Christopher Barr worked for over 12 years on the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee. He lives in Yarmouth.

As someone who worked for over 12 years on the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I take very seriously the right and responsibility of all Mainers, and all
Americans, to choose their representatives and senators carefully.

I have seen firsthand how essential it is for senators to work across the aisle to enact policy at the national level that meets the needs of their constituents. It is my deeply held belief that Gov. Janet Mills has the experience and temperament to be a highly effective senator for all Mainers.

Gov. Mills recently rose to national prominence for publicly standing up to President Donald Trump in defense of Mainers and Maine state law, but Mainers have long experienced how her no-nonsense approach to governing gets results.

One of her first acts as governor was to expand Maine’s Medicare program under the Affordable Care Act to address an acute need by providing health care access to over 100,000 Mainers. Meanwhile, forward-thinking initiatives like the Governor’s Office for Policy Innovation and the Future, the Maine Won’t Wait Climate Action Plan and increasing the state’s rainy-day fund to more than $1 billion under her watch have all helped the state prepare for the future.

Gov. Mills has also worked to smooth out the shocks and headwinds emanating from Trump’s chaotic administration. She has met with the premiers of neighboring Canadian provinces and
disavowed the president’s divisive rhetoric aimed at our northern neighbors. The governor has
done what she can to preserve Maine’s productive and warm relationship with its largest
international trading partner while forging closer ties with other economies across the North
Atlantic.

Importantly to me and my family, Gov. Mills worked to protect Mainers from Robert F.
Kennedy Jr.’s attempts to replace established and responsible public health measures with
conspiracy theories. I remember the pit in my stomach earlier this fall as my wife and I
scrambled to find COVID-19 vaccines for our family after the CDC limited their availability.

Health issues in our wider family made these vaccines essential for preserving everyone’s well-being. Gov. Mills stepped in to protect us when our federal government would not. We all got vaccinated within days of her statewide prescription and the pit in my stomach was replaced with
a sense of gratitude for Gov. Mills’ commitment to protecting Maine people. I know that she
would take that commitment with her to Washington as a senator.

During my time working on Capitol Hill, I found that standing up to the Trump administration,
while crucially important, is simply not enough. We need an affirmative vision for government
in America. We may be divided by party but we agree on many core issues, in Maine and across
the nation.

Gov. Mills knows when to stand her ground and when to reach out to make responsible
compromises. In either case, the best interests of Mainers are at the heart of her decisions.

Based on my years of experience working with senators from across the country, I find that laws
are most effective and successful in the long term when they have bipartisan support. When
Congress and the presidency change hands, those laws aren’t unilaterally overturned or ignored
because they were built on a strong bipartisan foundation.

Truly effective legislators understand how to hold fast to their principles while still finding room
for common ground and responsible compromise. Gov. Mills gets this more than anyone else in this race and that is why she has my support.

She knows when to stand her ground and when to reach across the aisle. She is a strong, visionary, and pragmatic leader who has a demonstrated track record of winning across the state.