A pair of Democratic state representatives from the Midcoast have announced they are running for reelection.

Allison Hepler, of Woolwich, is seeking her fourth term representing District 49, which includes Woolwich, Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg and West Bath.

Hepler is a member of the Woolwich Select Board and part-owner of her husband’s wooden boat building and repair business in Small Point, Phippsburg. She’s a retired professor who taught history at the University of Maine at Farmington and is the author of the book “McCarthyism in the Suburbs: Quakers, Communists and the Children’s Librarian.”

She said she’s most proud of her work last year to overhaul the state’s bottle redemption program, which now includes higher fees paid to redemption centers and funding for technology investments and building out a refillable and reusable container program.

“While I initially took action because of frustrations with closing redemption centers in our community, it soon became part of a larger and more complex overhaul of the entire system,” she said, adding it involved collaboration with diverse groups of people and organizations. “I learned what’s possible when people are committed to fixing a problem.”

Hepler also sponsored a bill that bans some lead fishing jigs that can poison loons.

She said in her time in the Legislature, she and her colleagues have made progress on funding public education, increasing property tax relief, expanding health care options, investing in career training for high school students and improving the state’s plan to address climate change.

“I believe in the power of people working together to improve the lives of all Mainers,” she said. “I believe that listening to people in our communities is the most important thing that I can do.”

Cluchey, of Bowdoinham, is seeking her second term representing District 52, which includes Bowdoinham, Richmond and part of Bowdoin.

She is the chairperson of the Bowdoinham Food Pantry board and owns a consulting business that helps organizations implement employee feedback. She previously worked in vaccine development for the U.S. military and in health policy for the National Academy of Sciences and Brookings Institution.

“Serving the people of District 52 has been an incredible honor, and I hope I can keep working in Augusta on their behalf to make our state safer and stronger,” Cluchey said. “I’m running for reelection because I love this community and I know we can continue making great progress together.”

She said her proudest accomplishment was working with Republicans to pass a new law that expands access to birth control by allowing pharmacists to prescribe it. She also sponsored a bill for a new law that provides technical expertise for local meat supply companies after she learned a lack of slaughtering and processing facilities was hampering them.

Other issues she said she’s focused on in the Legislature include affordable housing, freshwater protection and health care.

“If reelected, I’ll continue to work hard for you, keep you informed, listen with an open mind, question the status quo and do all I can to support smarter, more efficient and more just public policies that improve the lives of Mainers,” she said.

No other candidates have announced a bid for Hepler and Cluchey’s seats.

The primary is June 11, 2024, and the election is Nov. 5, 2024. Candidates interested in running for state representative must gather at least 25 signatures in their district and submit a petition to the secretary of state by March 15 to get on the primary ballot.

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