James R. Handy is an American 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 ...

. He has represented part of the city of Lewiston 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 p ...

since 2016. Handy previously served in the Maine House from 1982 to 1992, and in the Maine Senate from 1992 to 1994. Handy returned to service in the Maine House of Representatives in 2018 to 2020. He sponsored legislation to require health insurance policies to provide coverage for hearing aids. He also sponsored the bill the establish the Maine Bicentennial Commission. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. During Handy's tenure in Maine politics he has served Chairperson for the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Aging Retirement and Veterans; and, Utilities; and Chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Early Childhood Education, and a member of the Special Commission on Women in School Administration. He served on the Lewiston School Committee from 1999 to 2016, including many years as the chair. Handy earned a bachelor's degree 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 universitie ...

in Political Science and graduated cum laude in 1980. Since leaving the legislature, Handy has been employed by Lewiston Public Schools. He is an Educational Technician serving special education students in grade K-1. In August of 2022, Governor Janet T. Mills appointed Handy to serve on the Maine Charter School Commission (https://www.maine.gov/csc/home).

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Democratic Party Maine state senators Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives University of Southern Maine alumni School board members in Maine Politicians from Lewiston, Maine 21st-century American politicians {{Maine-politician-stub