Catherine Breen (born 1965) is an American Democratic politician from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Breen, a Falmouth resident, is currently serving her fourth term representing

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

District 25, which includes the towns of Falmouth,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

Chebeague Island Chebeague Island is located in Casco Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine. It was originally used as a fishing ground by Abenaki Native Americans. Also known as Great Chebeague (pronounced "sha-big") Island, today it is a town in Cumberland Count ...

and part of Westbrook.

Early life and education

Breen earned a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

and a Master of Education from the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...

. She has worked as a middle school teacher and has lived in the greater Portland, Maine area since 2000. Breen has served on the Board of Directors of Community Counseling Center and has served on the Spurwink Board of Directors since 2013. She is also a graduate of the Institute for Civic Leadership’s collaborative leadership training program.

Political career

Breen was the Falmouth representative to the Greater Portland Council of Governments, a group of town leaders from 30 municipalities in the Portland area, for six years. She served on the Falmouth Town Council from 2005 until she termed out in 2011, including two years as chairwoman.

Maine State Senate

In 2014, Breen ran for the seat being vacated by independent Richard Woodbury, who did not seek re-election. In the general election, Breen was declared the narrow winner on election night. Her opponent, Republican Cathleen Manchester, requested a recount, after which Manchester was declared the narrow winner. On December 3, Manchester was provisionally seated by the Senate. On December 9, a Senate committee inspection invalidated 21 "phantom ballots" that had been discovered on election night for Manchester. Manchester immediately resigned and Breen was certified the winner. In 2015, Breen was named Legislator of the Year by the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Breen ran unopposed in the Democratic primary races in 2016, 2018 and 2020. In the 2016 general election, she defeated Republican Charles “Bart” Ladd 58%-42%. In 2018, she won over Republican Cathy Nichols 62%-38%, and in 2020 she defeated Republican Jennifer White 62%-38%. Breen has served on the Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee. and as the Senate chair of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee in the 129th and 130th legislatures. She has been a member of the bipartisan Land Conservation Task Force.

Personal life

Breen lives in Falmouth with her husband, Jay Geller. She has two adult children, Emma and Aaron.

Electoral history

Maine State Senate

External links

Senator Catherine Breen--Maine State LegislatureCathy Breen official campaign pageCatherine Breen--BallotpediaFacebook: Cathy Breen for State SenateFacebook: Senator Cathy Breen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Cathy 1965 births Living people People from Falmouth, Maine Maine city council members Democratic Party Maine state senators Women state legislators in Maine Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Illinois Chicago alumni Women city councillors in Maine 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians