Matt Dunlap (D-ME-Senate)
Matt Dunlap
Campaign links: Matt Dunlap (D-ME-Senate) 
Matthew Gordon “Matt” Dunlap
Matt Dunlap Senatorial Candidate Maine
Biography of Matt Dunlap from Dunlap for Senate
Born and raised in coastal Maine, Matt Dunlap grew up on a saltwater farm in Town Hill, just outside of Bar Harbor. His parents, Robert and Susan Dunlap, ran the Dunlap Pottery and the Dunlap Weavers along with the farm for many years. The youngest of five children, Dunlap worked with his siblings on the farm, at the pottery, and in the textile mill to help pay for college.
Like many Mainers, Matt Dunlap has worked in a wide diversity of occupations. Aside from his work at the Dunlap Weavers as a finisher and weaver, he worked for many years in the food service industry—in capacities ranging from dishwasher to waiter to bartender to cook—in restaurants on the Maine coast and in the Bangor area. He has also worked extensively as an administrator, editor, writer, and teacher, as well as a volunteer on many local boards and non-profit organizations. Working to make life better for his neighbors, he was a founder of Maine’s Youth Fish and Game Association, and has served on the vestry of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Old Town.
While working two full-time jobs, Dunlap was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1996, and represented Old Town for four terms. As House Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, he was a leader in the fight for the protection of our natural resources. He was also a leader in the development of the Office of Program Evaluation and Governmental Accountability to ensure that our state tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively.
Elected by the Legislature to serve as Maine’s 47th Secretary of State, he oversaw the modernization of the department’s electronic delivery of services to the public. In 2010, under his direction, Maine’s implementation of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act was the swiftest and most effective in the country, enabling military personnel and others abroad rapid and secure access to Maine’s voting process.
He has been recognized by a broad spectrum of organizations for his work, including the New England Organ Donor Bank, Maine Audubon, the Maine League of Conservation Voters, Maine Merchant’s Association, Informed Notaries of Maine, the Maine Civil Liberties Union, the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, and the Maine Chapter of the American Association for Public Administration, who named him Maine’s Public Administrator of the Year in 2008.
Matt Dunlap was educated in Maine, and went through the Bar Harbor school system. After graduating from Mt. Desert Island High School, where he was a captain of the track team, he earned degrees in history and English from the University of Maine. He also completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University.
Dunlap resides in Old Town with his wife, Michelle and their daughter, Emily.
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