Andy O'Brien For House District 44

(Lincolnville, Searsmont, Morrill, Liberty, Islesboro, Appleton and Hope)

Rep. Andy O'Brien was born on a farm in Lincolnville and attended local schools before pursuing a bachelor's degree in history at Drew University in New Jersey.

From 2001 to 2007, he lived and worked in Taiwan as a teacher and political reporter.  In 2007, he returned to the U.S. to pursue a masters degree in education. Rep. O'Brien is currently in his second year of graduate school at the University of Southern Maine. When not in Augusta or in school, he works as a residential counselor, landscaper and freelance writer.

Rep. O'Brien currently serves on the Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Committee. In 2009 he amended a pesticide bill, which effectively set up a notification registry to be used by farmers applying aerial and air carrier pesticide methods to notify concerned citizens. The "say before you spray" law was strongly supported by the Maine Environmental Priorities Coalition.

In his first year Rep. O'Brien also sponsored legislation to set up a subcommittee of the Maine’s Children Growth Council that aimed to increase access to higher education for child care providers and also help students gain access to child care. Rep. O'Brien served on the working group, which released a report including 13 findings and recommendations about issues including how higher education and early childhood systems can support each other, how barriers to sustaining early childhood care and education can be overcome, and what state and federal funds are available for these purposes.

The report also recommended legislation that would require public institutions of higher education to solicit information on dependent child care expenses as part of information used to calculate financial aid.

Rep. O'Brien lives in Lincolnville.