AUGUSTA, Maine — State Rep. Donna Doore, a labor Democrat from the capital city who was serving her fourth term in the State House, died of cancer on Monday at age 70.
Doore was elected in 2014, easily holding her district on the east side of Augusta for seven years after time as a city councilor and school board member. The South China native was a well-liked retired state worker who was active in the Maine Services Employees’ Association.
“Her unfailing optimism and belief in the power of hope was surpassed only by her passion for making life better for the working men and women of Maine,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement.
A staunch progressive, Doore served on the labor and local government committees during her legislative tenure. She supported universal health care, boosting state aid to cities and towns and opening up more generous retirement plans to more state workers.
Doore wrote in a 2018 Kennebec Journal column that she was a two-time cancer survivor. She was dealing with another bout with cancer during her final legislative term according to a statement from House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford.
She was the second Maine lawmaker to die in the last week, after Rep. John Tuttle, D-Sanford, who was also 70, died after a long illness. Doore is survived by her husband, Tom, who is a retired city firefighter, their two children and two grandchildren.