Former Gov. Joseph E. Brennan, who rose from a working-class Irish neighborhood in Portland through the ranks of Maine’s political system to become a top public figure here in the 1980s, died Friday at age 89.
Brennan oversaw the historic 1980 land-claims settlement that redefined the state’s relationship with tribes. He has a legacy as a Democratic kingmaker. With two appointments in 1980, he placed George Mitchell in the U.S. Senate and launched the political career of Janet Mills, the current governor, by making her the first female district attorney in New England.
He steadily moved up in state politics during his early career, going from a seat in the Legislature to the attorney general’s office within a decade. He served two terms as governor from 1979 through 1987 and went immediately to Congress, but he lost three statewide campaigns in the 1990s that defined his later period in public life.
The lawyer was strongly affiliated with the state’s labor movement, saying in a 2001 interview that he was focused on “people who were left behind” during the peak of his career and lamenting that politicians of the modern era were not so focused on protecting senior citizens and working people.
“We’re in a country where the CEOs of many of the major companies make 500 times as much a week as the average worker in their company,” he told journalist Bill Green. “That’s a disgrace. That’s not economic justice, it’s not social justice, and nothing is being done about it.”
Both of Brennan’s parents came from Ireland, settling on Munjoy Hill, which historically had large Irish and Italian communities. He grew up on Kellogg Street, serving in the Army from 1953 to 1955 and returning to attend Boston College and the University of Maine School of Law.
Just after going into practice as a lawyer, he was first elected to the Maine House of Representatives in a 1964 election with no political experience. He later credited the victory to having an Irish name that appeared first on the primary ballot in alphabetical order. Brennan had no car at the time he was sworn in, so he hitchhiked from Portland to Augusta.
He went on to be a leader in the House before being elected Cumberland County’s top prosecutor in 1970, carving out a tough-on-crime political profile. That continued through his time as governor. He enshrined some of the nation’s toughest laws against drunk driving in 1981, leading to a sharp decline in fatal nighttime crashes on state roads.
As a state senator, he lost a 1974 gubernatorial primary to Mitchell but was appointed attorney general afterward by the Democratic-led Legislature. The biggest issue facing him was a claim initiated by the Passamaquoddy Tribe for rights to roughly two-thirds of Maine’s land. Public sentiment ran hot against the claim even as the tribes saw victories in court.
Brennan defended the state’s position, then he won the 1978 gubernatorial election promising “not one inch and not one dollar” to the tribes, according to a Bates College professor’s 2016 history. That hard line led many to call him “Indian Fighter Joe” during that era.
He was in office when the state and federal government settled the claim with the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet in a novel arrangement that gave the tribes millions of dollars in exchange for largely being treated by the state like cities and towns. Tribes are now trying to overhaul the settlement, which Mills has generally resisted.
Brennan’s tenure as governor was notable for a number of reforms at the Maine State Prison. He started the Finance Authority of Maine, which operates loan programs, and the Office of the Public Advocate, which represents utility consumers.
On his way out of the Blaine House, Brennan switched seats with incoming Gov. John “Jock” McKernan and represented Maine’s 1st Congressional District for two terms. He then ran for his old seat, losing to McKernan, a Republican, during the 1990 election.
Four years later, Brennan was ready to run again but was also facing criticism for being past his political prime. He coasted to a primary victory, but his hold on the party led longtime Democrat Angus King to leave the party and run as an independent. King won narrowly over Brennan and Republican Susan Collins, the latter of whom emerged damaged from a crowded primary.
But Collins regrouped and got a second chance at statewide office when her mentor, Republican Sen. William S. Cohen, left to serve as defense secretary for President Bill Clinton. Both she and Brennan ran to succeed him. By that time, he was loved by hardcore Democrats but was widely seen as “a loser,” a Maine political scientist told CNN during the 1996 race.
“We in Maine are acutely aware of the changing seasons,” Collins said in her closing statement during a Maine Public debate. “In this election, you must decide whether this is the season for someone with a lengthy career in elected office or a season for a new voice in Maine.”
Brennan went on to appointed federal posts and kept a home on Munjoy Hill. Both Collins and Mills were among the political figures who remembered Brennan in statements on Saturday, with his two-time opponent saying “he cared deeply for the people of his native state.”
“Maine and the nation have lost a great public servant, and I have lost a friend,” Mills said.