Rep. Lori Gramlich D-Old Orchard Beach, has announced her bid for a second term in the Maine House. Courtesy Photo
OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Rep. Lori Gramlich said she’ll seek a second term in the Maine Legislature representing constituents in House District 13, which includes Old Orchard Beach.
Democrat Gramlich, 57, is a licensed master social worker. In the Legislature she serves on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. As well, she has been appointed to the National Council of State Legislatures’ Health and Human Services Committee and their Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee. She is a co-founder of the Legislature’s municipal caucus, through which she said she was instrumental in assuring that communities receive adequate funding for municipal revenue sharing.
Gramlich said she introduced and passed legislation aimed at providing treatment and services for children and adults with behavioral health issues, and said she has supported numerous policies to improve access to affordable health care, stabilize property taxes and combat the opioid crisis.
During her time in the Legislature, Gramlich said she has advocated for safe, clean, accessible drinking water and has worked on addressing and remediating beach erosion.
“From working on issues to protect our beaches and shoreline to collaborating with the Maine Department of Transportation to assure we have solutions to traffic issues impacting our town, my number one priority remains to be focused on representing the needs and interests of our community,” said Gramlich. “While we have made progress to address these critical issues, we have more work to do. I am eager to return to the State House to continue to find solutions that will improve the lives of people in Old Orchard Beach and the State of Maine.”
She received her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of New England in Biddeford, has more than 30 years’ experience in nonprofit, prevention-based social work, advocacy, and social justice initiatives and is a part-time faculty member with the University of Southern Maine School of Social Work.
One of her bills, L.D. 984, resulted in a resolve directing the Department of Health and Human Services to bring children currently receiving residential behavioral health services out-of -state home to Maine. Gramlich said there are currently more than 60 Maine young people receiving treatment out-of-state, which is more expensive than providing the services in Maine.
Among her other bills is L.D. 1937, which would require DHHS to increase reimbursement rates to behavioral health providers.
Gramlich also sponsored L.D. 775, which would change the eligibility criteria for adults experiencing chronic and persistent mental health issues to receive community integrative wrap around services.
“We know it is far more cost effective to provide services for folks in their homes as opposed to the alternatives of hospitalization and the possibility of homelessness or incarceration,” she said.
She said her oral health bill, L.D. 1399, would provide funding for children to have prevention-based oral health care.
As well, she said she has either submitted or supported environmental related bills, including, L.D. 774, which would require the Department of Environmental Protection to implement recommendations from the 2017 Beach Report, which addresses ways to remediate shoreline erosion.
She is running as a Clean Elections candidate.
Gramlich faces a challenge in the race from former Rep. Sharri MacDonald, a Republican who served from 2012 to 2014 and made an unsuccessful bid for the seat in 2018.
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