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Jean Hay Bright grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, the daughter of a steelworker and a seamstress. She and her first husband, a Vietnam veteran, moved to Maine in 1972 to go "back to the land," homesteading on 25 acres they bought from Helen and Scott Nearing, authors of Living the Good Life. They had two children, and were divorced in 1979.
In 1975, Jean became a reporter and later Hancock County bureau chief for the Bangor Daily News. She left that position in 1985 to open Hay's Farmstand on her 10-acre organic farm across from the Blue Hill Fairgrounds. In the late 1980s she served on the board of MOFGA. An environmental activist, Jean helped in the fight in the early 1990s to keep AES from building a coal-burning power plant in Bucksport. With political activism a growing focus, Jean closed the farmstand in 1992 and went to work as a Legislative Assistant to Maine's Democratic 1st District Congressman Tom Andrews. Jean ran for Congress in Maine's 2nd CD in 1994 and for U.S. Senate in 1996, both times as the progressive candidate in the Maine Democratic primaries. Her first book, Proud to Be a Card-Carrying, Flag-Waving, Patriotic American Liberal (1996) is a collection of her writings on many political topics, including choice, civil rights and worker rights. Jean's second book, A Tale of Dirty Tricks So Bizarre - Susan Collins v. Public Record (2002) is an inside look at Maine's 1996 U.S. Senate race. Her third book, Meanwhile, Next Door to the Good Life (2003) details Jean's homesteading days on Cape Rosier in Maine, and tells how Helen and Scott Nearing impacted her life. Jean's writings and columns have appeared in the Aroostook Democrat, the Maine Progressive, Feminist Times, Yankee Magazine, Providence Journal, Maine Times, Penobscot Bay Press, The Progressive Populist, and Farmstead Magazine. Returning to college in 1997, she graduated from the University of Maine with honors in May 1998. Jean served for a time as managing editor of The Enterprise, Bucksport, Maine; became marketing manager for Common Courage Press in Monroe, Maine, followed by a stint (2001-2002) in commercial sales at Johnny's Selected Seeds in Albion and Winslow, Maine. Jean is married to David Bright, a former reporter, editor, and agriculture columnist for the Bangor Daily News who is now a computer installation specialist. They live on BrightBerry Farm, a 30-acre MOFGA-certified organic farm in Dixmont, where they are developing a pick-your-own-raspberry operation.
Background
Political
1993 Legislative Assistant, Congressman Tom Andrews 1994 Candidate, 2nd CD Democratic Primary (won by John Baldacci) 1996 Candidate, Democratic Primary, U.S. Senate (won by Joe Brennan) 2000 Candidate, State Senate District 10 (clean election) 2002-04 Dixmont Democratic Party Town Chair 2004 Dixmont Caucus Convener 2004 Kucinich Alternate, Maine Democratic Convention 2004-2005 Founding Board Member, Maine Progressive Caucus 2004-Now Member, Progressive Democrats of America 1996-Now Member, Penobscot County Democratic Committee 1994-2000 Political Columnist, Aroostook Democrat (Roger Roy, editor) 2002-2003 Political Columnist, Bangor Broadside (David Walsh, editor) Books (all currently available on Amazon.com) 1996 Proud to Be a Card-Carrying, Flag-Waving, Patriotic American Liberal 2002 A Tale of Dirty Tricks So Bizarre: Susan Collins v. Public Record 2003 Meanwhile Next Door to the Good Life Job History 1966-67 Front Office, Belinda Hospital, Ventura, California 1968-69 Admissions, Gulfport Memorial Hospital, Gulfport, Mississippi 1970-71 Editorial Assistant, Providence Journal, South County office 1972-79 Homesteader, Harborside, Maine 1975-85 Reporter, Bureau Chief, Columnist, Bangor Daily News 1984-92 Organic Farmer, Hay's Farm Stand, Blue Hill, Maine 1993 Legislative Assistant, Congressman Tom Andrews 1997-98 Student, University of Maine, Orono (graduated 1998) 1998-99 Managing Editor, The Enterprise weekly newspaper, Bucksport 1999 Marketing Manger, Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine 2001-02 Commercial Sales, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Albion, Maine 1999-Now Organic Farmer, BrightBerry Farm, Dixmont, Maine Memberships Maine Progressive Caucus (Board member 2004-2005) MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) (Board Member 1988-89) (Certified Organic Grower since 1987) National Organization for Women (NOW) American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU since 1988) Peace & Justice Center, Bangor Unitarian Universalist Church, Ellsworth Maine Media Women Good Life Center Board of Stewards, Harborside Maine, 1995-2003 Other Age: 58 Husband: David Bright (2nd marriage) Two grown children, two grown step-children Born: Youngstown, Ohio, daughter of a steelworker Moved to Maine: 1972 Attended: Youngstown University, Youngstown, Ohio 1965-1966 University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, 1968-1969 Graduated: University of Maine, Orono 1998 Bachelor of University Studies (with a focus on Journalism) :: back to top
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