEO of FAME until 1999. In 2000-2001 he joined the board of the Mitchell Institute. For the past decade he has worked with the Mitchell Institute as a member of the board and also serves on the Maine Technology Institute board.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: childhood and educational background; Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) and its projects; being on the board of the Mitchell Institute; how the Mitchell Institute was created; Senator Mitchell’s current involvement with the institute; the selection process for the Mitchell Institute scholarships; Maine Venture Partners; and the Maine Technology Institute.

Date: 2010-06-02

Creator: Warren B Rudman

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Warren B. Rudman was born on May 18, 1930, and served as a Republican in the U.S. Senate from 1980-1993 representing New Hampshire. He worked with George Mitchell on the Iran-Contra and Sharm el-Sheikh committees, but they had known each other earlier through their respective legal careers. He was appointed by President Clinton to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and served from 1993-2001.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: legal careers; Iran-Contra; position of Senate majority leader; Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee; Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to balance the budget; relationships between senators; and changes in the Senate over the years.

Date: 2009-07-24

Creator: Marjorie M Bride

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Marjorie McHenry Bride was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 17, 1939. Her parents, both from longtime Baltimore families, were James McHenry and Marjorie Ober McHenry. Her father was a gentleman farmer and so she lived in the countryside outside of town until she went to a boarding school, Dobbs Ferry, in New York. She earned her degree in economics from Bryn Mawr and worked for the Export-Import Bank in Washington, D.C. from 1961-1965, where she met her husband. She moved to Maine when her husband managed the Old Orchard Beach pier and later to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she received a master’s degree in urban planning. She went into commercial development in Portland, Maine, in 1976 and became a broker, then started a tourism company called Experience Maine, and offered art tours along the coast. She spent a year in Washington, DC working in Mitchell’s Senate office; she sometimes played tennis with Senator Mitchell. At the time of this interview, she worked for Odysseys Unlimited and served on the boards of the Mitchell Institute, Outward Bound, and the Posse Foundation.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: childhood and education background; Washington, D.C. during the Kennedy years; brief discussion of Mitchell’s history; the start of Experience Maine; working in Washington; playing tennis with Mitchell; involvement with the Mitchell Institute as board member; Outward Bound and the Posse Foundation; the business of Odysseys Unlimited with college alumni; contact with Mitchell; Chris Bride’s working as an immigration adjudications officer; Libby Mitchell’s run for governor; the mystery surrounding Mitchell’s current work in the Middle East; and Mitchell Scholars brunch.

Date: 2009-04-30

Creator: Robert 'Bob' J Carolla

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Robert J. “Bob” Carolla was born in 1956, in Suffern, New York, to Anthony and Mary Pugliese Carolla. When he was eight years old the family moved from Pearl River, New York, to Canastota, New York, where his father was a high school principal. Bob attended Middlebury College. Upon graduation he worked as the press secretary and political director of the Democratic Conference, which was a project of Americans for Democratic Action (ADA). He earned his law degree from Boston University in 1982. He worked with a law firm in Portland, Maine, and volunteered for the joint Brennan-Mitchell campaign in 1982. He accepted another position with ADA in Washington, DC, and was then hired by Mitchell’s Senate office as a legislative assistant. He began by handling foreign policy and defense issues and took on labor and commerce issues during his tenure in that position. At the time of this interview, he was director of media relations for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Arlington, Virginia.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Iran-Contra 1986-1987; minimum wage bill veto; 1986 Maine Central Railroad strike; Portsmouth Dry Dock; Loring Air Force Base; Pan Am 103 terrorist bombing in 1988; Ford Aviation subcommittee and the aviation bill in 1990; working with Senator Ford; Mitchell’s presidential potential; Mitchell’s background; and Maine Peace Mission in 1987.

Date: 2009-08-17

Creator: Lula J Davis

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Lula Johnson Davis was born in Potash, Louisiana. Her mother was a homemaker and her father worked in construction. She was awarded bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern University in Louisiana and married a Howard University professor, which brought her to Washington, D.C. She served as a legislative correspondent for Senator Russell Long in Washington, D.C., from 1980-1987 and later became an assistant for the Democratic Policy Committee’s floor staff office. In 1993, she began working for the Democratic floor staff and in 1995 rose to the position of chief floor assistant. From 1997 to 2008, she was assistant secretary for the Democratic Party and in 2008 was voted secretary for the majority.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: how Davis got to Washington, DC; her work as legislative correspondent for Senator Russell Long; description of Senator Long; Davis’s job with the Democratic Policy Committee; working on the Senate Floor; working for Byrd; transition from Byrd to Mitchell within the Democratic Policy Committee; how the culture in the Senate has changed; voting procedures; difference between secretary of the Senate and secretary for the majority; George Mitchell’s legacy; the transition from Mitchell to Daschle; changes in the nature of Democratic leadership; changes in the nature of Republican leadership; Clinton impeachment; role of women in the Senate culture, including Martha Pope, Shelia Burke, and Anita Jensen.

Date: 2009-10-26

Creator: Carole S Cory

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Carole Cory was born September 14, 1970, in Nashua, New Hampshire, to Mitchell staffer Gayle (Fitzgerald) Cory and Donald Bruce Cory. Buzz Fitzgerald was her uncle and Gayle Cory’s brother. She worked for Senator Paul Wellstone between 1997-2002. At the time of this interview, she was systems administrator for U.S. Senator Patty Murray.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family background and connection to Maine; extensive discussion of her mother’s (Gayle Cory’s) family, childhood and positions with Senators Muskie and Mitchell in the U.S. Senate and her time as postmaster of the Senate Post Office; Gayle Cory’s illness and funeral; descriptions of the Hart and Russell Senate buildings; and changes in Senate security post-9/11.

Date: 2010-12-20

Creator: George J Mitchell

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

George J. Mitchell was born on August 20, 1933, in Waterville, Maine, to Mary Saad, a factory worker, and George Mitchell, a laborer. Senator Mitchell spent his youth in Waterville. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1954, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps until 1956. In 1960 he earned a law degree from Georgetown University. Mitchell worked for Senator Edmund S. Muskie as executive assistant and as deputy campaign manager during Muskie's 1972 presidential campaign. He later became U.S. senator (D-Maine) 1980-1995, Senate majority leader 1989-1995, and, upon his retirement from the Senate, special advisor on Northern Ireland 1995-1998. Since 1998, Senator Mitchell has served on many boards and committees and has received high profile appointments including: chairman of the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee on the crisis between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (2000); overseer of the Red Cross Liberty Fund (2001); lead investigator into the illegal use of performance enhancing substances in Major League Baseball (2006); and special envoy for Palestinian-Israeli affairs (2009-2011).

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: being appointed to and chairing the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; Democratic U.S. Senate races (1986); Iran-Contra congressional hearings and his interrogation of witness Col. Oliver North; writing Men of Zeal with Sen. William S. Cohen; Senate Democratic leadership and his role in it; challenges he faced as Senate majority leader, and relations with then minority leader Robert J. “Bob” Dole; the concept of compromise in the legislative process, especially concerning the Clean Air Act; admiration for and dealings with Senator Robert C. Byrd; congressional Democratic leadership relations with President George H.W. Bush regarding “read my lips—no new taxes.”

