Rachel Talbot Ross

Rachel Talbot Ross is an American politician and activist. A Democrat from Portland, Talbot has been the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives since December 2022. When she was first elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2016, Talbot Ross became the first Black woman to serve in the Maine Legislature. Talbot Ross represents District 40, consisting of the Parkside, Bayside, East Bayside, and Oakdale neighborhoods of Portland as well as the University of Southern Maine campus. She became Maine's first African-American House Speaker, and the highest-ranking African-American politician in Maine history, when she was elected speaker on December 7, 2022.^[1]

Rachel Talbot Ross
104th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office December 7, 2022
Preceded by	Ryan Fecteau
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office December 7, 2022
Preceded by	Chad Wayne Grignon
Constituency	118th district
In office December 7, 2016 – December 7, 2022
Preceded by	Ben Chipman
Succeeded by	Stanley Zeigler
Constituency	40th district
Personal details
Born	1961 (age 62–63)
Political party	Democratic
Parent	Gerald Talbot
Education	American University Wesleyan University

Early life and education

Talbot Ross grew up in Portland with her father, Gerald Talbot, her mother Anita, and three sisters.^[2][3] Her father, who also served as a Maine lawmaker and civil rights leader, was the first person of color ever elected to the Maine Legislature, and Talbot Ross describes her family as being consistently involved in public service and civic action. She is a ninth-generation Maine resident.^[2]

Talbot Ross attended Wesleyan University and American University^[4] and worked as the Director of Equal Opportunity and Multicultural Affairs for the City of Portland for 21 years.^[5] She resigned in 2015 following a leave of absence.^[6]

She also served as the president of the Portland branch of the NAACP.^[7] The branch disbanded in 2013, but as of February 2021 Talbot Ross was working with other area leaders to reinstate the chapter.^[8] She also helped direct the Maine Freedom Trails project, the first part of which opened in 2006,^[9][10] and co-founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Fellows program with Portland city councilor Pious Ali, a youth-led racial justice program for high school students of color in Portland.^[11][2]

Talbot Ross considers herself a prison abolitionist and has advocated for incarcerated individuals in Maine over the course of fifteen years.^[12]

Political career

Rachel Talbot Ross

Talbot Ross was first elected to represent Maine House District 40 in 2016. She defeated Democrats Herbert Adams and Anna Kellar in the Democratic primary, and after Republican opponent Carol Taylor dropped out of the race in late September, Talbot Ross received 100% of the votes in the general election.^[13]

In 2018, Talbot Ross was challenged in the House District 40 Democratic primary by former state representative Herb Adams,^[4] but defeated him 75%-25%.^[13] She faced no opponent in the general election and was therefore seated for a second term.^[4]

Talbot Ross faced no opponents in either the primary or general elections in 2020.^[13] On November 3, 2020, she won her third consecutive term representing House District 40.^[7] Later that month, the House Democrats unanimously elected Talbot Ross to be the House assistant majority leader, making her the first Black person in a legislative leadership position in Maine history.^[7]

Talbot Ross has served on the Judiciary, Health & Human Services,^[7] and Criminal Justice & Public Safety committees,^[14] as well as the Maine State Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.^[4] She is the chair of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Population, which she helped write legislation to create in 2019,^[7] and is currently a member of the Legislative Council.^[15]

The 130th Maine legislature took up a bill proposed by Talbot Ross, "LD #2: An Act To Require the Inclusion of Racial Impact Statements in the Legislative Process," early in the regular session. It passed both the House and Senate on March 12, 2021, and on March 17, Governor Janet Mills signed it into law. The bill requires that new legislation in Maine be reviewed for its potential impact on traditionally marginalized populations.^[16][17] With the law's enactment, Maine became the eighth U.S. state with such a requirement.^[18]

With incumbent Speaker Ryan Fecteau term-limited, the Maine Democrats nominated Talbot Ross as Speaker on November 18, 2022. When the new legislature was sworn in on December 7, she was elected Speaker.^[1]

In February 2023, United States President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris honored Black State House speakers Chris Welch, Adrienne A. Jones, Joe Tate, Carl Heastie, and Talbot-Ross at a Black History Month ceremony at the White House.^[19]

