About Phil Bartlett

Cub Scout Phil (left) visits the Maine State House.

Phil Bartlett was elected first elected to the Maine Senate by the voters of Gorham, Scarborough and Westbrook in 2004.  Elected at age 28, Bartlett continues to be the youngest member of the Maine Senate.  He chairs the Utilities and Energy Committee and serves on both the Natural Resources and Government Oversight Committees.  He also serves as the senate member of the HIV Advisory Committee.

Phil grew up in Gorham and attended Gorham public schools. He was actively involved in scouting throughout his youth, steadily working his way from a Cub scout through the ranks to Eagle scout. Scouting provided opportunities to visit the State House and meet the governor, to go camping on a regular basis, and most importantly, to learn the value of community service and civic leadership.

After graduating from Gorham High School in 1994, Phil went on to Tufts University. At Tufts, he majored in economics and political science, but most importantly, he met his wife, Susan. In 1998, Phil and Susan were married in Maine.

Susan Bartlett, who majored in English and completed the education program at Tufts, now teaches English at Greely High School in MSAD 51. In 2006 she obtained her master's degree in English composition from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

After graduating from Tufts, Phil spent the next three years at Harvard Law School. His love of economics and public policy led him to join the Harvard Journal on Legislation, for which he eventually served as president, and to teach introductory economics to Harvard undergraduates. He also obtained a fellowship to write a law and economics paper on incentives created by certain employment law statutes.

Phil, Susan and baby Abigail at home in Gorham.

After graduating from Harvard in 2001, Phil was admitted to practice law in Maine and Massachusetts. He moved back to Gorham and spent the next year clerking for Chief Justice Leigh Saufley of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Back home, Phil began writing for his local newspaper, the Gorham Times. He has served as president of the Gorham Historical Society as well as president of the Baxter Memorial Library Association. He currently serves on the board of the Gorham-Sebago Lake Regional Land Trust, and he has been appointed to board of the Gorham Economic Development Corporation, the Gorham Recreation Advisory Board and the Cumberland County Human Services Advisory Committee.  Phil is also a member of First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham.

In 2007, Phil and Susan became proud parents of Abigail Ann.  The Bartletts have three dogs:  Joe Pete, Miss Otis and Milton.