Date: 2009-05-19

Creator: Francis C Marsano

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Francis C. Marsano was born on September 8, 1936, in Bangor, Maine; his parents were Elton L. Marsano and Gertrude Mannette Marsano. He was one of five children and grew up in Belfast, Maine, living there until World War II, when his family moved to Quincy, Massachusetts, so that his father could work in a defense plant. His mother was a nurse. His grandfather remained in Belfast after his family’s move, and they often traveled to Maine to visit him. On these trips Marsano frequently passed through Brunswick, Maine, and decided that he wanted to attend Bowdoin College. After being graduated from Bowdoin in 1958, he pursued a law degree from the University of Michigan. He met George Mitchell at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and they enjoyed further encounters through shared experiences as Maine lawyers and Bowdoin alumni. Marsano was very active in Maine politics and was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1986, serving until 1992 when he was appointed to a judgeship. He also served as president of the Maine State Bar Association. He retired from the bench, and in 2007 Governor John Baldacci nominated him to the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, on which he served as a commissioner at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; decision to attend Bowdoin College and his experiences there; Marsano’s involvement in politics; Barry Goldwater; the 1964 Democratic National Convention; Mitchell’s relationship with Muskie; Mitchell’s skill as a lawyer; working with Governor John “Jock” McKernan; Maine political campaigns and strategy; Mitchell’s decision to step down as federal judge and how that speaks to his commitment to public service; changes in Maine politics over time; the award that Mitchell received from the Maine State Bar Association after the Iran-Contra investigation; Mitchell’s leadership skills; the occasion when Mitchell welcomed the Maine State Bar Association to his Senate leader office; and Mitchell’s reputation as a great American.

Date: 2008-04-24

Creator: John P Mitchell, Prin Mitchell

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

John Peter Mitchell was born in Massachusetts in 1927 to Mary (Saad) and George J. Mitchell, Sr. His mother worked as a weaver in the local woolen mills and his father worked for the Central Maine Power Company, and later for Colby College. John attended Waterville High School where he participated in football, baseball, and was an outstanding basketball player, earning him the nickname “Swisher.” He served in the Navy and attended the University of Rhode Island, where he was a star basketball player. He taught school and coached for many years at Colby College. John is the brother of Senator George Mitchell, Paul Mitchell, Robbie Mitchell and Barbara (Mitchell) Atkins. At the time of this interview he continued to live in Waterville, Maine, with his wife, Prin.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Waterville, Maine Boy’s Club; athletics growing up; “funny books” anecdote; Mitchell family history; Lebanese culture of Waterville during childhood; meeting his future wife, Prin; reading the Epistle and the role of the church; high school English teacher Mrs. Whitten; importance of Bowdoin in molding George Mitchell; Mitchell Institute; George Mitchell’s 1974 Maine gubernatorial campaign; George Mitchell’s career; media attention in Waterville; and traditional Lebanese food and family traditions.

Date: 2009-02-20

Creator: Paul P. Brountas

Access: Audio recording permanently restricted

Biographical NotePaul Peter Brountas was born on March 19, 1932, in Bangor, Maine. He and George Mitchell were classmates at Bowdoin College, where he was graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1954; he took bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Oxford in 1956 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1960. That same year, he joined Hale and Dorr, the predecessor of WilmerHale. He became a partner in 1968 and served as senior counsel to the firm from 2003 until his retirement in 2005. In 1987 and 1988, he served as national chairman of the Committee to Elect Michael S. Dukakis President of the United States, and in 1968 he served as a campaign aide to Senator Edmund Muskie during the Humphrey-Muskie presidential campaign. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: growing up in Bangor, Maine, influenced by Greek ethnicity; attending Bowdoin College in the early 1950s. Remainder of interview permanently restricted.

Date: 2009-03-28

Creator: Charles 'Chuck' B Kruger

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Charles “Chuck” Kruger was born in Morristown, New Jersey, on July 2, 1950. His parents were Charles Bromley Kruger and Barbara Burke Kruger. His father was a WWII veteran and captain of a B-17 before starting an aviation business and then going into the family business. As a boy Chuck sang in St. Peter’s Church boys’ choir, and he started playing guitar at age 14. Chuck went to boarding school in New Hope, where he became interested in theatre, English, and writing. After high school, he went to New York City, where he played in a band and sang in the Masterwork Chorus for about a year. He attended Nasson College, started his own acoustic band, lived off-campus and did gigs at the ski areas. After graduating, he performed professionally and met with success as a singer/songwriter solo act. He married and had a son in 1984. He drove and helped raise funds for George Mitchell and became increasingly interested in Maine politics. In 1986 he began to work on campaigns and joined the State Committee while also working for MBNA. At the time of this interview, he had recently been elected to the Maine state legislature.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family background and education; Chuck’s father’s experience in the war; singing and playing in New York in 1969; attending Nasson College in Maine and the ski area gigs with the Mirror Lake Band; the Profile Theater Company; career as a professional musician and recording albums; driving for Mitchell in 1974; performing at fund raisers; story about Mitchell and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Ceremony; working in Maine politics; booking off-site programming for MBNA; the decision to run for state senate; being a state senator; tax reform and not creating a bill; thoughts and memories of the business and people involved; reflections on Mitchell; and the state legislature today.

Date: 2009-06-11

Creator: Joseph 'Bob' Robert Kerrey

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Joseph Robert “Bob” Kerrey was born August 27, 1943, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School and entered the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where he earned a degree in pharmacy in 1966. He served in the U.S. Navy after graduation until 1969 and was wounded in combat in Vietnam, receiving the Medal of Honor and the Bronze Star. He returned to Nebraska, and in 1982 he was elected governor. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988 and was reelected for a second term in 1994. He ran in the Democratic presidential primaries in 1992 but lost the nomination to Bill Clinton. He was a member of the 9/11 Commission. When he left the Senate, he became president of The New School, a position he held at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Kerrey’s incoming Senate class; contact with Mitchell prior to coming to the Senate; supporting Mitchell for majority leader; Mitchell’s leadership style; the 1990 budget; the role of the majority and minority leaders; the differences between being a governor and a senator; friendships in the Senate; Mitchell’s logical arguments; Mitchell’s TV presence; Mitchell’s relationship with Dole; Mitchell’s role in helping Kerrey achieve the goals he had in various policy areas; Health U.S.A.; Kerrey’s understanding of agricultural interests; the 1991 War Powers Resolution; the Clean Air Act; Mitchell’s relationship to Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; Kerrey’s stance on the stimulus bill of 1993 and budget issues; health care reform of 1994 and Mitchell’s leadership on that effort; Kerrey’s reaction to Mitchell’s decision to retire; Kerrey’s decision to retire in 2001; Mitchell’s neutrality in the Democratic presidential primaries in 1992; Mitchell’s legacy in the Senate; Tom Daschle as majority leader; and Mitchell’s loyalties to country, state and political party.

