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. |
