Diane Marie Russell (born August 9, 1976) is an American politician who served in the
Maine House of Representatives
The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...
. She is a member of the
Democratic Party.
Political career
When Russell first ran for the State House in 2008, she was working as a cashier at a local convenience store. She served on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee.
In 2011, ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'' magazine named her "Most Valuable State Representative" on its annual Progressive Honor Roll.
In 2011, Russell introduced a bill to legalize marijuana in Maine. The bill, LD 1453, was voted down in committee (3-8) in March
and down by the House of Representatives in June.
After being re-elected in 2012, Russell introduced a similar bill to legalize marijuana in 2013. It was co-sponsored by Republican Rep.
Aaron Libby.
In November 2012, Russell unsuccessfully sought the
Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives is the speaker and presiding officer of the Maine House of Representatives, the lower house of the Maine Legislature.
List of speakers
{{Years in Maine
*
Maine
Speakers
Speaker may refer to: ...
position, losing in a Democratic Party caucus vote to
Mark Eves of York County.
In 2016, Russell, who was barred by Maine's term limits law from running again for a House seat, ran for a seat in the Maine Senate, and lost in the Democratic primary election, coming in third among the three candidates.
On August 10, 2017, Russell announced her campaign 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 J ...
in the
2018 race. She finished sixth of seven candidates on the ballot with 2.2%.
Personal life
Russell is a native of
Woodstock, Maine
Woodstock is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,352 at the 2020 census. The village of Bryant Pond, on State Route 26 in the northern part of Woodstock, is the town's urban center and largest settlement.
Histor ...
, and is a graduate of
Leavitt Area High School
Leavitt Area High School is a public secondary school that serves grades 9–12 in Turner, Maine, United States. It is a regional high school and serves the communities of Turner, Leeds, and Greene
Greene may refer to:
Places United States
*Gre ...
.
She received a B.A. in
media studies
Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostl ...
from the
University of Southern Maine
The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universi ...
.
She has also worked as a
public relations consultant.
References
External links
Maine House of Representatives bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Diane
1976 births
Living people
American public relations people
Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives
Politicians from Portland, Maine
University of Southern Maine alumni
Women state legislators in Maine
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
People from Woodstock, Maine