Date: 2009-08-26

Creator: Barbara Keefe

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Barbara Keefe was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1940, and grew up in Trenton, New Jersey. She was graduated from Seton Hall University. She received a fellowship to study deaf education and worked at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, Mackworth Island, Maine. She joined the League of Women Voters and became involved in the National Women’s Political Caucus. She was treasurer for Senator Mitchell’s reelection campaigns in 1982 and 1988, and she has served on the Mitchell Institute Board since 1994.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Keefe’s introduction to politics through her father’s involvement; Keefe’s activity in the Maine League of Women Voters; starting the Maine Women’s Political Caucus with Patty Ryan; Keefe’s recollections of Mitchell’s 1974 campaign; what appealed to both Democratic and Republican women about George Mitchell; Keefe’s becoming treasurer for Mitchell’s 1982 reelection campaign; working with Larry Benoit and Mary McAleney on Mitchell’s staff; Mitchell’s friendship with Pat and Joe Angelone; Mitchell’s win in 1982; Keefe’s involvement with Mitchell between the 1982 and 1988 campaigns; fund-raising for Mitchell’s campaign in 1988; the development of the Mitchell Institute; how the Mitchell Institute is funded; and Mitchell’s commitment to education.

Date: 2009-02-27

Creator: Kent Conrad

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Kent Conrad was born on March 12, 1948, in Bismarck, North Dakota, to Abigail and Gaylord Conrad. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1966, he attended Stanford University; he later received an MBA from George Washington University. After college, Conrad became an assistant to the North Dakota tax commissioner. He became tax commissioner in 1980, a job he held until 1986, when he successfully ran for the Senate as a Democrat representing North Dakota, when George Mitchell was chair of the DSCC. In 1992, he chose not run for reelection because of a campaign promise he made that he would not run for reelection if the budget deficit had not fallen by the end of his first term. However, the other North Dakota Senate seat became vacant and Conrad won a special election to fill that vacancy in December of 1992. At the time of this interview he was still in the Senate, serving on the Finance Committee, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Committee on Indian Affairs, and as chairman of the Budget Committee.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: the Muskie presidential campaign; Conrad’s Senate campaign of 1986; Mitchell as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and his decision to give the maximum possible support to Conrad; the Clean Air Act; North Dakota’s interest as a coal state and the difficulties that posed for Conrad when Mitchell wanted him to get behind the Clean Air Act; Mitchell’s leadership qualities such as patience and determination; Mitchell’s role in balancing the budget under the Clinton administration; Mitchell’s skill in questioning witnesses; Mitchell’s sense of humor and how that served him well as a senator; Conrad’s recommendation to then Senator Obama regarding the importance of reaching out to Mitchell; and the prospects for Mitchell in his new post as special envoy to the Middle East.

Date: 2009-10-28

Creator: David F Durenberger

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

David F. Durenberger was born August 19, 1934, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He attended St. John’s University and the University of Minnesota Law School, graduating in 1959. Beginning in 1966, he was chief of staff to Minnesota Governor Harold LeVander. In 1978, he won a special election to finish the unexpired term of Senator Hubert Humphrey, was reelected twice, and held the seat until 1995. He served as chairman on the Select Committee on Intelligence, was vice chair of the Pepper Commission, and had a special interest in issues involving health care. At the time of this interview, he was a health policy fellow at the University of St. Thomas, and he sat on the advisory board for Energy Literacy Advocates.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: the Republican influx to legislature in 1980; first impressions of Mitchell and how Mitchell differed from Muskie; Mitchell as a colleague on committees; Iran-Contra; observations on Mitchell’s staff; reactions to Mitchell’s being elected majority leader; Clear Air Act; Mitchell’s ability to build consensus; Voting Rights Act; Mitchell’s reputation with the Republican Caucus; Warren Rudman; health care; the mainstream group on the Clinton health plan; Mitchell as a centrist on health care; Dole on Clinton’s plan; the future of political parties; and Mitchell’s legacy.

Date: 2008-09-23

Creator: Janet M Dennis

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Janet Mary Dennis was born on September 5, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Clemenza Rowlandson Sullivan and William Aloysius Sullivan. Her father was a postal inspector and her mother was a parochial schoolteacher. Janet grew up in Waterville, Maine, and was the youngest of five children. She attended Thomas College. In May of 1965, she spent a year as Senator Muskie’s secretary in Washington, D.C., and then became the office manager in Muskie’s Waterville and Augusta state Senate offices. She also did work for the Senate Public Works Committee on the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution under Leon Billings until May of 1970. She worked with George Mitchell on Muskie’s 1970 U.S. Senate reelection campaign. In 1980, when Mitchell was appointed to Muskie’s Senate seat, she remained on staff working in the Waterville state Senate office. Janet’s sister graduated in the same high school class as George Mitchell’s sister, Barbara.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: family and educational background; Waterville community; working for Muskie and Mitchell; Mitchell’s personality and intellectual capacity; comparison between Mitchell and Muskie; Muskie’s 1972 presidential campaign; Mitchell’s Waterville office; Muskie’s 1970 Senate campaign; and Colby College.

Date: 2008-07-14

Creator: Barbara M Atkins, Janet F Mitchell

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Barbara (Mitchell) Atkins was born in July, 1935, in Waterville, Maine. She grew up with four older brothers: John, Paul, Robert, and George Mitchell (Sr.). Her mother, Mintaha, was a weaver in the woolen mills in Waterville, and her father, George, Sr., was with the Central Maine Power Company and with the Colby College maintenance department. The family practiced the Maronite Roman Catholic rite of Lebanese descent. Her mother was born in Lebanon and immigrated in 1920. Barbara attended St. Joseph’s elementary school, Waterville Junior High School, and Waterville High School, where she played volleyball, basketball, was a cheerleader, a member of the French Club, and edited the yearbook. She earned her degree at the University of Maine, Orono, majoring in sociology. She married Edward L. Atkins, who had a printing and photography business; Barbara managed the office staff for her husband’s business when she wasn’t teaching. Edward Atkins was a devout Democrat, although he came from a Republican family. Janet (Fraser) Mitchell was born December 5, 1931, near Westbrook, Maine. When she was fifteen she and her family moved to Waterville, Maine, where she attended Waterville High School in the same class as George Mitchell. She married Robbie Mitchell, George Mitchell’s older brother. She lives in Waterville.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: growing up in Waterville; the Lebanese community in Waterville; Barbara attending class with her brother George when they were young; their parents’ interest in the children’s education; Janet Mitchell’s welcome to the Mitchell family; an anecdote about George Mitchell bringing Janet’s mother a Christmas tree; an anecdote about George and Robert Mitchell working together at the Boys Club; Eddie Atkins; an anecdote about George Mitchell practicing at home to read the Epistle as an altar boy; Mitchell family gatherings; Robbie Mitchell; the Mitchell brothers playing cribbage; Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell; Mrs. Mitchell’s baking; the goat milk story; story of George Mitchell giving his brother Robbie a car; George Mitchell’s time doing counter-intelligence work; turning down the Supreme Court judgeship; their aspirations that he would be president; and the good qualities of the people of Maine.

