When Lincoln County Commissioner William Blodgett, 89, retires at the end of the year, he is all but guaranteed to be replaced in the role by a younger man.
Walter Voskian, the running for Blodgett鈥檚 midcoast seat, is 87.
Voskian said he鈥檚 in excellent health, that his age is unimportant and his experience will benefit the county. The Democrat has served on Bremen鈥檚 planning board and was involved in local government in Virginia. He said he spent decades working for the CIA where he helped prepare security briefings for multiple presidents.
He said it鈥檚 helpful 鈥渢o be able to draw on those experiences when you have to make a decision,鈥� adding, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a matter of age, it鈥檚 more a matter of experience.鈥�
If he takes over Blodgett鈥檚 seat, Voskian will not become the state鈥檚 oldest county commissioner. That title will move to Oxford County鈥檚 H. Sawin Millett, an 88-year-old veteran politician slated to serve until just after his 90th birthday.
Maine has the oldest population of any state in the country: The median age of its residents is roughly 45. As the state goes gray, its population of local public servants is aging as well. Across Maine鈥檚 counties, the average age of a commissioner is 68. Some are serving well into their 80s, with relatively few younger adults seeking the jobs.
The still-fresh memory of former President Joe Biden鈥檚 stumbling 2024 debate performance has helped crystallize in Congress. Closer to home, the Senate race between presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner, 34, former primary rival Gov. Janet Mills, 78, and the incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, 73, has thrown an uncomfortable question 鈥� whether age is a limiting factor for a public servant 鈥� into stark relief.
Across Maine, local and county positions are often filled by older adults, leading some to call for more representation of young voters. This year, a handful of younger candidates for commissioner are on the ballot 鈥� some with ambitious ideas for what Maine鈥檚 counties can be.
A forgotten layer of government
County government has long been ignored by residents in Maine, which has a robust tradition of local control that delegates significant authority to towns and cities. But in the past year, county offices have drawn more attention following a series of budget crises caused by high jail costs and, in at least , mismanagement and poor record-keeping.
Commissioners are typically tasked with approving county budgets, which are mostly used to fund public safety measures and often maintain programs obligated by state law. A large portion typically goes to jails, the sheriff鈥檚 office and the district attorney, all of which counties must fund. Maine鈥檚 county governments have less sweeping missions than those in other states, especially outside New England.
There is in running for county commissioner. With no term limits 鈥� except in Cumberland County 鈥� and few competitive races, it鈥檚 easy for a commissioner to remain in office for decades.
Blodgett, for example, has since 1995, though he recently faced challenges for the job in 2018 and 2022. He served in the state Legislature in the 1970s and is one of many former legislators to land in the more lowkey and little-understood role of commissioner.
Using publicly available information and background checking software TLOxp, The Maine Monitor was able to gather data on the ages of current county commissioners. The median age for the group is 68.
Of Maine鈥檚 58 county commissioners, the largest cohort 鈥� 23 officials 鈥� consists of individuals in their 70s. Relatively few, 16 in total, are younger than 60. Only four counties have a commissioner under the age of 40.
Waldo County has the youngest commission. There, Breanna Pinkham Bebb, 39, was recently appointed to replace longtime commissioner Betty Johnson, who .
Former Androscoggin County Commissioner Noel Madore, 35, is now running for a seat in Kennebec County, which has some of the oldest commissioners. He鈥檚 challenging an incumbent who鈥檚 more than twice his age. He said the structure of the county job, which is part time and requires daytime meetings for little pay (often only a few thousand annually), makes it difficult for people with day jobs to run for office.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 operate in such a way where it is the easiest entry for folks,鈥� he said, adding that limited representation of younger adults keeps interest low. 鈥淲hen seat holders are predominantly retired 鈥� (young people) don鈥檛 see their peers there, and it doesn鈥檛 seem relevant to them.鈥�
New voices
York County鈥檚 Justin Chenette is one of the youngest county commissioners; he鈥檚 35. Speaking before dozens of sixth graders at a civics presentation on May 13, he urged the pre-teens to get involved with an impassioned voice.
Chenette, a Democrat who served in the state Senate from 2016 to 2020, emphasized his points using an Obama-esque closed fist with a pointed thumb. He鈥檚 part of a new generation of county commissioners, some of whom have ambitious ideas about what the unsung layer of government can accomplish.
He touted an example for the students: When an Alfred food pantry was on the verge of closure last year, the commission and voted unanimously to support it, partly via a nonprofit foundation the county formed in 2024.
