David Slagger (born June 22, 1962) is a Native American politician in

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 ...

. Slagger served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives, representing the newly recognized Maliseet Tribe. Slagger was sworn-in as the appointed representative to the House of Representatives on January 4, 2012. He held the seat temporarily until a tribal election could be conducted to elect a Maliseet Tribal Representative, which the Maliseet Tribe then did on December 22, 2012 when tribal members elected

Henry John Bear Henry John Bear is a Native American politician from Maine. In January 2013, he was sworn in as the first elected member of the Maine House of Representatives representing the Maliseet people. He replaced David Slagger, who was appointed to the ...

as their first elected Tribal Representative to the Maine House of Representatives. Slagger did not seek another term as Maliseet representative. Slagger was one of three non-voting representatives from Maine's Native American tribes in the House of Representatives. Representatives from each tribe are all elected by tribal members. Slagger did not seek another term as the Maliseet representative due to the limitations placed on tribal representatives, including the inability to vote and sponsor bills without co-sponsors. Slagger was humiliated when, during a tie vote in the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee on which he sat, Slagger's deciding vote was recorded but cast aside by the committee chair. In May 2012, Slagger announced a bid for the non-tribal seat in which he lived, District 22. Still running as a non-party (independent) candidate, he challenged incumbent Republican incumbent Stacy Guerin with no Democrat in the race. He received 1,299 votes (26%) and lost.

Gubernatorial campaign

In February 2013, Slagger formed a campaign committee to run for

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is Ja ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. In April, Slagger enrolled as a Green Independent and began seeking the Maine Green Independent Party's nomination. Shortly thereafter, Slagger unenrolled as a Green Independent and continued his run as an unenrolled candidate for Governor. Slagger did not qualify for the November 2014 ballot as an independent.

Personal

Slagger grew up in

Aroostook County, Maine Aroostook County ( ; french: Comté d'Aroostook) is a county in the U.S. state of Maine along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,105. Its county seat is Houlton, with offices in Caribou and Fort Kent. Kn ...

and lives in Kenduskeag in Penobscot County with his wife (a

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

) and their three children. In September 2005, Slagger, a non-traditional undergraduate at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

, was awarded an internship at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

in Washington, D.C. At the time of his swearing-in in 2012, Slagger was a doctoral candidate at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slagger, David 1962 births Living people Maliseet people Members of the Maine House of Representatives People from Kenduskeag, Maine University of Maine alumni Native American state legislators in Maine Maine Independents Native American people from Maine