Date: 2009-01-10

Creator: Sharon A Sudbay

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Sharon Sudbay was born on October 10, 1958, in Portland, Maine, to Rita Madonna Joyce and Charles Clifford Sudbay, Jr. She grew up on Munjoy Hill in Portland and graduated from Portland High School. She attended the University of New Hampshire and worked as a telephone operator throughout her college years; she was graduated with a degree in political science in 1980. She volunteered on Harold Pachios’s 1980 congressional campaign and learned FEC reporting. She worked on Joe Brennan’s 1982 gubernatorial campaign and organized fund raisers. She was hired to work for Mitchell’s 1982 campaign and stayed on after the election to organize town hall meetings and handle casework in Portland; she worked for Mitchell until he retired from the Senate in 1994. She also worked on his 1988 reelection campaign and Governor Brennan’s 1990 reelection campaign. After Senator Mitchell left the Senate, she took a job with Jim Mitchell on his congressional race and later worked in a consulting firm with him.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: growing up in Portland, Maine, on Munjoy Hill; Sudbay’s Irish family; Portland High School; going to school at the University of New Hampshire and deciding to major in political science; watching the 1972 national conventions; how Sudbay’s grandfather worked the longshore with Joseph Brennan; working as a telephone operator; working on Harold Pachios’s congressional campaign and submitting the campaign’s FEC reports; coordinating fund raisers, including one for Joe Brennan that brought Ted Kennedy up to Maine; working on the 1982 Mitchell campaign handling finances; the office at the corner of Congress and High Street; collecting voter lists from around the state; campaign finance rules; the Brennan people and the Mitchell people; an anecdote about doing visibility with Mike Hastings and Bill Anderson; going to Senator Mitchell’s swearing-in; handling casework for Mitchell in Portland; her mother’s reaction to Sudbay’s decision to work on Mitchell’s campaign; the hearings in Maine on Social Security; working for Jim Mitchell’s congressional primary campaign and working with him at the Public Affairs Group; Sudbay’s consulting firm and her work on bringing natural gas to Maine; her trip to Morocco; Mitchell and Sudbay’s involvement in the Boys and Girls Clubs; Mitchell’s work on the Irish peace accords and the Olympics corruption investigation; an anecdote about driving Mitchell and Muskie to a McDonald’s and their ensuing conversation about Jeffersonian democracy; an anecdote about picking up some groceries for Mitchell and his putting “something chocolate” on the list; Sudbay’s plans to go to President Obama’s inauguration; and President Clinton’s inauguration.

Date: 2008-12-19

Creator: Richard 'Rich' A Arenberg

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Richard A. “Rich” Arenberg, the son of Bernard and Mary Arenberg, was born on October 16, 1945, in Norwich Connecticut. He was a campus activist during his undergraduate years at Boston University, and worked on some local campaigns, including the campaign of Tom Atkins, the first African American city councilor in Boston. He received a Ph.D. in political science also from Boston University and has a background in survey research. He worked as the issues director for Paul Tsongas’s first congressional campaign in Massachusetts and continued on Tsongas’s congressional and Senate staff until Tsongas retired from the Senate in 1984. At that point he was hired as Senator Mitchell’s chief of staff and was involved with the Congressional Committee Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair. He later collaborated with Senators Mitchell and Cohen to write the book Men of Zeal. At the time of this interview he was working for Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: experiences as a staffer on Capitol Hill; Senator Mitchell’s decision-making style, in particular as compared to Senator Tsongas’s style; the role of a senator’s chief of staff; Democratic leadership positions in the Senate; the advantages of being a senator from a small state; Senator Mitchell’s ascent to the position of majority leader; the Iran-Contra Committee, Oliver North’s testimony, and Senator Mitchell’s questioning; the tension between pursuing justice and the public’s right to know regarding public scandals; collaborating with Senators Mitchell and Cohen on their book Men of Zeal and the two men’s distinct writing styles; the role of the deputy president pro tempore in the Senate; the tension between covert intelligence and democratic values, and the emphasis Mitchell placed on opening those issues up; the “Gang of Eight;” the congressional bunker at the Greenbrier Hotel; and the importance of pursuing solutions over partisan issues and the work Senator Mitchell did in that direction.

Date: 2009-05-08

Creator: Audrey Sheppard

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Audrey Sheppard was born on July 31, 1948, in Newton-Wellesley, Massachusetts; her mother, Annabel, married Jack Sheppard, Jr., during Audrey’s infancy after the death of Audrey’s father. She attended Syracuse University, where she studied journalism and political science. After graduation, she worked at Brandeis University and then as a paralegal at a Boston law firm. She worked for the McGovern presidential campaign of 1972, spent some time working on Capitol Hill, and then went to Rothstein/Buckley, a political consulting firm. She later started her own political consulting firm that focused on women candidates. Between 1981 and 1987, she served as assistant executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; working at Rothstein/Buckley and the Muskie reelection campaign; first impressions of Mitchell; Budget Committee work; the changes and similarities between campaigning in 1976 and campaigning now; working at the DSCC for six years; the mission of the DSCC and the strategy that they adopted during Sheppard’s time there; developing both sides of the DSCC’S responsibilities – fund-raising and technical assistance – and the increasing effectiveness of their efforts through the 1986 elections when Senator Mitchell was chair of the Committee; the structure of the DSCC and how appointments were made; relations between the DSCC, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC); opposition research; fund-raising and the Democratic Senate Leadership Circle; the internal organization of the DSCC and the division of various tasks; candidate recruitment and the recruitment committee that Mitchell helped start and served on; the 1986 election; Mitchell’s leadership style; the Elizabeth Taylor joke; Mitchell’s swearing in new citizens; an anecdote about Ted Kennedy going for a swim before an event on the Maine coast; the degree to which protocol and neatness were important to Mitchell; and Sheppard’s hope that Mitchell would be appointed secretary of state under Clinton.

Date: 2009-12-17

Creator: Anthony 'Tony' W Buxton

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Anthony “Tony” Wayne Buxton was born in Augusta, Maine, on December 19, 1946, and grew up in Readfield, Maine. His father, Wayne Wilson Buxton, an artist and writer, and his mother, Margaret (Murray) Buxton, an artist and teacher, both came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tony attended Bowdoin College, being graduated in 1968, then served in the Army from 1968-1970. He received his law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in 1978 and began working for the firm Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios in 1980. He co-founded the Energy Law Institute. Tony has served on both the Democratic State Committee and the Democratic Party as treasurer and chair. He was heavily involved in several of George Mitchell's political campaigns in 1974, 1982, and 1988.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Buxton’s first impressions of Mitchell; Mitchell's run for chair of the Democratic National Committee; Mitchell’s 1974 Maine gubernatorial campaign and the dynamics; Mitchell’s comments on Nixon’s pardon; Mitchell’s 1980 appointment to the U.S. Senate; Mitchell’s relationship with Ken Curtis in 1980; Mitchell's kitchen cabinet 1980-88; Social Security issue; Buxton’s role while Mitchell was in the Senate; Mitchell’s staff; Mitchell and fund-raising; Mitchell’s leadership capacity as Senate majority leader; Donny Peters; Marshall Stern; Judge Ed Stern and Red Sox games; Mitchell’s law practice after retiring from the Senate; Mitchell’s legacy in Maine; and partisanship in Maine.

