Three Democrats competing for open seat representing Cape Elizabeth in Maine House (2024)

Three Democrats are competing for an open seat representing part of Cape Elizabeth in the Maine House of Representatives.

Former state senator and representative Cynthia Dill, former state Rep. Kimberly Monaghan and political newcomer Michelle Boyer will face off in the primary election on Tuesday.

The three are seeking to fill the House District 123 seat, which encompasses part of Cape Elizabeth and is currently held by Rep. Rebecca Millett, a Democrat who is not seeking reelection after 12 years in the House and Senate. The winner of the primary will take on Republican Annie Christy in the November election.

Boyer has raised $4,100 while Dill has raised $3,900 and Monaghan has raised $3,600, according to campaign finance reports. Boyer has also been endorsed by Millett.

“I think it’s good to bring in a fresh perspective, new energy and new approaches,” said Millett, who said she met Boyer when Boyer volunteered for the Legislature’s Gun Safety Caucus. “I was impressed that she showed up and helped out all on her own initiative. She’s a really hard worker and she’s serious about this.”

THE CANDIDATES

Boyer, 44, said she decided to run after working with Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, two years ago on a law to ensure private health insurance coverage of postpartum care, and volunteering for the Gun Safety Caucus. Both are examples of the types of things she would want to continue if elected, she said.

It is Boyer’s first run for elected office. She is a member of the Cape Elizabeth Conservation Committee and started her own business, Arctic Lynx Maternity Activewear.

“I have a lot of energy and enthusiasm to represent Cape in Augusta,” she said. “I’m a good listener and hard worker.”

In addition to housing and gun safety, Boyer said climate change and conservation issues are important to her and things she has worked on as a member of conservation committee. “I would love to help inform larger state initiatives and efforts,” she said.

Dill, a lawyer who also runs a small media production company, Cyndicate Media, served in the Maine House from 2006 to 2011 and in the Maine Senate from 2011 to 2012. Dill also ran for the U.S. Senate in 2012 in a race won by independent Sen. Angus King.

She said she decided to run for the Maine Legislature again to work on affordable housing. After leading efforts to reject a local affordable housing project in 2021, Dill has been working to get a referendum before residents asking if they want to see affordable housing developed at a different site outside the town center.

“The seat came open and I decided it was a good platform to bring the affordable housing issue across the finish line,” said Dill.

In her previous time in the Legislature, Dill pointed to work on broadband internet infrastructure and her support for marriage equality while serving on the Judiciary Committee as highlights.

“I would like to be a strong voice for the residents of Cape Elizabeth and play an offensive role on housing and the things they care about but also protect towns and communities against any bad legislation that comes down the pike in what seems to be a chaotic atmosphere sometimes at the capital,” Dill said.

Monaghan, 65, served in the Maine House from 2011 to 2018 and said she was approached by Democratic leaders about running again. The operations director for a progressive news site,Common Dreams, she said she enjoys legislative work and has the experience to jump right in.

“I think my age and experience are assets, especially in this 2024 election year, where it’s going to be a tough one, not only at the state level, but at the national level,” Monaghan said. “I think we need to have experienced legislators returning to Augusta.”

Monaghan serves on the State Liquor & Lottery Commission and the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services. If elected, Monaghan said, she would hope to serve again on the Judiciary Committee, which she expects will take up future bills on reproductive rights and birth control.

“I know some of the extreme right legislators will likely come forward with some of these bills banning or chipping away at access to reproductive rights and I feel like I’m ready (to counter that),” Monaghan said.

DIFFERENCES ON HOUSING PROPOSAL

All three candidates said they support the gun safety measures Democrats passed this session, including a 72-hour waiting period on purchases and expanded background checks, and said they would support passage of a red flag law making it easier to confiscate the weapons of a person experiencing a mental health crisis.

The three also said they support efforts to create more housing and affordable housing, but differed in their responses to a controversial affordable housing proposal that came before Cape Elizabeth officials in 2021.

The project, Dunham Court, was pulled by the developer after opponents gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on zoning amendments that would have made construction possible.

Boyer would not comment on the issue, saying it was a local matter and not a state issue. “My representation would be at the state level, but I certainly would want to highlight the need for support and resources for communities as they navigate the need for housing,” Boyer said.

Dill, who was a vocal opponent of the project, said it was a “special deal” that would have substantially changed zoning to produce apartments that were too small for families and that came with income restrictions that would have made the project inaccessible for many people who work in the town. “(Dunham Court) would have provided housing that we didn’t need or want,” Dill said.

Monaghan said she was disappointed that the project, from developer the Szanton Co., did not go through. “That organization is well-known for creating really good affordable housing opportunities and I would like to see it be re-introduced in Cape Elizabeth,” Monaghan said.

MEET THE CANDIDATES

MICHELLE BOYER

Age: 44

Education: B.A. in English with a minor in French from Gettysburg College

Profession: President of Arctic Lynx Maternity Activewear

Political experience: Member of Cape Elizabeth Conservation Committee, secretary of Cape Elizabeth High School Parents’ Association, volunteer in Cape Elizabeth schools and past volunteer for the Maine Legislature’s Gun Safety Caucus

Website: Michelle Boyer – Candidate for Maine State House District 123 Cape Elizabeth

Socialmedia: Michelle Boyer for Maine House on Facebook, @michelleformaine on Instagram

CYNTHIA DILL

Age: Dill would not provide her age

Education: B.A. in English and philosophy from University of Vermont, J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law

Profession: Lawyer at Law Office of Cynthia Dill and president of Cyndicate Media

Political experience: Town councilor in Cape Elizabeth 2005-08. Served in Maine House of Representatives from 2006-11 and in the Maine Senate from 2011-12.

Website: Cynthia Dill

Social media: Cynthia Ann Dill on Facebook, @dillesquire on Instagram, @dillesquire on X

KIMBERLY MONAGHAN

Age: 65

Education: B.S. in journalism from the University of Maine, Master’s degree in public policy and management from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine

Profession: Operations director for Common Dreams

Political experience: Served in Maine House of Representatives from 2011-18. Cape Elizabeth school committee member from 2009-11. Commissioner on the Maine Liquor & Lottery Commission and Maine Commission on Public Defense Services.

Website: Kimberly Monaghan – Candidate for Maine State House District 123

Social media: Rep Kim Monaghan 2024 on Facebook, @kmmonaghan4 on Instagram

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