The Oath Of Office

Representative Craig V. Hickman of Winthrop takes the Oath of Office on December 5, 2012 in the chamber of the Maine House of Representatives. Photo by Christine Johnson Higgins. For more photos of the swearing-in ceremonies, click here.

Elections Have Consequences

Elections have consequences. All over the great state of Maine and the United States, voters elected candidates who campaigned on protecting the middle and working classes by allowing the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest among us to expire. The President of the United States was one of these candidates. Compromise is required, but it's time to stop playing politics with people's lives. We the people sent our representatives to Washington to address our nation's challenging finances with common sense. Restoring tax rates on the most wealthy to a time when the nation looked prosperity in the face makes sense. Protecting the services that prevent our most vulnerable citizens from becoming destitute makes sense. We must simply ask our representatives to do the work of the people without drama or delay.

—Rep. Craig Hickman, Winthrop, Maine

From the Bottom of My Heart

If you had told me as recently as three years ago that I would be elected to serve the good people of Winthrop and Readfield in the Maine House Representatives, I would have said you were dreaming.

I’ve pinched myself over and over again and, yes, it’s still true: the good people of Winthrop and Readfield have voted to send me to Augusta. Which is exactly what the official greeting above that came in the mail yesterday proclaims.

I can’t thank you enough. I congratulate Scott Davis for running a positive campaign and wish him and his family all the best. I thank Representative and Senator-elect Pat Flood for his extraordinary service over the last eight years and wish him well in his new office.

As your state representative, I hope to make a real difference. I will do my best.

It’s been three weeks since the election and I still experience spontaneous outbursts of laughter. Sheer joy comes in waves.

Image from Americans Who Tell The Truth

In 1972, Gerald E. Talbot, activist, historian, archivist, and author, became the first African American elected to the Maine House of Representatives. In 1977, he became Maine’s first lawmaker to sponsor legislation upholding the civil rights of all Mainers. He also ushered through to passage a bill to remove the word “nigger” from 12 Maine place-names, including Nigger Hill Winthrop, known today as the Metcalf Road.

In December 2008, thirty years after Talbot’s storied legislative career ended, he squeezed my elbow in the Chamber of the House of Representatives following the Electoral College ceremony to elect the nation’s first African American President.

“Someday,” Talbot said matter-of-factly, “you’re going to be sitting in one of those chairs.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t so sure. Well—here we are. His words have come to pass. And I’m still stunned.

On Tuesday, November 27, when dropping off forms at the State House, I received my first piece of mail. It was a hand-written card from Representative Talbot.

Emotion crashed over me like surf.

Without your overwhelming support, I’d never have received this extraordinary opportunity. This tremendous honor. I can’t thank you enough.

Father & Son 2001

Surely, my father, the late Hazelle Hickman, is dancing a jig in heaven. My mother is bragging all around her nursing home in Milwaukee. My biological father is celebrating in Florida and my birth mother is cheering in Georgia.



To my biological great grandmother, my birth mother's paternal grandmother, Madree Penn White, Howard University graduate and co-founder of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, poet, publisher, and small business owner—this one’s for you.

Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Legislature of the State of Maine will be sworn in on Wednesday, the fifth of December at ten o’clock in the morning. The proceedings are free and open to the public. I invite you to join me in this historic occasion.

I am most humbled.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Take care of your blessings.

Elected

The voters of Readfield and Winthrop just elected me to the Maine House of Representatives with 2,915 votes. Scott Davis, who ran a positive campaign, finished with 2,057 votes.

I'm beside myself.

Surely, my father is dancing a jig in heaven. My mother wants pictures so she can brag about it at her nursing home in Milwaukee. My biological father is dancing a jig in Florida. My birth mother is cheering in Georgia.

I can't yet describe what it means to me. Now, my eyes won't stop raining.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Credo

Click image to enlarge

I believe in growing things,

and in the things

which have grown and died

magnificently.

I believe in people

and in the simple aspects

of human life,

and in the relation of man

to nature.

I believe man

must be free,

both in spirit and society,

that he must

build strength into himself,

affirming the

enormous beauty of the world

and acquiring

the confidence to see

and to express

his vision.

—Ansel Adams

::

I was adopted by strong, proud, God-fearing, hard-working parents who faced discrimination and struggled to put food on the table for their children. Still, they taught us that we have a moral obligation to share what we have with those who have even less. That we must humbly serve our communities.

Every single day, I work tirelessly for the people to try and make this community a better place. We need policies in Augusta to enhance this work: less regulation on family farms and small businesses; a comprehensive food policy ensuring all people—especially children, veterans, and seniors—have access to wholesome food; energy policy that protects our precious natural resources; investments in education, infrastructure, and worker training. We must lift people up, make work pay a wage you can raise a family on, and grow the middle class.

I’d like to plant the seeds for this vision in the Maine House.

I humbly ask for your vote.

I’ll keep working hard for you.

Every single day.

::

Hickman is the son of a Tuskegee Airman and a wise woman. He’s also a Harvard graduate, President of the Rotary Club of the Winthrop Area, National Poetry Slam champion, award-winning author, chef, and founder of Craig Hickman’s Tennis Blog. He grows the best collards, tomatoes, okra, beets and butternut squash around. People call his eggs magic. He’ll bring his unparalleled passion for life and his strong, independent voice to Augusta to fight for the people of Maine and move us toward prosperity.

Endorsements

OneMaine
Professional Fire Fighters of Maine
MSEA-SEIU Local 1989
Maine Conservation Voters
Maine Education Association
EqualityMaine
Maine AFL-CIO

Hickman Epitomizes a Productive Community Member

"As a very conservative person, my politics more often than not fall on the Republican side of issues. Trying to separate the person from the politics is difficult. I never knew who Craig Hickman was until my wife told me that she bought eggs from his farm. I knew Craig's farm better than I knew him. My uncle married the daughter of one of its previous occupants so I spent a fair amount of time helping out there when I wasn't busy on the Cobb Farm. It wasn't until I read an essay in the local paper that I wondered who Craig Hickman really was. The essay was about closing the local hot meal kitchen. My grandmother Marion Cobb cooked in the hot meal kitchen since its inception until she physically could no longer help. In response, Craig opened his farm and his kitchen to anyone that was hungry and had no idea where the next meal was coming from. I knew Grandma would have done the same. By transcending the politics of a church that he doesn't even belong to, he created a ripple effect that ultimately resulted in the reopening of the hot meal kitchen. My grandmother would be proud of Craig. We have since become friends and he is proving to be a selfless individual with his time and efforts. He epitomizes a productive community member. I am proud to know him. He has my vote."

— Justin Cobb, Winthrop