Date: 2008-08-22

Creator: Seth W Brewster

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Seth Brewster was born on January 8, 1960, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and grew up in Manchester, Maine, where his father worked for Central Maine Power. He attended local public school until his junior year of high school, when he transferred to Deerfield Academy. He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1982 with a double major in engineering sciences and economics. After college he worked for Arthur Andersen Consulting, based in New York City. He attended law school in Boston and took the bar exam in Massachusetts and Maine. In 1991, he pursued an opportunity to work for Senator Mitchell in Washington, D.C. as a trade legislative aide. He remained in that position until Mitchell decided not to seek reelection in 1994. In early 1995, he joined Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, Maine, where he remained at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: Kent’s Hill School; Deerfield Academy; Dartmouth College and Dartmouth culture; the modern pentathlon; Arthur Andersen Consulting; clerkship for Judge William G. Young; the Levasseur case; the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; Senator Mitchell’s role in passing the NAFTA as majority leader; the responsibilities of a trade legislative aide; Mitchell’s decision to resign from the Senate; commercial and anti-trust litigation in Maine and how that ties in with Brewster’s work on the Hill; and an anecdote about being introduced to President Clinton by Senator Mitchell.

Date: 2008-03-06

Creator: Colleen Quint

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Colleen Quint was born on September 22, 1963. She grew up in Portland, Maine, attended Deering High School, and Bates College, graduating in 1985. She first met Senator Mitchell in the fall of 1985 while working as an intern in his Washington, D.C. office. She worked at the Christian Science Monitor for three years as editor for Western Europe and Great Britain, then returned to Maine for law school and practiced law for ten years. She is married to Bill Hiss, who was involved in the founding of the Mitchell Institute. At the time of this interview she was executive director of the Mitchell Institute.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; growing up in Portland, Maine; working as an intern in Senator Mitchell’s office in Washington D.C.; Samantha Smith legislation; working for the Christian Science Monitor; clerkship with Thomas Delahanty; Attorney General’s Office legal work; Bowdoin College fraternity policies; Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]; the creation of the Mitchell Institute; running into George Mitchell at the airport and his great memory; the environment that many Mitchell Scholars come from; and the development of the Mitchell Institute.

Date: 2008-11-21

Creator: Christine G Williams

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Christine G. Williams was born January 20, 1952, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Adelaide and Donald Williams, a Methodist minister. She earned a degree in history from Boston University. As a VISTA volunteer she taught on the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota before returning to New England to teach at Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Maine, for the 1975-1976 school year. Subsequently, after teaching in New Hampshire for four years, she was hired by George Mitchell’s U.S. Senate office in 1982 and worked there until 1994, focusing on health care issues in the latter years. She later went to work for the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: teaching social studies; working for Senator Mitchell; changes when Mitchell became chair of the Health Subcommittee of the Finance Committee; Robert Wood Johnson Fellows and staff in Mitchell’s office; involvement in Health Care Reform and the bill they wrote; changes when Mitchell became Senate majority leader; Clinton’s election and what could have been done better for health reform; the task force on the Clinton health reform bill; work on health care legislation and how the bill was finally defeated; other health legislation; the question of bipartisanship; her wedding; Mitchell’s retirement; appreciation and understanding of Maine people, Maine’s health care; ambience of Mitchell’s office and what it was like working there; Mitchell’s temperament, professionalism, and personality; Mitchell’s contributions to the Senate and leadership; Mitchell’s election to majority leader; involvement with the Mitchell Institute scholarship program; Mitchell and long term care; and federal recognition for the Micmacs.

Date: 2010-05-04

Creator: Barbara A Mikulski

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Barbara Ann Mikulski was born on July 20, 1936, and grew up in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Mount Saint Agnes College and received her M.S.W. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She became a social worker, community organizer, and Baltimore city councilor, and she made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1974 before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. After serving in the House for ten years, she ran for the U.S. Senate in 1986, becoming the first elected woman Democratic U.S. senator. She has won numerous re-elections and continued to serve in the Senate as its longest-serving female senator at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Mikulski’s run for the Senate in 1986 and Mitchell’s DSCC role in supporting her campaign; Mitchell dancing with Mikulski at a fund raiser; Mikulski’s reception in the Senate as a female senator; Mikulski-Mitchell ‘spousal impoverishment’ amendment; committee assignments during Mikulski’s first term; women in Congress; DSCC Women’s Senate Network; women’s issues worth legislating and fighting for in the Senate; Mitchell’s qualities as a leader; common constituent interests among ‘coastal senators;’ NAFTA; how Mitchell related to women; Mikulski’s reaction to Mitchell’s retirement from the Senate; Mitchell’s legacy as Senate leader.

Date: 2009-09-29

Creator: Daniel 'Dan' E Wathen

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Daniel E. "Dan" Wathen was born November 4, 1939, in Easton, Maine, to Wilda (Persis) and Joseph Jackson Wathen. He was graduated from Easton High School and Ricker College in Houlton, Maine (1962), the University of Maine School of Law (1965), and the University of Virginia School of Law (1988). He was appointed to the Maine Superior Court by Governor James B. Longley and served there for four years. He was then appointed justice to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court by Governor John McKernan. He served as justice for ten years, then chief justice for ten more years. Justice Wathen retired from the bench in 2001 and subsequently joined Pierce-Atwood law firm in Portland, Maine.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Dan Wathen’s legal career; practicing law in Augusta; becoming acquainted with George Mitchell through his practice in Maine; his parents’ recollections of George Mitchell; first impression upon meeting Mitchell; Freddy Vahlsing and sugar beet project; Mitchell’s 1974 gubernatorial campaign against James B. Longley; Wathen’s inspiration to be a judge; Mitchell’s judicial temperament; Mitchell’s diplomatic role; and the Mitchell Institute.

Date: 2010-03-18

Creator: Patrick J Leahy

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Patrick Joseph Leahy was born in Montpelier, Vermont, on March 31, 1940. He was graduated from Saint Michael’s College in 1961 and Georgetown Law in 1964. Beginning in 1966, he was elected to four consecutive terms as Vermont state’s attorney in Chittenden County. At the age of 34, he became the youngest U.S. senator ever elected by Vermont, and he is the only elected Democrat from Vermont ever to serve in the U.S. Senate. During the 1980s, he was vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. At the time of this interview, he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a senior member of the Agriculture and Appropriations Committees, ranking second in seniority in the Senate.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Mitchell’s arrival in the Senate and his perceived qualities, especially his negotiating skills; Mitchell’s quick rise to Senate leadership; Mitchell’s decision to retire from the Senate; Mitchell’s potential as a Supreme Court justice.

Date: 2009-09-14

Creator: Robert 'Bob' O Lenna

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Robert Oscar “Bob” Lenna was born in Jamestown, New York, in 1945 to Harry Albert and Babette (Simon) Lenna. He received his undergraduate degree in American studies and his graduate degree in American and New England studies at the University of Southern Maine. In 1970, he worked on the staff of Senator Charles Goodell of New York, then moved to Maine and was hired for a position on George Mitchell’s staff when Mitchell announced his run for U.S. Senate. He later worked for Libby Mitchell.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; working on Mitchell’s 1974 gubernatorial campaign; Lenna’s motivations to get involved in politics in the 1970s; Lenna’s impressions of why Mitchell lost the 1974 campaign; difference Lenna noticed between Mitchell’s 1974 and 1982 campaigns; Mitchell’s legacy; Mitchell’s reaction to Nixon’s pardon; and Libby Mitchell’s career.