鈥淚t was about to close, so people weren鈥檛 going to have a place to go to, basically, feed their families,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e felt a moral obligation to step up and feed our fellow neighbors in need.鈥�
Chenette took his seat in 2023 as the commission saw a massive, atypical influx of money, including federal pandemic relief funds and money from national opioid settlements, so his early years as a commissioner exposed him to a broad vision of what counties can do. York, through its nonprofit arm, put money toward an emergency response training center, an addiction recovery center and a to fight coastal erosion.
While the commissioners all worked together on these initiatives, Chenette has differentiated himself stylistically; he has his own website and uses social media to communicate with constituents, a move relatively uncommon for the office.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no textbook or blueprint for how to be a county commissioner, and I think we鈥檙e pretty much at baseline, in terms of what the duties and responsibilities are,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been able to make this my own.鈥�
Now, with federal funds drying up and the jail requiring heavy spending, the county鈥檚 ambitions have cooled somewhat. Last month the county commission decided by a 3-2 vote to allocate $20,000 for a community transportation project after debate about the fiscal wisdom of spending the money given an in jail funding from the state.
鈥淚t鈥檚 growing pains,鈥� Chenette said. 鈥淎re we open to going down a path of trying to be a little bit more than we have in the past?鈥�
Marpheen Chann, 34, calls counties the 鈥渦gly stepchild鈥� of Maine government because of their limited power and low public recognition. But he has an expansive view of what county government could be. Chann, a Democrat, is the running for a Cumberland County commission seat representing much of Portland.
On housing, homelessness, immigration and transportation, Chann has an of what counties should be willing to do. He has floated the idea of creating a Cumberland County housing authority and even a regional rail system based in Portland. In a pair of January social media posts, he shared mock maps of such a system, suggesting that the county and state 鈥渄ream big.鈥�
He acknowledged that the rail idea would be a big project to take on. He said he suspects it could take 30 to 50 years, but he鈥檚 鈥減lanting that flag far in the future.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 currently not possible, but, if we work at it, if we bring the vision, if we bring the ideas and values 鈥� the passion for improving lives, then light rail doesn鈥檛 seem that impossible,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still relatively young, still relatively hopeful, and can still think several decades ahead.鈥�
While counties typically stick largely to what they鈥檙e required to fund, Chann noted that grants them broad power over economic and community development projects. That could empower more robust regional action on housing and transit, enabling projects he said could make life better for younger generations.
鈥淵oung people have to step up and show that they鈥檙e interested in things beyond 鈥� things that are Instagrammable, and for me that means county government,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or us, for young people, we have to be able to tether ourselves to something beyond the current crises in order to actually envision a world that we actually want to live in.鈥�
鈥楨very bit of experience鈥�
In 2024, former legislator H. Sawin Millett saw an opportunity to return to the Legislature. Seeing partisanship increase, the Republican decided against it. His age was also on his mind.
鈥淚 wanted something to keep me mentally active,鈥� he said. So he turned to county office. 鈥淚 made the decision that I could do a better job staying local, working locally, and using my mental and physical capacity, as well as my experience, to help out people closer to home.鈥�
Now 88, he鈥檚 in office until 2028, when he will turn 90. He said he鈥檚 unlikely to run again.
鈥淕iven my advanced age and so on, I think if I can give four years of service to Oxford County and do a decent job, then I鈥檒l be satisfied with that stint,鈥� he said.
Millett said he takes pride in overseeing county programs to ensure efficiency and effectiveness, with the help of his experience. But he acknowledged that new arrivals may be good for county government.
鈥淚 think turnover is healthy, and it鈥檚 not just driven by age, but time in office is sometimes healthy and sometimes not so healthy,鈥� he said.
Patsy Crockett, 85, is the oldest commissioner in Kennebec County. She has served on boards of numerous community organizations and was in the state Legislature in the 2000s, but was appointed to the county commission in 2016. She said 鈥渆very bit of experience鈥� helps people serve as commissioners.
鈥淚f the person is healthy and able to do the job, I don鈥檛 think age should make a difference,鈥� she said.
Crockett said that even in her mid-80s, she enjoys the work. 鈥淚 try to get a kick out of meeting people that I don鈥檛 know and meeting people that really aren鈥檛 in favor of me and talking with them,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 do love it. Most all the time it is very rewarding, it really is.鈥�
She said she has no plans to retire. She will be up for election again in 2028.
Voskian, the 87-year-old candidate in Lincoln County, maintained that age doesn鈥檛 matter.
鈥淪ome people prefer, when they retire, to just recede,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 chose not to do that, and I encourage people, regardless of their age, to get involved in local activities, local government.鈥�
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