A native business owner is stepping up and offering his time and experience to represent Lincoln County in the Senate. On Jan. 15, Edwin ‘Win’ Mitchell announced his candidacy for Maine Senate District 13 which includes Lincoln County and Washington (Knox) and Windsor (Kennebec).

Win grew up in Southport, attended local schools, and has worked most of his life right on the Boothbay peninsula. Mitchell will draw from his experiences as a former state conservation law enforcement officer, lobsterman, businessman, father and homegrown resident.

At his organizational gathering at Brady’s in Boothbay Harbor, Win announced he is an “unenrolled” candidate, which means he is running as neither a Democrat or a Republican.

"I have decided to run as unenrolled — to not be affiliated with a political party. That's not to hide that I lean conservative, that's to clearly display I intend to represent the people of Lincoln County, not a political party," he said.

He believes the state's current leadership is unable to find the answers due to their inability or refusual to reach across the aisle. "Why do we have to collect thousands of signatures to force public referendums on issues that 80% of us clearly agree on and want resolved?” he asked. "It has to be because some of our legislators and upper-level lawmakers are not listening or refuse to acknowledge their constituents. All we have to do is look at their voting records to find those lawmakers.”

Mitchell promised a positive campaign guided by a “deep bench” of local mentors and advisors. Personal attacks toward any opponent or group are not allowed. He described polarizing news, social media, name calling, and divisive statements from both sides as poisoning today's politics, and frankly our communities.

" I believe we, as citizens, are sick of seeing and hearing it. The challenges we face are all very fixable; it's how we get there that seems to be the hang up," he said. "In the age of communication, we all seem to suck at communication. To not have open debate, public discourse, sharing of ideas, and compromise in a civil, respectful manner is a sign of poor statemanship and is a failure of duty.”

Mitchell co-owns Boothbay Craft Brewery Tavern & RV with his wife Lori Mitchell and their two sons. He is a 1984 graduate of Boothbay Region High School, a 1986 graduate of Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute, and a 1989 graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

Win believes Maine was, and can again be, the best place to live. "Absolutely and undeniably, out of all the places I’ve visited, Maine is the best place to call home. Even though we all like to travel and see new places I have yet to find a better place I would ever consider moving to. In other words, I wish Maine to be my family’s forever home. We need to get our house in order if we wish to see young families stick around.

“I guess by throwing myself out there I’m hoping I will inspire others to do the same. We can’t just sit back and expect things to fix themselves, we the people need to step up.” He wants an end to the name calling and unhelpful comments on social media. "I will never call someone a name I would not like to be called. Let’s think positive," he said. "I see some of my friends making statements that are broad and hateful to others that may believe in or see something differently. It's not cool. I will call you out, nicely," Mitchell said.

Mitchell shared a quote that his mom Tancy painted on the wall in his brewhouse which offers a valuable life lesson. "Watch your thoughts, they become your words, watch your words, they become your habits, watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” ~ Frank Outlaw.

Mitchell is running as a clean-election candidate, which means if you wish to help Win’s campaign you can by simply contributing five dollars to help him qualify.

For more information about this and more about Win, check his Facebook page Win Mitchell for Senate.