Date: 2010-03-02

Creator: Heather M Mitchell

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Heather McLachlan Mitchell was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, and lived in Paris, France, for fifteen years. She was assistant to the executive director of the Association of Tennis Professionals and subsequently represented professional male tennis players. She relocated from Paris to New York and in 1993 met George Mitchell at the U.S. Open. The two were married in 1994. She later worked independently coordinating tennis events. Once their children started school, she began working as a literary agent at Gelfman Schneider.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: connections in Maine when growing up in Quebec; visiting Maine with George Mitchell; visiting Maine with their children; Mitchell’s balance between work and family; Mitchell’s contact with support staff from his Senate days; and Mitchell’s house in D.C.

Date: 2009-03-27

Creator: Harold M Ickes

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Harold M. Ickes was born on September 4, 1939, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Harold L. Ickes and Jane Dahlman. His father served as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s secretary of the interior. He attended high school at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., was graduated from Stanford University in 1964 with a degree in economics, and earned his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1967. He was a civil rights activist during his student years in the ‘60s, spending the summers of 1964 and 1965 registering African American voters in Louisiana and Mississippi. In 1966, he became involved in the Vietnam anti-war movement. He later practiced labor law, joining the law firm Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein in New York in 1977. He served as White House deputy chief of staff under Leon Panetta for three years during the Clinton administration; he was substantially involved in the Clinton administration’s push for health care reform. He has worked on several presidential campaigns, including those of Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, Ted Kennedy, and Bill Clinton; for President Clinton’s campaign he was the New York State campaign chair. He also worked on Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign in New York and later as the assistant to the campaign manager for her presidential primary bid in 2008. At the time of this interview, he was a registered lobbyist with the Ickes and Enright Group, a member of the Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee, and president of Catalist, a progressive voter file organization.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Muskie presidential campaign 1972 and Ickes’ first encounter with Mitchell; being assigned to the health care brief and Whitewater damage control; why health care reform drafted by the Clinton administration failed to pass; Senator Mitchell’s attempt to get the health care legislation through; the White House’s relationship with key members of the Senate and House; the errors committed by the White House in not getting the input of Congress; the view the White House took of Mitchell and the belief that if he could not get the legislation passed, then no one could; Senator Moynihan’s role as chair of the Finance Committee; the Republicans’ effective strategy and how that differs from typical Democratic strategy through repetition and better focus; and Ickes’ impressions of Senator Mitchell.

Date: 2009-02-17

Creator: Anita Jensen

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Anita Holst-Jensen was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), East Germany, on March 16, 1945, to Rasma Rasmanis and Arvids Lusis. Her mother emigrated from Latvia in September of 1944, and Jensen was born in a displaced persons camp, where she lived until she was four years old. Her family eventually emigrated to Australia in 1949, settling in Victoria. Jensen received all of her schooling in Australia and went to university in Melbourne. She married Henning Holst-Jensen, and in 1966 they moved to Perth. When immigration into the United States became possible in 1968, they relocated to the Washington, D.C. area, and Jensen took a job with Investors Overseas Services, later Equity Funding. In 1970, she went to work in Senator Ed Muskie’s office, where she continued until he became secretary of state. She transitioned to George Mitchell’s staff when he was appointed to Muskie’s vacated Senate seat and remained for his fourteen years of Senate service, becoming increasingly involved with speech writing and research.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: writing newsletters and doing other tasks while working for Mitchell; handling the Judiciary Committee work; working for Mitchell; Mitchell’s self-made success in his campaigns and career; Mitchell’s achievements in the Senate and Judicial Committee; Mitchell’s work on the Civil Rights Bill of 1991 and tax bill in 1986; what went wrong with health care reform and the Harry and Louise ads; Mitchell’s environmental work; Mitchell’s involvement on the Iran-Contra issue; the 1988 Senate race; first meeting Mitchell; Mitchell’s Clean Air Act success; the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland; not defending Muskie’s “veterans” votes in 1982, and other early-day stories about Mitchell.

Date: 2009-01-13

Creator: Joanne A Hoffmann

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Joanne Amnott Hoffmann was born April 23, 1936, in Lewiston, Maine. Her father was the chief of police in Lewiston, and her mother was a housewife. Joanne graduated from Lewiston High School and continued her education at the Auburn School of Commerce, learning shorthand and typing. She became a legal secretary, first working for Harris Isaacson and then for the firm of Clifford & Clifford under William Clifford. In 1959, she moved to Washington, DC, as Senator Muskie’s personal secretary. She stayed in the Senate office until 1965, when she married Frank “Nordy” Hoffmann, a Washington lobbyist and sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 1981. The Hoffmanns and the Muskies maintained personal friendships in later years.

Summary

Interview includes discussions of: going to Washington D.C. in 1959; the early days of Muskie’s office; Kennedy’s election and assassination; working as Muskie’s personal secretary; meeting and working with George Mitchell when he was Muskie’s administrative assistant; Muskie’s temper; Mitchell’s courtship; Mitchell in Muskie’s office and his decision to return to Maine to practice law; involvement on the Muskie ’68 vice-presidential campaign; leaving Muskie’s office; comparing senators Muskie and Mitchell; Mitchell’s people skills; political wives and Jane Muskie; and connections to Maine and the environment.

Date: 2009-03-12

Creator: Robert 'Bob' S Tyrer

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Robert Stanley “Bob” Tyrer was born on April 30, 1957, in Hamilton, Ohio, to James and Margaret Tyrer. He grew up in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. In 1974 he became interested in the Watergate hearings and went to listen to then Congressman Cohen give a talk in Birmingham, Michigan. In 1975 he began college at George Washington University and volunteered in Cohen’s congressional office. He worked on Cohen’s 1978 Senate campaign and stayed in Maine to manage the Bangor office, completing his last year of college at the University of Maine. He returned to Washington, D.C. as Senator Cohen’s press secretary in 1981. He became chief of staff in 1986 and remained in that position for the rest of Cohen’s tenure in the Senate. He was Susan Collins’s campaign manager for her 1996 Senate campaign. He went with Cohen to the Department of Defense in 1997 as chief of staff. At the time of this interview he was with the Cohen Group.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: first encounter with Cohen; interning in Cohen’s congressional office; working in Maine and for Maine interests without being a Mainer; a story about his confusion about a road called “the airline”; his job as press secretary; transitioning to the chief of staff role; Senator Cohen’s detachment from partisan politics; the division of labor in the Senate office; different management styles of Senators Cohen and Mitchell; partisanship; lessons learned from the 1974 gubernatorial race; Mitchell’s U.S. Senate appointment in 1980; the Iran-Contra affair; working together as the Maine delegation; the similarities between Mitchell and Cohen; the joint approach of the Mitchell and Cohen offices and the staff interaction between their offices; the change when Mitchell became majority leader and how he and Cohen would joke about it; the evolution of the leader’s job and the increased importance of fund-raising; Mitchell and Cohen’s respective decisions to retire; Cohen’s career after the Senate; the similarities and differences in Cohen and Mitchell’s voting records; the behind the scenes role of Senate staff; Cohen’s philosophy of letting the merits dictate his point of view; Mitchell’s legacy; Mitchell’s accomplishment in Ireland; an anecdote about the first time Tyrer and Mitchell met and Mitchell wanting to know how he could get The New York Times delivered early in the morning; Mitchell’s ability to always be the first to get in touch with constituents who were ill or had a death in the family; and Mitchell’s drive and detail-oriented approach.

