Dillon Bates (born May 15, 1988) is an American politician, coach, and educator who served as a member of 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 p ...

from 2014 to until his resignation in August 2018.

Early life and education

Bates is a native of

Winterport, Maine Winterport is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,817 at the 2020 census. The Winterport Historic District, extending several blocks along Main Street (United States Route 1A), was listed on the National Register ...

, and attended

Hampden Academy Hampden Academy is a public high school located at 89 Western Avenue in Hampden, Maine, United States. The school is a part of Regional School Unit #22 (R.S.U. 22), with approximately 708 students from Hampden, Newburgh, Frankfort and Winterpo ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and theatre from 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 ...

, where he participated in sports.

Career

Bates was a delegate to the 2008 and 2012

Maine Democratic Party The Maine Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Maine. After the Civil War, Democrats were a minor player in a political scene dominated by the Republican Party. However, during the 1950s, Edmund Muskie l ...

Conventions. He interned on Congressman

Mike Michaud Michael Herman Michaud (born January 18, 1955) is an American businessman and politician from Maine. Michaud served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The primarily rural district comprises ...

's 2010 reelection campaign. Bates worked as a drama teacher at The Maine Girls' Academy and track coach at

Massabesic High School Massabesic High School, Pronounced "MASS-UH-BEE-SIK" is a public high school located in Waterboro, Maine, United States. The school is part of the RSU 57 school system, which serves six southwestern Maine towns with a combined population of appr ...

. In 2012, Bates unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for District 118 in the

, which includes the West End neighborhood of

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. He was defeated by

Matt Moonen Matt Moonen is an American politician from Maine. A Democrat from Portland, he was first elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2012. Moonen, who could not run for reelection to the House in 2020 due to term limits, was a candidate for M ...

. After the election, Bates moved to downtown Westbrook. In 2014, Bates won election to the

to succeed Ann Peoples.

Allegations of sexual misconduct

On August 3, 2018, an anonymously-written magazine article alleged that Bates had engaged in three sexual relationships with underage students while working as a teacher and coach. House Speaker

Sara Gideon Sara I. Gideon (born December 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party from Freeport, she represented the 48th district in the Maine House of Representa ...

and then-Chair of the

Phil Bartlett Philip Lester Bartlett II (born September 24, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician from Maine. A Democrat, he served in the Maine Senate from 2004 to 2012, representing the 6th district (Scarborough, Westbrook and his hometown of Gorham). ...

, called on Bates to resign. Bates denied all allegations. On August 20, 2018, Bates resigned from his seat in the

. The following month, the

Maine Department of Education Maine Department of Education is the state department of education in the U.S. state of Maine. It is headquartered in the Burton Cross State Office Building in Augusta. The Maine Department of Education is responsible for Maine's public educatio ...

denied Bates's request to renew his

teaching credential A United States teaching credential is a basic multiple or single subject credential obtained upon completion of a bachelor's degree, from a college or university that holds regional accreditation, and prescribed professional education requirement ...

. Bates has not been charged with a crime.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Dillon 1988 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives People from Winterport, Maine University of Maine alumni Politicians from Westbrook, Maine Politicians from Portland, Maine Hampden Academy alumni