Heather B. Sanborn is an American attorney, business owner and politician representing District 28 (portions of the cities of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and Westbrook) in the

Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

. Sanborn co-owns and operates Rising Tide Brewery in

with her husband.

Early life and education

Sanborn grew up in Portland and attended

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

where she graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' as the salutatorian of her class in 1997. She received a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Maine in 2004 and taught high school in

Cape Elizabeth, Maine Cape Elizabeth is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The town is part of the Portland, Maine, Portland–South Portland, Maine, South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, Biddeford, Mai ...

. Sanborn graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 2007 where she was the editor-in-chief of the Maine Law Review. She worked as a law clerk to

Kermit Lipez Kermit Victor Lipez (born August 18, 1941) is an American lawyer who serves as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Education and early career Lipez received a Bachelor of Arts degree ...

on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and as an associate in the litigation department at Ropes & Gray. She has served on the boards of the Portland Development Corporation and University Credit Union.

Brewery & beer industry advocacy

Rising Tide Brewery

Sanborn and her husband, Nathan Sanborn, co-own Rising Tide Brewery in Portland, Maine, and Heather serves as the director of business operations. The brewery opened in 2010 and quickly outgrew its initial space, relocating in 2012. As of 2020, Rising Tide employs 29 people and produces 4,500 barrels of beer per year. Sanborn has served as the President of the Maine Brewers' Guild and has drawn on her law background to advocate for breweries around Maine.

2012 tasting room law

Sanborn has drawn on her legal background to advocate for state-level policy changes that benefit Maine's craft beer industry. In collaboration with the Maine Brewer's Guild, she submitted a bill to the 125th Maine Legislature that would permit breweries to sell their products on-site. At the time, breweries in Maine were only permitted to give away small samples of their products, a business model which Sanborn and other industry leaders argued was not conducive to customer interaction and beer tourism. The bill, LD #1889, was signed into law in April 2012.

Political career

Sanborn ran unopposed for the 2016 Maine House of Representatives District 43 Democratic primary, and defeated Republican opponent Jeffrey Langholtz 65%-35% in the general election. In June 2018, Sanborn won a contested primary against Portland City Councilor Jill Duson. Sanborn ran unopposed in both the Democratic primary and in the general election in 2020 and was therefore elected to her second term representing District 28 in the Maine Senate.

Electoral record

Maine State House

Maine State Senate

External links

Senator Heather Sanborn on FacebookSen. Heather Sanborn, Maine.govCampaign websiteRising Tide BrewingHeather Sanborn at Maine Live

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanborn, Heather Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Middlebury College alumni University of Southern Maine alumni University of Maine School of Law alumni Businesspeople from Portland, Maine Maine lawyers Politicians from Portland, Maine Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Democratic Party Maine state senators 21st-century American legislators Women state legislators in Maine 21st-century American women politicians Ropes & Gray associates