Senator Phil Bartlett

Phil grew up in Gorham and attended the public schools there. He was actively involved in scouting throughout his youth, steadily working his way from a Cub scout through the ranks to Eagle scout. Scouting provided opportunities to visit the State House and meet the governor, to go camping on a regular basis, and most importantly, to learn the value of community service and civic leadership.

In high school, Phil was an avid debater and tennis player, and he served as class president during his senior year. He honed his debating skills by discussing public policy issues with anyone who would humor him.

An opportunity to attend a national debate tournament led to a unique lesson in the importance of never giving up. He had spent months researching the topic, writing cases, and practicing with teammates and his coach. The morning of the tournament in Boca Raton, Florida, Phil and his coach were given a schedule with the resolution to be debated written prominently on the top of the page. It was not the one Phil had prepared!

A bit of scrambling combined with the generosity of another New England debater provided Phil with a few arguments to carry into his first round. Although he did not make the cut to the final round, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had managed to win three of the four rounds he debated.

After graduating from Gorham High School in 1994, Phil went on to Tufts University. At Tufts, he majored in economics and political science, but most importantly, he met his wife, Susan. After graduating in 1998, Phil and Susan were married in Maine.

Phil spent the next three years at Harvard Law School. His love of economics and public policy led him to join the Harvard Journal on Legislation, for which he eventually served as President, and to teach introductory economics to Harvard undergraduates. He also obtained a fellowship to write a law and economics paper on incentives created by certain employment law statutes.

After graduating from Harvard in 2001, Phil was admitted to practice law in Maine and Massachusetts. He moved back to Gorham and spent the next year clerking for Chief Justice Leigh Saufley of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Back home, Phil began writing for his local newspaper, the Gorham Times. He is also president of the Gorham Historical Society, and serves on the boards of the Baxter Memorial Library Association and the Gorham-Sebago Lake Regional Land Trust.

Other volunteer activities include mentoring through Mission Possible, a teen center in Westbrook, providing rides to seniors through the Independent Transportation Network, and volunteering in Gorham schools through the Gorham Center for Volunteers and Community Education.

Susan Bartlett, who majored in English and completed the education program at Tufts, now teaches English at Greely High School in MSAD 51. She is pursuing a master's degree in English composition through the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Phil has been appointed by the Gorham Town Council to serve on the board of the Gorham Economic Development Corporation and on the Recreation Advisory Board. He is also a member of First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham, and is active in the Westbrook-Gorham Rotary. In his spare time, Phil enjoys taking walks with his wife and three dogs, Joe Pete, Miss Otis and Milton; playing piano; and getting in the occasional tennis match.