Joseph E. Brennan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joe Brennan
Brennan as governor
Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission
In office November 10, 1999 – January 1, 2013
President	Bill Clinton George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	William Hathaway
Succeeded by	William P. Doyle
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 1st district
In office January 7, 1987 – January 3, 1991
Preceded by	Jock McKernan
Succeeded by	Tom Andrews
70th Governor of Maine
In office January 3, 1979 – January 7, 1987
Preceded by	Jim Longley
Succeeded by	Jock McKernan
Attorney General of Maine
In office January 2, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Governor	Jim Longley
Preceded by	Jon Lund
Succeeded by	Richard Cohen
Member of the Maine Senate from the 10th district
In office January 3, 1973 – January 1, 1975
Preceded by	Gerard Conley
Succeeded by	Philip Merrill
Member of the Maine House of Representatives from the Portland district
In office January 6, 1965 – January 6, 1971 11 members elected at-large
Personal details
Born	Joseph Edward Brennan (1934-11-02)November 2, 1934 Portland, Maine, U.S.
Died	April 6, 2024(2024-04-06) (aged 89) Portland, Maine, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Constance Brennan
Children	2
Education	Boston College (BS) University of Maine (LLB)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1953–1955

Joseph Edward Brennan (November 2, 1934 – April 6, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician from Maine. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 70th Governor of Maine from 1979 to 1987 and in the United States House of Representatives for ME's 1st congressional district from 1987 to 1991. Brennan was a commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission.

Early life

Brennan was born on November 2, 1934, in Portland, Maine. He lived on Kellogg Street on the third floor of tenement housing located on Munjoy Hill. He was raised in a family of eight children, with his parents also being Irish immigrants. Brennan graduated from Cheverus High School, Boston College, and the University of Maine School of Law. Brennan served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955.

Government service

Brennan won election to the Maine House of Representatives in 1964, and served three terms. When first elected to the Maine House he did not own a car and hitchhiked up from Portland. In 1970, he was elected county attorney for Cumberland County. When he was District Attorney, his Munjoy Hill house was shot up, with bullets landing by his infant daughter, this led Brennan to support the ban on assault-style weapons in the United States. He was then elected to the Maine Senate in 1972.

Brennan in 2005

Brennan ran for governor of Maine in 1974; he lost the Democratic nomination to George J. Mitchell. The Maine Legislature selected Brennan to be the Maine Attorney General on January 2, 1975. As attorney general, Brennan took part in negotiations with both Wabanaki tribes and the federal government on what become the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1980, which became a federal law during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Brennan ran for governor again in 1978, winning the primary and general elections. Brennan was reelected in 1982, serving as governor from 1979 to 1987. During his time as governor, Brennan launched education reforms, pressed for tough highway safety measures, and helped to establish the Finance Authority of Maine. Among the notable people Brennan appointed during his time as governor were renowned Maine U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell and future Governor of Maine Janet T. Mills, whom Brennan appointed as the first female district attorney in the New England region. In 1986 he ran for the U.S. House in Maine's First Congressional District and won with 53% of the vote.

After two terms in the House, Brennan ran for governor again in 1990, losing to Republican John McKernan. He ran again in 1994, losing to Independent Angus King, but placing second, ahead of Republican Susan Collins. He faced Collins in another statewide election in 1996, running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Bill Cohen, a race which Collins won.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Brennan to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission, a small independent agency that regulates shipping between the U.S. and foreign countries. He was re-nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed for a second term at the FMC in 2004.

Personal life and death

Brennan and his wife, Connie, had two children. Brennan died at his home in Munjoy Hill, on April 6, 2024, at the age of 89.

Electoral history