Susan Walsh Longley (born December 15, 1955) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist 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 ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Longley served in the

Maine 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 ...

from 1994 to 2002, where she represented

Waldo County Waldo County is a county in the state of Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,607. Its county seat is Belfast. The county was founded on 7 February 1827 from a portion of Hancock County and named after ...

. In 2002, she sought the Democratic Party's nomination for

Maine's 2nd congressional district Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering , it comprises nearly 80% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metro ...

, where she sought to replace

John Baldacci John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd Governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. During hi ...

. She lost in the June primary to Senate President

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 ...

. In 2004, Longley unseated incumbent Republican Waldo County Judge of Probate Randy Mailloux. She was re-elected in 2008, 2012 and 2016. She retired in 2019.

Personal & legal career

Longley, who was born in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

and grew up near

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

, is the daughter of former independent Governor

James B. Longley James Bernard Longley Sr. (April 22, 1924 – August 16, 1980) was an American politician. He served as the 69th Governor of Maine from 1975 to 1979, and was the first Independent to hold the office. In 1949, he married the former Helen Angela W ...

. The Longley family is Irish Catholic and attended St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Lewiston. She graduated from Lewiston High School in 1974. She graduated from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

(B.A., 1978), the

Columbus School of Law The Columbus School of Law, also known as Catholic Law or CUA Law, is the law school of the Catholic University of America, a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. More than 400 Juris Doctor students attend Catholic Law ...

(J.D., 1988) and 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 ...

(M.A., 1992). Upon her return to Maine in 1988, she was a law clerk for judges in Maine's Superior Court system.Waldo County Probate Judge Susan Longley seeks reelection
/ref> In addition to her having served as State Senator and Judge of Probate for Waldo County, Longley, a resident of

Liberty, Maine Liberty is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 934 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water. The largest water ...

, also has taught law and policy courses at Unity College for several years and, most recently, at the University of Maine.

References

1955 births Living people Politicians from Lewiston, Maine People from Waldo County, Maine Maine lawyers Unity Environmental University faculty Democratic Party Maine state senators Maine state court judges Women state legislators in Maine Mount Holyoke College alumni Columbus School of Law alumni University of Maine alumni American people of Irish descent Lewiston High School (Maine) alumni American women academics 21st-century American women {{Maine-politician-stub