GARDINER — Gay Grant has announced her candidacy for House District 59, representing Gardiner and Randolph.

Grant, 52, of South Gardiner, said being a Gardiner native who also lived in Randolph during her college years makes her uniquely qualified to be the district’s next state representative.

Also running are two more Democrats — Harvey DeVane and Phillip Barter, both of Gardiner.

Now, the seat is held by state Rep. Stephen P. Hanley, D-Gardiner, who is not running again because of term limits.

“Growing up in the city and later raising my children here makes me keenly aware of the issues and concerns faced by my neighbors in this district,” Grant said in a prepared statement.

Grant said she has been a school board member, a classroom volunteer and on the parent-teacher organization. She also was on the Board of Trade and was a member of Gardiner’s first Historic Preservation Committee, helping to draft the city’s first historic ordinance.

Now, she represents Gardiner on the Library’s Board of Trustees and she is chairwoman of the library’s fundraising committee. For the last seven years, she has owned and operated the Write Way, a small business providing writing and grant writing services for nonprofit agencies and businesses.

Grant lives with her husband of 32 years, Ron Grant, in the house where she grew up in South Gardiner. They have two grown children, Melody and Aaron.