Press Herald profiles Maine 'treasure' Sawin Millett '59

The Portland Press Herald profiles Sawin Millett ’59, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services. Reporter Susan Cover starts her profile by noting that Millett, a Maine native, is an avid baseball fan who roots for the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat the Red Sox in the 1946 World Series. “I was so impressed with the way Stan Musial not only performed on the field, but conducted himself,” Millett tells Cover. “He was an absolute gentleman.”

So is Millett, writes Cover, who quotes Maine political leaders from both sides of the aisle.

“Maine can only be better because of his involvement.”

A career educator and educational administrator, Millett has also long served in the Legislature as a Republican from Waterford. Now, he is “the public face of [Maine’s] $6.1 billion, two-year budget,” Cover writes, “a controversial proposal that has angered state workers and teachers because of proposed pension reforms…. Through it all, Millett has remained unflappable as he’s fielded questions from lawmakers or taken criticism from affected groups.”

During confirmation hearings, a representative of the Maine Association for Community Service Providers said that “Sawin is truly a treasure for the state, and we are delighted that he has this opportunity to continue to contribute. Maine can only be better because of his involvement.”

Millett credits his parents (both Howard’34 and Marguerite Millett ’36 were Bates graduates) with instilling in him a sense of duty when it comes to public service. “I took a lot of my career-goal setting from my dad,” he said. “I wanted to get involved in town government. I wanted to get involved in administration.” View story from The Portland Press Herald, March 24, 2011.