Maine Insights Newsmagazine

October 31, 2027

BANGOR, ME, October 30, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ — Today, U.S. Term Limits announced that former Maine State Senator and Bangor Mayor Joe Baldacci has agreed to serve as Maine State Chair for U.S. Term Limits. Baldacci brings decades of public service, community leadership, and firsthand experience with state and local government to the effort to enact congressional term limits and bring greater accountability to Washington, D.C.

A longtime supporter of congressional term limits as part of broader political reform, Baldacci believes limiting the amount of time members of Congress can remain in office is an important step toward protecting representative government and ensuring elected officials remain accountable to the people they serve.

“I am honored to serve as Maine State Chair for U.S. Term Limits and to help advance congressional term limits,” said Baldacci. “Public service should be about serving your neighbors and your community—not building a lifetime career in Washington. Term limits can help bring new voices, fresh ideas, and greater accountability to Congress.”

“Throughout my career in local and state government, I have seen the importance of elected officials staying connected to the people they represent,” continued Baldacci. “Maine people expect their government to work for them, not for powerful special interests or entrenched political insiders. Congressional term limits are an important part of restoring that balance.”

“People across the political spectrum recognize that Washington needs reform,” concluded Baldacci. “Congressional term limits are a commonsense reform that can help restore trust in government and ensure that public office remains a public service. I look forward to working with Mainers across our state to build support for this effort.”

Whether in his law practice or serving as a Bangor City Councilor, Mayor, or State Senator, Baldacci has dedicated much of his life to serving his community and helping his neighbors.

Born and raised in Bangor, Baldacci grew up working in his family’s restaurant, Momma Baldacci’s, alongside his seven siblings. He spent countless days washing dishes, making the restaurant’s signature sauce, and talking with customers about their lives. His parents instilled in their children a simple principle: everybody pitches in, and you look out for each other. Baldacci has carried that philosophy throughout his professional career and public service.

After graduating from Bangor public schools, Baldacci attended the University of Maine and later the University of Maine School of Law. He returned to Bangor and established a general law practice in the early 1990s, representing Mainers in a wide variety of cases and often helping clients through some of the most difficult periods of their lives. That experience gave him firsthand insight into the challenges facing Maine families, workers, and small businesses.

Baldacci was elected four times to the Bangor City Council and served two terms as Mayor. During his time in municipal government, he focused on economic development and protecting essential services, including school funding, public health, law enforcement, and infrastructure. He also opposed efforts to locate a private prison in a residential Bangor neighborhood without meaningful local input or involvement.

In 2020, Baldacci was elected to the Maine State Senate and was reelected in 2022 and 2024 to represent Bangor and Hermon. In the Senate, he focused on issues affecting seniors and health care, teachers and public schools, property taxpayers, working families, and Maine communities. His work included efforts to restore Medicare subsidies and lower property taxes to help Mainers remain in their homes. He was recognized as a Legislator of the Year by the Maine Council on Aging and earned a 100 percent rating from the Maine Education Association four years in a row.

During the 132nd Legislature, Baldacci served on the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee and chaired both the State and Local Government Committee and the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee. He has also served on and chaired the Health and Human Services Committee.

Throughout his public service, Baldacci has focused on strengthening local economies, standing up for working families, and making government deliver results for the people it serves.

“We are honored to have Joe Baldacci leading our efforts in Maine,” said Philip Blumel, President of U.S. Term Limits. “Joe brings extensive experience at both the local and state levels of government and a deep understanding of what genuine public service means. His commitment to accountability and citizen government makes him a strong advocate for congressional term limits. We are confident his leadership will help build tremendous momentum for term limits reform throughout Maine.”

Baldacci lives in Bangor with his wife of more than 30 years, Beth. They are the proud parents of two adult daughters, Caroline and Olivia.

U.S. Term Limits is the nation’s largest grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to establishing term limits at all levels of government, particularly for the U.S. Congress. The organization works with citizens and lawmakers across the country to advance constitutional reforms that increase accountability, encourage citizen legislators, and restore trust in government.