PORTLAND — Seven-term Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson is not seeking re-election.
Anderson was unavailable for comment Monday, but her decision was confirmed by her spokeswoman, Tamara Getchell, in a one-sentence statement.
Six candidates, meanwhile, have filed to succeed Anderson, a Republican who has been the county’s top prosecutor since 1991.
Republican Randall Bates, a former Yarmouth Town Councilor, was the only GOP candidate to file nomination papers with the Office of the Secretary of State for the June 12 primary. Bates lives at 30 Tannery Lane in Yarmouth.
Four Democrats filed for their party’s primary, also to be held June 12:
• Jon Gale, of 34 Tremont St., Portland, has been a defense attorney since 2004 and was a prosecutor for several years before that. He defended one of the protesters arrested July 15, 2016, in a demonstration on Commercial Street in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Gale helped craft a plea agreement for the 17 people arrested. The agreement eventually fell apart, but Anderson’s attempt to pursue charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing a public way was denied in Cumberland County Superior Court in May 2017.
• Cape Elizabeth resident Patrick Gordon, 58 Woodland Road, has served as a prosecutor in Aroostook and York counties and now specializes in family law for Fairfield & Associates, according to the firm’s website.
• Brunswick attorney Seth N. Levy, who lists P.O. Box 31 as his address, is a defense attorney who specializes in defending veterans, according to his website.
• Frayla Tarpinian, of 91 Johnson Road, Windham, is now the head of the Kennebec County district attorney’s Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Unit. She has also had her own practice in Windham, according to www.frayla.com.
Independent candidates who might enter the race have until June 1 to file nomination papers with the secretary of state, but Jonathan Sahrbeck, of 60 Longfellow Drive, Cape Elizabeth, has registered with the Maine Ethics Commission in order to raise money for his run without a party affiliation.
Sahrbeck has been a prosecutor in Massachusetts and York County, and is currently a Cumberland County Assistant District Attorney, in charge of the Human Trafficking Unit.
The general election is Nov. 6.
David Harry can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 110 or dharry@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidHarry8.
Edited March 21 to note Jonathan Sarhbeck’s candidacy.
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