Awards and honors

• 2006 EqualityMaine Bayard Rustin award for collaborative movement-building^[20]
• 2009 Roger Baldwin award, Maine Civil Liberties Union^[21]
• 2014 Deborah Morton Award, University of New England^[22]
• 2020 Gerda Haas award from the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine for work on human rights reforms^[23]
• 2020 Emerge Maine Woman of the Year^[15]

Electoral history

2016 Maine House District 40 Democratic Primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rachel Talbot Ross	199	37.8%
	Democratic	Herbert Adams	171	32.5%
	Democratic	Anna Kellar	156	29.7
Total votes			526	100.0%

2016 Maine House District 40 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rachel Talbot Ross	3,156	100.0%
	Republican	Carol Taylor[a]	0	0%
Total votes			3,156	100.0%
	Democratic hold

2018 Maine House District 40 Democratic Primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rachel Talbot Ross	811	75.7%
	Democratic	Herbert Adams	260	24.3
Total votes			1,071	100.0%

2018 Maine House District 40 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rachel Talbot Ross	3,134	85.7%
	Independent	Write-in candidates	523	14.3%
Total votes			3,657	100.0%
	Democratic hold

2020 Maine Maine House District 40 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rachel Talbot Ross	3,885	100.0%
Total votes			3,885	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Notes

1. Taylor dropped out of the race too late to be removed from the general election ballot.

References

1. Writer, Penelope OvertonStaff (2022-12-07). "Rachel Talbot Ross becomes first Black speaker of Maine House". Press Herald. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
2. Paradysz, Amy (29 January 2019). "Rachel Talbot Ross, Maine House of Representatives (District 40)". Maine Women Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
3. Hartill, Daniel (11 September 2019). "USM honors Gerald Talbot, Maine's first African-American legislator, with Talbot Fellow". University of Southern Maine. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
4. Gray, Megan (31 May 2018). "Herb Adams challenging Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross in District 40 Democratic primary". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
5. Busby, Chris (19 December 2005). "Affirmative inaction". The Bollard. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
6. "Portland Director of Multicultural Affairs to Resign". Maine Public. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
7. Thistle, Scott (4 January 2021). "Ascension to legislative leadership is bittersweet for Talbot Ross". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
8. Flaherty, Nora (19 January 2021). "Maine NAACP Looks To Reopen Portland Chapter". Maine Public. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
9. du Houx, Ramona (2008). "Portland, Maine Freedom Trail unveils three more historic markers". Maine Insights. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
10. Tompkins, Asha (29 October 2018). "The Portland Freedom Trail". Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
11. Adan, Abukar (16 January 2018). "Mainers Celebrate Legacy Of Martin Luther King Jr". Maine Public. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
12. James, Samuel (6 June 2019). "Perspective: Chatting with Rep. Talbot Ross on jails, racism, and a legacy of doing what's right". Maine Beacon. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
13. "Rachel Ross". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
14. "Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross to serve as Assistant House Majority Leader". Amjambo Africa. 13 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
15. "Representative Rachel Talbot Ross". Maine House Democrats. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
16. "Proposal to assess racial impact of laws approved in Maine". Associated Press. 20 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
17. Thistle, Scott (19 March 2021). "Governor signs bill requiring reviews of all legislation for racial impacts". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
18. Associated Press (3 February 2021). "Maine Lawmaker Wants Consideration of Racial Impact of Bills". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
19. Billings, Randy (28 February 2023). "Talbot Ross among Black leaders honored at White House ceremony". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
20. "EqualityMaine Foundation 22nd Annual Awards Banquet". Equality News. No. Summer 2006. p. 8. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
21. "MCLU Honors Rachel Talbot Ross". ACLU.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
22. "The Deborah Morton Society: Award Recipients". University of New England. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
23. "Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross is the 2020 Recipient of HHRC's Gerda Haas Award". Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

External links

• Media related to Rachel Talbot Ross at Wikimedia Commons
• Rep. Talbot Ross on Facebook
• Rep. Talbot Ross on Twitter
• June 3 speech, "Your statement of support is not enough", given at a protest in Portland, ME on June 3, 2020
• March 2019 Maine Public panel interview about hate, prejudice and discrimination in Maine

Political offices
Preceded by Ryan Fecteau	Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives 2022–present	Incumbent