James B. Longley, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJames B. Longley
American politician
Date of Birth: 22-Apr-1924
Place of Birth: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Date of Death: 16-Aug-1980
Profession: politician
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Taurus 
About James B. Longley
- James Bernard Longley Sr.
- (April 22, 1924 – August 16, 1980) was an American politician.
- He served as the 69th Governor of Maine from 1975 to 1979, and was the first Independent to hold the office.
- In 1949, he married the former Helen Angela Walsh, who died on September 13, 2005.
- They had five children, including former Republican U.S.
- Representative James B.
- Longley Jr.
- (born 1951).
- Longley Sr., a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, resided in Lewiston and Auburn, Maine. The owner of a successful insurance agency in Lewiston, Longley got his first opportunity in statewide politics when then-Governor Kenneth M.
- Curtis asked him to lead a state government commission called The Maine Management and Cost Survey Commission, which was intended to make government more efficient, and cut costs.
- After some initial reluctance, Longley accepted the position and pursued the job with vigor.Longley made several recommendations that were projected to save the state in excess of $24 million.
- One of his major proposals included restructuring the Maine university system, which he felt was grossly inefficient.
- His work at the commission gave him a prominent statewide profile, something he decided to try to turn into an electoral mandate when Governor Curtis retired in 1974. Longley had been a lifelong Democrat, but due to earning a maverick reputation acting in a non-partisan role on the cost-cutting commission and because he inadvertently missed the filing deadline for party candidates in the gubernatorial election, he ran as an independent.
- Some Maine observers believed he knew he would be unable to beat both former Edmund Muskie adviser George J.
- Mitchell and state Senator Joseph E.
- Brennan in a Democratic primary, causing him not to file with the party.
- He ran on the slogan "Think About It," a phrase he often used with insurance customers to get them to consider his products.
- He had been endorsed by the Bangor Daily News.As Governor, Longley issued 118 vetoes, a record that stood until Paul LePage vetoed 624 bills.
- Longley holds the record for having the most vetoes overridden by the Legislature in a single term (64).Longley is still notable in Maine politics for having a reputation for making off-the-cuff abrasive comments.
- He once referred to state legislators as "pimps".
- Other Maine governors who are seen as having a similar style are sometimes compared to Longley, such as LePage.Longley promised during his campaign that he would serve only one term, and he did not run for re-election in 1978. Longley died of cancer on August 16, 1980, and was interred at Mount Hope Cemetery in Lewiston.
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