SKOWHEGAN — Incumbent state Rep. Jeff McCabe will be challenged by former firefighter and ordained Christian minister Deril V. Stubenrod for the newly numbered House District 107 in the November elections.

McCabe, 36, a Democrat and director of Lake George Regional Park in Skowhegan and Canaan, is seeking his fourth term in the Maine House of Representatives, where he is assistant majority leader. Stubenrod, 44, who worked as a public safety communications officer with the Department of Defense at the Naval Air Station in Brunswick from 2006 to 2009, is seeking his first political office.

The district serves all of Skowhegan as House District 85. After the election, the winner will represent District 107, which also includes the Somerset County Jail in East Madison.

Maine law requires that legislative district maps be updated every decade based on population changes. Using 2010 Census data, the new plan reflects changes in Maine’s population distribution.

McCabe said House District 85 was 100-200 voters short of mandated capacity for a House district, so the county jail was added as a population block, which adds 231 residents. Such changes are not uncommon, with streets or sections of one town designated as part of one district while their neighbors are assigned to another district.

Originally from Rochester N.Y., Stubenrod earned a General Education Development diploma at age 20 in 1989 in Maryland after injuries kept him from attending regular high school classes. He attended Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield in 1992, earning an emergency medical technician’s license.

Advertisement

He was ordained in 2010 and volunteers at Trinity Evangelical Free Church and homeless shelter in Skowhegan. Stubenrod was awarded an honorary doctorate in divinity from World Christianship Ministries in Fresno, Calif.

Stubenrod was a firefighter in Waterville in 1991-92 and in Clinton from 1992 to 2000 and later worked in private security in 2001-03. He married in 2003 and he and his wife, Patty, have two school-age children.

During his tenure in the Maine Legislature, McCabe worked with the state’s congressional delegation to protect jobs at the New Balance Athletic Shoe factory in Skowhegan.

For the past four years, McCabe has served on the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, most recently as the ranking minority member. During his time on the committee, McCabe worked for bipartisan legislation to protect the Maine woods from harmful invasive species and helped lead negotiations on reforming the Land Use Regulation Commission. McCabe, a registered Maine Guide, is also the former executive director of the Somerset County Soil and Water Conservation District.

He is a past member of the Skowhegan Planning Board and Budget Committee, Skowhegan Conservation Commission, Western Mountains Alliance, Kennebec Valley Tourism Council and Somerset Woods Trustees.

McCabe is a 2000 graduate of Unity College, where he received a bachelor of science degree in environmental education. He resides in Skowhegan with his wife, Sara, and their two young children.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367 dharlow@centralmaine.com Twitter: @Doug_Harlow


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.