Date: 2009-11-09

Creator: Deborah 'Deb' Cotter

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Deborah “Deb” Cotter was born on November 7, 1967, in New York City. She grew up in Waterville, Maine, where her father was president of Colby College and her mother worked in the Career Development Office. She attended Wells College and received a degree in Russian studies. After graduating, Cotter worked in George Mitchell’s personal office in Washington, D.C., for four years as receptionist, legislative correspondent, and legislative aide on agricultural, fisheries, and environmental issues. After Mitchell retired, she moved to the Senate Historical Office as a research assistant and earned her master’s degree in history from George Mason University. She worked at the American Psychological Association on public policy for mental health issues for eight years. More recently, she worked for the nonprofit National Council on Independent Living. At the time of this interview, she was a management and program analyst in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services of the U.S. Department of Education.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: growing up in Waterville, Maine; being hired by Mitchell’s Senate office in 1990; the support of Mitchell’s staff when Cotter had a health emergency; the transition from receptionist to legislative correspondent and legislative aide; Mitchell’s investment in Maine issues; working with lobbyists as a legislative aide; the ambience of Mitchell’s personal office; the pecking order in Mitchell’s office; staff meetings; Cotter’s work after Mitchell announced his retirement; Mitchell’s influence on Cotter’s career; how the office changed after Mitchell announced his retirement; and Mitchell’s respect for opposing views.

Date: 2010-05-18

Creator: Walter E Corey III

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Walter Ellsworth Corey III was born June 19, 1941, in White Plains, New York, to Walter E., Jr. and Theresa (Stallone) Corey and grew up mainly on Staten Island. His father was an insurance executive with Metropolitan Life and his mother was a homemaker. They divided their time between New York and Ogunquit, Maine. He attended Yale Law School, then moved to Maine to join the Portland law firm Bernstein Shur; he left the firm to serve in the Ken Curtis administration as Maine’s first federal coordinator. He was active in several of Mitchell’s campaigns, for governor and for the U.S. Senate, and they shared a fondness for tennis.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Ken Curtis administration; working with George Mitchell on policy and speeches in the late 1960s; description of playing tennis with George Mitchell and foot faulting; 1974 Maine gubernatorial campaign; 1982 U.S. Senate campaign; sense of humor and tennis stories (Harold Pachios and Juris Ubans); and description of George Mitchell’s accomplishments and attributes.

Date: 2009-08-21

Creator: Arthur E Strout

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Arthur Edward Strout was born in Rockland, Maine, on September 6, 1935, to Olive Mabel (Edwards) and Alfred Meserve Strout and grew up in Thomaston, Maine. His father, a graduate of Bowdoin College and Harvard Law School, was an attorney in Rockland, Maine, and came from an established Maine family. His mother, the daughter of English immigrants, worked at the Registry of Deeds and later was a homemaker. After attending Thomaston schools, Arthur spent his final year of high school at Hebron Academy. He attended Bowdoin College (class of 1957), where he met George Mitchell. He earned his law degree in 1960 and then clerked for a judge in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He worked for the Tax Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and then went on to practice tax and finance law, returning to Maine in 1972. His son Charles also attended Bowdoin College and worked as a Senate page during Mitchell’s tenure there.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Claude Allen as school master at Hebron Academy; meeting Mitchell at Bowdoin; attending Bowdoin from 1953-1957 and the housing situation; academics at Bowdon; law school and practicing tax law; continued contact with Mitchell; son Charles’s working with Mitchell; current life in Boston; and reflections on Mitchell and his current activities.

Date: 2008-03-24

Creator: David P Ray

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

David Paul Ray was born on July 21, 1952, in Eastport, Maine. He was the third of six children and second-generation Lebanese on his father’s side. He attended the University of Maine, Orono and was graduated in 1974 with a degree in political science; he then attended Cornell Law School. He began his law career with the firm Jensen, Baird with George Mitchell and later became a clerk for Mitchell during his federal judgeship. When Mitchell was appointed to fill Senator Muskie’s vacated Senate seat, Ray accompanied him to Washington D.C., working on his staff as a legislative assistant for the next two years. Ray returned to Maine to continue his law career after the transition period.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; growing up in Eastport, Maine; political professors at the University of Maine; Mitchell’s legal career and federal judgeship; interning for Bill Cohen; Mitchell’s Senate office in Washington D.C.; and notable staff members in Mitchell’s Senate office.

Date: 2010-02-25

Creator: Frank P Wood

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Frank P. Wood was born in 1949 in Sanford, Maine. His father was Lawrence Wood, a farm machinery salesman, and his mother was Arlene Wood, a secretary and college administrator. He became interested in politics at an early age, working on campaigns throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He served in the Maine legislature from 1977 to 1985, serving on the Taxation and Agriculture committees.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: meeting Mitchell while Wood was in college at USM; Mitchell and Ken Curtis; working with Larry Benoit on campaigns; Mitchell and Emery in 1982; the tide turning in favor of Mitchell; changes in Mitchell’s campaigns from 1974 to 1982 to 1988; Mitchell defeating Jasper Wyman in 1988; keeping up with current events during the campaigns; Mitchell’s sense of humor; and Mitchell’s legacy.

Date: 2009-09-18

Creator: Jesse 'Jeff' F Bingaman

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Jeff Bingaman grew up in Silver City, New Mexico. He was graduated from Harvard University and received his law degree from Stanford University. In 1978, he was elected New Mexico attorney general. In 1982, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and has served five terms to date. He has served on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Finance Committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: how Mitchell positioned himself for the majority leader position; Mitchell’s leadership style; comparison of Mitchell to other majority and minority leaders; Bingaman’s reaction when Mitchell announced his retirement; health care in 1993-1994; changes in the Senate as a legislative body; Mitchell’s legacy; and the ideological spectrum in Senate.

Date: 2010-02-05

Creator: Heather M Mitchell

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Heather McLachlan Mitchell was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, and lived in Paris, France, for fifteen years. She was assistant to the executive director of the Association of Tennis Professionals and subsequently represented professional male tennis players. She relocated from Paris to New York and in 1993 met George Mitchell at the U.S. Open. The two were married in 1994. She later worked independently coordinating tennis events. Once their children started school, she began working as a literary agent at Gelfman Schneider.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Heather Mitchell’s career representing professional tennis players; meeting George Mitchell at the U.S. Open in 1993; her transition from sports to politics; George Mitchell’s tennis playing; dating Mitchell; the decision to get married and not run for reelection; Heather’s career as a literary agent after their children entered school; Northern Ireland; security issues in Northern Ireland; Mitchell’s contact with Verner Liipfert, the State Department, and the White House during his time in Northern Ireland; Mitchell’s becoming chairman of the Walt Disney Co.; Mitchell’s transition from Verner Liipfert to DLA Piper; becoming special envoy to the Middle East; Heather’s role in supporting Mitchell; the balance between public and private life; and Mitchell’s sense of humor.

Date: 2008-04-24

Creator: William 'Bill' E Mitchell

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

William “Bill” Mitchell was born in Waterville, Maine, on November 18, 1961, to Paul and Yvette Mitchell. He grew up in Waterville and attended Western New England College, then returned to Waterville and became involved with his father’s business, GHM Insurance Agency, where he continues to work. George J. Mitchell, Jr. is Bill’s uncle and Paul’s brother.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Waterville, Maine, from the 1960s to present; Lebanese influence and other ethnic and religious backgrounds while growing up in Waterville; family involvement in politics; Atkin’s Printing Company; involvement in George Mitchell’s 1974 Maine gubernatorial campaign; family experiences with George Mitchell; cribbage; traditional Lebanese cooking; memories of his grandparents, George, Sr. and Mary (Saad); Waterville’s response to George Mitchell; and family values.

