A former Bath city councilor and an author/musician are running for the Democratic nomination for the Bath state representative seat recently vacated by Sean Paulhus.
Paulhus, a Democrat representing House District 50, resigned last month after he was appointed Sagadahoc County register of probate by Gov. Janet Mills. He was in the middle of his third two-year term.
David Sinclair, a Bath lawyer who served two terms on the City Council from 2008-2014, and Peter Macdonald Blachly, a musician, author and trauma recovery coach who said he has spent 30 years as a citizen lobbyist, are running for the nomination and will make their pitches to voters during a caucus at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bath City Hall. The winner will run in the Nov. 7 election for a chance at finishing the remainder of Paulhus’ term, which ends in 2024.
No Republicans or other candidates have announced they are running. The seat is Bath’s lone one in the House; Bath is a Democratic stronghold, with about twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans. Democrats currently have a 12-member majority over Republicans in the House.
David Sinclair. Courtesy photo
Sinclair describes himself as a lifelong Democrat. He graduated from Brandeis University in Massachusetts and spent 16 years as a computer software designer. He then attended Maine Law and has run a law practice in Bath “focused on services for the underprivileged, with specialized training in homelessness prevention.”
In 2014, he ran for district attorney as a Democrat, losing to Republican Geoffrey Rushlau. He said he has served on local boards and committees, including the boards of the Bath Area Food Bank and Two Bridges Regional Jail Authority. He also served on the governing council of the new lawyers section of the Maine State Bar Association.
“When not working on behalf of clients or constituents, David enjoys playing chess, kayaking in the coastal waters of Maine, playing with the family pets, and beekeeping,” his biography reads on his law practice website. He’s married and has two children.
Sinclair did not respond to a candidate questionnaire from The Times Record. Blachly did respond to the questionnaire.
Peter Macdonald Blachly. Courtesy photo
Blachly, formerly known by his musical stage name Peter Alexander, is 73 and has lived in Bath since 2011. He was born in Washington, D.C.
“Being a state representative would give me a chance to address both large, structural problems, such as electoral reform in the state, as well as issues of importance to the citizens of Bath,” Sinclair said, adding he would also focus on issues regarding the environment and energy and would expand ranked-choice voting for all elected state offices.
“I plan to work to ensure that teachers, mental health workers and child care workers are treated better economically and given improved working conditions,” he said. “Women have for far too long been treated as second-class citizens in the workplace, and I intend to do all I can to remedy that injustice.”
Blachly attended St. John’s College in Maryland and earned a master’s degree in environmental studies from Antioch University in New Hampshire. He said he has lobbied for energy, health care, education and environmental issues at “multiple statehouses and the halls of Congress.”
In 2008, he convened the Gulf of Maine Restoration Initiative under the auspices of the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, resulting in a 2010 needs assessment plan.
His band, the Hollowbody Electric band, released its album “Prickly Stickers” in 2015. His song “Vicksburg” tells the story of his great-great-grandfather, the Reverend Eben Blachly, who had a run-in with a group of Confederate soldiers at the end of the Civil War when he rode down south from Wisconsin looking for his son, a Union soldier who had been captured and was in a military prison.
Blachly has written several books, including “The Stone from Halfway Rock,” a memoir about his summer growing up in Maine, and “The Inner Circle,” about his time in an American Sikh cult.
Blachly is also a licensed sea captain and has served as a nonprofit director.
“I do not intend to sit by as an observer in the Legislature,” he said. “I will absolutely not be indebted to any special or monied interest, but will use my best judgment to make common-sense, ethically sound decisions in the best interest of the people I represent as well as for all Mainers.”
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