07/13/2026
Maine politics and history buffs take note! This Friday at 5 we welcome Douglas Rooks to discuss his new biography, Transformational: Ken Curtis, Maine’s Reform Governor. Ken Curtis was Maine’s governor from 1967 to 1975, during a time of war abroad,upheaval at home, and the disruption of
longstanding social and partisan
arrangements in state and national politics.
Under Curtis’s stewardship, these conflicts
prompted a large-scale, creative revisioning
of state government with strong bipartisan
support. Though Curtis never commanded a
legislative majority, the breadth and
durability of his achievements during a
critical time of change in our country offer
profound lessons from his time for our own.
At 35, the nation’s youngest governor, Curtis
truly worked across the aisle and sought out
those with differing views to work on policy
together to move Maine forward. Among his
accomplishments are the creation of the
University of Maine System, introducing a
state income tax to support financing Maine
schools, reorganizing State offices,
introducing new State agencies, and
establishing Cabinet departments to assign
responsibility of tasks to dedicated chains of
command. These include the Departments of
Conservation and Environmental Protection,
Indian Affairs, Economic Development,
Transportation, Mental Health and
Corrections. Curtis spearheaded creation of the Maine State Planning Office, Maine State Housing
Authority, the Maine Human Rights
Commission, the Commission on Aging, the
Bureau of Public Lands, the Maine Historic
Preservation Commissions.