Date: 2008-09-11

Creator: George J Mitchell

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

George J. Mitchell was born on August 20, 1933, in Waterville, Maine, to Mary Saad, a factory worker, and George Mitchell, a laborer. Senator Mitchell spent his youth in Waterville. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1954, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps until 1956. In 1960 he earned a law degree from Georgetown University. Mitchell worked for Senator Edmund S. Muskie as executive assistant and as deputy campaign manager during Muskie's 1972 presidential campaign. He later became U.S. senator (D-Maine) 1980-1995, Senate majority leader 1989-1995, and, upon his retirement from the Senate, special advisor on Northern Ireland 1995-1998. Since 1998, Senator Mitchell has served on many boards and committees and has received high profile appointments including: chairman of the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee on the crisis between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (2000); overseer of the Red Cross Liberty Fund (2001); lead investigator into the illegal use of performance enhancing substances in Major League Baseball (2006); and special envoy for Palestinian-Israeli affairs (2009-2011).

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Maine Indian Land Claims case; Joseph Brennan; appointment to U.S. Senate; Acadia National Park; Finance Committee assignment story; becoming majority leader story; Bennett Johnston; John Glenn; deputy president pro tempore; John Stennis; 1982 election time ‘polls’ story; Howell Heflin and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Canal; foreign affairs interests; 1986 Gorbachev meeting; Berlin trip; Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing; bargaining as a tool in the Senate; John Major story; John Tower hearing story; filibusters and how the use of them has changed; Senate parliamentarians and their role; relationship with Robert Dole; Brady Bill; and striking a balance with Senate security.

Date: 2010-03-23

Creator: Susan W Longley

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Susan Walsh Longley was born in December, 1955, in Lewiston, Maine, to James B. and Helen Longley. Her father, a successful insurance businessman, ran for governor in 1974 and won election during her senior year in high school. She attended Mt. Holyoke College, graduating in the class of 1978. In 1984-1985, she worked on Senator Mitchell’s Senate staff as a legislative correspondent. She established her own law practice in 1989 and later served as a Maine state senator representing Waldo County.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; her father, former Maine governor Jim Longley and his election as an independent; 1974 Maine gubernatorial campaign; anecdote about being hired by Senator Mitchell; U.S. Senate staff relationships: Gayle Cory, Mary McAleney, Anita Jensen; Topsham overpass issue; working on Mitchell’s Senate staff 1984-85; and environmental correspondence.

Date: 2009-01-10

Creator: Carrie M Logan, J. Scott Logan

Access: Open access

Biographial Note

Scott Logan was born on February 17, 1977, in Exeter, New Hampshire. His father, Terence Logan, held a Ph.D. from Harvard University and taught English at the University of New Hampshire. Scott’s mother was from rural southern Maryland, and they met at Newton College of the Sacred Heart, in Newton, Massachusetts, where Terence was a professor and Scott’s mother was a student. Scott grew up in Kennebunk, Maine, and was interested in collecting and selling antiques, and in local history. For this business, he received a scholarship from the National Association of the Self-Employed. He was also one of the first Mitchell Scholars, in 1995, attending Bowdoin College and graduating in 1999. He first met his future wife, Carrie, at Bowdoin through their mutual membership in Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He worked at Christie’s Auction Company and then the auctioneering firm Skinner, Inc. He then attended law school at Boston College, and at the time of this interview, he was an attorney specializing in consumer bankruptcy. Carrie Logan was born on December 24, 1977, in Portland, Maine, to Donald McGilvery and Cheryl Poulin McGilvery. Her parents, both from Maine, met at Cony High School, and both were graduated from the University of Maine, Orono. Her father worked in architecture and construction management for the Maine State Housing Authority, and her mother worked in education and at the time of this interview was the secretary at William H. Rowe School in Yarmouth. Carrie grew up in Yarmouth, Maine, attended Yarmouth public schools, and was selected as a Mitchell Scholar. She attended Bowdoin College, where she met Scott, and was graduated with the class of 2000. Through the Teach For America program, she taught in Opelousas, Louisiana, for two years and then became an English-as-a-Second-Language teacher in Houston, Texas, before returning to Maine to study at the University of Maine School of Law. She took her law degree in 2007 and was practicing business and real estate law at Preti Flaherty in Portland, Maine, at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Scott’s family and educational background in Kennebunk; Scott’s antique bottle interest; Scott’s education; Carrie’s family and educational background in Yarmouth; the decision to go to Bowdoin College; paying for college; the Mitchell Institute and Mitchell Scholarship; life at Bowdoin and Alpha Delta Phi; Carrie’s work teaching in the South with Teach for America; coming back to Maine; Scott dealing antiques; and more recent involvement with the Mitchell Institute.

Biographial Note

Scott Logan was born on February 17, 1977, in Exeter, New Hampshire. His father, Terence Logan, held a Ph.D. from Harvard University and taught English at the University of New Hampshire. Scott’s mother was from rural southern Maryland, and they met at Newton College of the Sacred Heart, in Newton, Massachusetts, where Terence was a professor and Scott’s mother was a student. Scott grew up in Kennebunk, Maine, and was interested in collecting and selling antiques, and in local history. For this business, he received a scholarship from the National Association of the Self-Employed. He was also one of the first Mitchell Scholars, in 1995, attending Bowdoin College and graduating in 1999. He first met his future wife, Carrie, at Bowdoin through their mutual membership in Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He worked at Christie’s Auction Company and then the auctioneering firm Skinner, Inc. He then attended law school at Boston College, and at the time of this interview, he was an attorney specializing in consumer bankruptcy. Carrie Logan was born on December 24, 1977, in Portland, Maine, to Donald McGilvery and Cheryl Poulin McGilvery. Her parents, both from Maine, met at Cony High School, and both were graduated from the University of Maine, Orono. Her father worked in architecture and construction management for the Maine State Housing Authority, and her mother worked in education and at the time of this interview was the secretary at William H. Rowe School in Yarmouth. Carrie grew up in Yarmouth, Maine, attended Yarmouth public schools, and was selected as a Mitchell Scholar. She attended Bowdoin College, where she met Scott, and was graduated with the class of 2000. Through the Teach For America program, she taught in Opelousas, Louisiana, for two years and then became an English-as-a-Second-Language teacher in Houston, Texas, before returning to Maine to study at the University of Maine School of Law. She took her law degree in 2007 and was practicing business and real estate law at Preti Flaherty in Portland, Maine, at the time of this interview.

Summary

Interview includes discussion of: Scott’s family and educational background in Kennebunk; Scott’s antique bottle interest; Scott’s education; Carrie’s family and educational background in Yarmouth; the decision to go to Bowdoin College; paying for college; the Mitchell Institute and Mitchell Scholarship; life at Bowdoin and Alpha Delta Phi; Carrie’s work teaching in the South with Teach for America; coming back to Maine; Scott dealing antiques; and more recent involvement with the Mitchell Institute.