By Michael Shepherd - Sept. 28, 2023
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up.

After a long search, Maine's major business group has a new leader. A member of a well-known family who advised former Gov. Paul LePage on energy policies — but isn't much like his old boss — will be the next leader of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.

Patrick Woodcock, who led the governor’s energy office from 2013 to 2016 and recently served in a similar Massachusetts position, will take over as the chamber’s new leader on Monday, according to a message to chamber members from leadership.

“Patrick is a trusted and respected consensus builder, and widely recognized for his ability to broker compromises on policy work at both the state and federal level,” Luann Ballesteros, the chamber board’s chair and a senior leader at The Jackson Laboratory, wrote.

Woodcock will hope to provide stability at the top of Maine’s largest industry group. Longtime leader Dana Connors retired at the end of 2022, and Julia Munsey, his replacement as CEO, lasted only a few months before resigning due to personal reasons in June. The search was a long one and the episode led to some anxiety for members of the mammoth 100-person board.

That's because a few months is a long time to go without a permanent leader at a large organization like the chamber, which lobbies on behalf of a wide and complex constituency of 5,000 businesses in Augusta. It works closely with governors and the congressional delegation.

The chamber is conservative on economic issues, often leading the fight against Democratic efforts to increase the minimum wage and boost unions. But it also supports initiatives aimed at growing the workforce by supporting immigrants, which has drawn criticism from hard-line conservatives.

Since Gov. Janet Mills and Democrats took control of Augusta in the 2018 election, the chamber has maintained a significant level of influence. It worked with Mills to craft a paid leave compromise with progressives in 2019, although it broke with the governor before she signed a sweeping paid family and medical leave program into law this year.

Though he worked for the stridently conservative LePage, Woodcock is in line with the center-right orientation of the chamber. He was respected across party lines in that role and later worked under moderate former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. Woodcock left his position as commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources there after Democrat Maura Healey succeeded Baker.

Patrick Woodcock’s father, John A. Woodcock Jr., is a semi-retired federal judge who was born in Bangor to a prominent doctor. The family has produced more attorneys and others who have been active in civic life. Many of the chamber's members will already know the younger Woodcock well, and he won't alienate many .

That goes a long way in a state with a small number of large companies whose leaders prioritize close personal relationships. Woodcock will need to balance that constituency with progress in an Augusta that is still dominated by Democrats with the major paid leave program coming online. It's a hard job, but board members I've talked to this morning think Woodcock is a good pick.