Michael A. “Mike” Sylvester is an American politician who has 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 ...

since 2016. He represents the 39th House District as 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 ...

. Sylvester is a member of Democratic Socialists of America.

Early life and education

Raised in Lewiston, Maine, Sylvester attended Bard College, graduating with a degree in English.

Career

After college, he worked as a union organizer for twenty years, starting off by organizing nursing homes in West Virginia. After returning to Maine, he started a business renting out golf carts on

Peaks Island Peaks Island is the most populous island in Casco Bay, Maine, Casco Bay, Maine. It is part of the city of Portland, Maine, Portland and is approximately from downtown. The island is served by Casco Bay Lines and is home to its own elementary s ...

, where he lives. He served for three years on the Peaks Island Council, including two years as chair. In 2016, Sylvester ran to succeed the term-limited state representative for the 39th District, Diane Russell, defeating lawyer Andrew Edwards in the Democratic primary and Republican Peter Doyle in the general election. Sylvester ran as an open democratic socialist, supporting an increase in the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, legalization of marijuana, and

single-payer health care Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...

. In 2018, he won a second term in a landslide. In 2018, Sylvester was appointed as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Labor and Housing. In his role as House Chair, he helped to pass Workers Compensation Reform, a Statewide Paid Time Off Bill and a bill to legalize the rights of loggers to organize unions. Bills sponsored by Sylvester to create a municipal “union card check” law and to create a Ground Water Resource Committee were signed into law while a bill to allow teachers to bargain over preparatory periods was vetoed by Governor Janet Mills. Sylvester sponsored bills to allow public sector workers the right to strike and to create a state-wide single payer healthcare system. Both of these bills were carried over to the 2019 emergency session. In May 2020, as the Chair of Maine's Labor and Housing Committee, Sylvester cross-examined Maine's Department of Labor Commissioner on unemployment compensation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester, Michael A. Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Politicians from Portland, Maine 21st-century American politicians Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Maine Bard College alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Trade unionists from Maine Maine socialists Politicians from Lewiston, Maine

Early life and education

Career

See also

References