By RANDY SEAVER | Editor
David Costello brough his longshot U.S. Senate campaign to Biddeford on Saturday, meeting with several residents who traveled from all over northern York County to learn more about the candidate and his vision for America.
Costello’s bid for the Democratic nomination has been largely overshadowed by the meteoric rise of political newcomer Graham Platner, a self-described oyster farmer who has the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders and several labor unions.
When the campaign began in earnest last year, Gov. Janet Mills was considered by many political observers to be the sure bet for her party’s nomination to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
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But after facing lagging polling numbers and anemic fundraising, Mills “suspended” her senate campaign in April.
In February, the New York Times described Collins as one of the Republicans’ most vulnerable senators — and Costello today says he is more electable than Platner when it comes to taking down the 30-year incumbent who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Maine’s senate race is getting lots of national media attention because national Democrats see taking down Collins as the necessary lynchpin in talking back control of the senate.
Mills’ withdrawal several weeks ago gave Platner even more fuel and a bigger war chest to take on Collins. He is now widely considered as the Democrats’ presumptive nominee.
But with less than two weeks remaining before the June 9 primary, Costello says he is “nowhere close” to giving up on the idea that he could win the nomination, despite being dwarfed by Platner’s $16 million war chest.
Costello, 66, is a rank-and-file Democrat with a long record of professional political experience.
That hands-on experience, he says, is what separates him from Platner, a senate candidate with virtually no prior political experience.
Costello dismisses Platner’s “working man” campaign narrative as less than authentic and somewhat disingenuous.
“He (Platner) has done a good job in capturing the anger and frustration that so many voters share about what is happening in our country right now,” Costello said. “But there really isn’t much more than just a populist message propping him up.”
Costello points to his own track record of tirelessly working to create a single-payer national health care plan. He describes himself as a more traditional candidate with a long record of supporting goals and initiatives that were once the bedrock of the Democratic Party.
“Experience matters,” Costello said.
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Real world, hands-on political experience
A native of Old Town, Costello’s political career spans more than three decades.
His campaign website touts a candidate with “senior-level state, local, and federal government and non-government experience.”
Costello said he dropped out of college to work on Senator Ted Kennedy’s 1980 presidential campaign, which rejected the rather anemic presidency of Jimmy Carter.
Throughout the 1980s, Costello worked on several campaigns at both the national and state level.
Costello served as a top aide for Maine Secretary of State Bill Diamond in the early 1990s, “helping to develop and implement elections, campaign finance, and motor vehicle administration and safety reforms,” according to his campaign website.
At the federal level, Costello worked eight years as part of the USAID program between 1993 and 2001, responding to and coordinating humanitarian relief efforts in Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedoni and Albania.
More recently, Costello served as a Deputy and Acting Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment, managing more than 1,000 employees, various programs and a $380 million annual budget.
In addition to his government work, Costello also served as an interim climate and clean energy program director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
“He is serious and authentic”
Patti Berg Anderson is from West Kennebunk and said Costello strikes her as the right man for the job, but fears that the odds of winning the nomination are insurmountable.
“He is serious and authentic,” Berg Anderson said of Costello. “He has a true heart for what he is doing. It’s just heart-breaking to see the David-v-Goliath scenario that the media has created.”
Berg Anderson described herself as a military brat who grew up in Texas, supporting moderate GOP candidates.
But later in life she found herself to the Democratic Party and its platform of fairness and empathy.
She describes Costello as “the perfect fit for Maine,” citing his experience, values and ability to connect with real people.
“It’s just heart-breaking to see
— Patti Berg Anderson
the David-v-Goliath scenario
that the media has created.”
Pam Emery of Old Orchard Beach agreed that Costello offers Democrats a much more balanced and thoughtful approach.
“Electing younger people is really important,” Emery said. “But we need to balance that new energy with practical experience that demonstrates an ability to tackle complex problems.”
Emery says she is frustrated by both the Democratic and Republican parties. “There’s too much finger pointing,” she said. “We need someone who can offer practical solutions – something more than just a flash-in-the-pan political rhetoric.”
To learn more about Costello’s campaign | David Costello for Senate
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