Dear Friend,

Well, I have survived my first term as your State Senator! While it certainly was an exciting and eventful session, I am proud of our many accomplishments. Along the way, I have also had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people throughout our district and I appreciate your continued support.

Continuous challenges still face our state as we look ahead and it is my pledge to continue working on your behalf to address those ongoing issues. Overall, I remain positive on the outlook for our state. The way I see it, every challenge before us is an opportunity for us, the people of Maine.

I am pleased to serve as Senate Chair of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. This position is appointed by the President of the Senate and I am honored to lead the way on Maine’s educational opportunities.

I want to very briefly touch on arguably the most controversial issue faced by the 123rd Legislature: school district consolidation. During the past approximately two decades, decreasing student population (32,000) and increasing administrative costs (50%) have made state education costs unsustainable. For these reasons I support school district consolidation for our state. At the same time, I am working very hard to ensure that no harm is done to my constituent communities and the quality of education for our students.

I always welcome your opinion. It is important that we continue to work together and do what is best for our district and state. Please feel free to contact me if I may be of any assistance to you or your family.

Once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent our beautiful seacoast community and great state of Maine!

Sincerely,

Peter B. Bowman
Maine State Senator
District 1