Shenna Bellows facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shenna Bellows
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Bellows in 2014
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| 50th Secretary of State of Maine | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2021 |
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| Governor | Janet Mills |
| Preceded by | Matthew Dunlap |
| Member of the Maine Senate from the 14th district |
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| In office December 7, 2016 – December 2, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Earle McCormick |
| Succeeded by | Craig Hickman |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Shenna Lee Bellows
March 23, 1975 Greenfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Brandon Baldwin
(m. 2012) |
| Education | Middlebury College (BA) |
Shenna Lee Bellows (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician and a leader of non-profit groups. On December 2, 2020, lawmakers in Maine chose her to be the 50th Maine secretary of state. This important job involves overseeing elections and keeping official state records. Before this, she led the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. She also worked for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maine, a group that protects people's rights.
In 2014, Bellows ran for the United States Senate in Maine but did not win. Later, in 2016, she was elected to the Maine Senate, which is part of Maine's state government. She served there until 2020. In December 2023, as Secretary of State, Bellows made a decision about whether a former president could be on the primary election ballot in Maine. This decision was later reviewed by higher courts. After her decision, she faced some difficult situations and threats.
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Early Life and School
Shenna Bellows was born on March 23, 1975, in Greenfield, Massachusetts. She was the oldest daughter of Dexter Bellows, who was a carpenter, and Janice Colson, a nurse. She grew up in Hancock, Maine.
Her family faced challenges when she was young. They did not have running water or electricity in their home until she was about ten years old.
When Shenna was 15, she traveled to Campos, Brazil as an exchange student. She finished high school at Ellsworth High School in 1993. During her school years, she worked as a research assistant at a science lab. She then went to Middlebury College and graduated with high honors in 1997. She also studied in San Jose, Costa Rica for a semester during college.
Early Career and Public Service
Shenna Bellows worked for the ACLU of Maine for eight years. The ACLU is a group that works to protect the rights and freedoms of all Americans. In this role, she helped pass laws about privacy and civil rights. She worked with people from different political parties to get things done.
She was also a leader in efforts to allow same-sex marriage in Maine. She helped with campaigns to make sure people could register to vote on election day. Bellows also worked to protect privacy, like making sure police needed a special order to look at private cell phone messages. She also spoke out against using drones to watch people without a reason.
Before working for the ACLU of Maine, Bellows worked for the national ACLU office in Washington, D.C. There, she helped organize campaigns across the country. She worked to oppose parts of the Patriot Act, a law passed after 9/11. She brought together different groups, like librarians and gun owners, to work on these issues.
Bellows also spent time helping communities in other ways. She was an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Nashville, Tennessee. She helped a new non-profit group create programs to help young people in public housing.
She also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chitré, Panama. In Panama, she helped start a program to give small loans to artists. She also began a business program for high school students. She worked to help women and girls get better chances for education and work.
Political Career
Shenna Bellows decided to run for the United States Senate in 2014. She launched her campaign in October 2013, but she was not elected in November 2014.
In 2016, Bellows announced she would run for the Maine Senate. This is a part of Maine's state government. She ran for the district that included her hometown of Manchester and other towns near Augusta, Maine. She won this election in November 2016 and started her term in December 2016. She was reelected to the Maine Senate in 2018 and again in 2020. She left the Senate on December 2, 2020, to become a candidate for Secretary of State.
In December 2020, lawmakers in Maine chose Bellows to be the Secretary of State of Maine. She is the first woman to hold this important position. In Maine, the Secretary of State is chosen every two years by the state's lawmakers.
Role as Secretary of State and Recent Events
In December 2023, some voters in Maine asked Shenna Bellows, as Secretary of State, to decide if a former president could be on the 2024 Republican primary ballot in Maine. On December 28, 2023, she made a decision that the former president would not be on the ballot because of his actions during the January 6 United States Capitol attack. This decision could be appealed to higher courts.
After she made this decision, Bellows faced some difficult situations. Her personal information was shared online, and she experienced threats. These events were part of a time when other politicians and activists across the country also faced similar threats. On January 3, 2024, there were also bomb threats made against the Maine State House, which is the state capitol building. This caused the building to be evacuated.
The former president appealed Bellows' decision to the Maine Superior Court. The Superior Court asked Bellows to look at her decision again, waiting for a ruling from the United States Supreme Court. Bellows tried to appeal this to the Maine Supreme Court, but her request was not accepted.
On March 4, 2024, the United States Supreme Court overturned decisions made by Maine and two other states. This meant the former president would be allowed on the ballot. Bellows then removed her disqualification of him on the same day.
What Shenna Bellows Believes In
Shenna Bellows has shared her views on many topics:
Agriculture
Bellows wants to reduce the amount of money the government gives to very large farming companies.
Elections
Bellows believes that elections should be funded by the public, not just by large donations. She also wants to make sure that all donations are clearly reported.
Death Penalty
Bellows is against the death penalty.
Environment
Bellows supports federal rules to control greenhouse gas emissions. This is to help fight climate change.
Guns
Bellows supports universal background checks for buying guns.
Healthcare
Bellows is against getting rid of the Affordable Care Act, which helps people get health insurance. She supports making healthcare more available through programs like Medicaid and Medicare.
Minimum Wage
In 2014, Bellows supported raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. She also supported a plan in Maine to gradually raise the state's minimum wage to $12 by 2020.
Social Security
Bellows wants to remove the income limit for Social Security taxes. This would help increase benefits for people.
Taxes
Bellows wants to lower taxes for families with lower and middle incomes, and for small businesses. She believes that the wealthiest Americans should pay their fair share of taxes. She supports increasing taxes for large companies and for very high earners.
Personal Life
Shenna Bellows lives with her husband, Brandon Baldwin.
