Farmington family member Peter Mills was in town for a “Coffee Chat” with local Kingfield and Carrabassett residents. (David Hart photo) KINGFIELD –- Republican senator Peter Mills is on the campaign trail for governor and spent a day in Franklin County on Saturday, Dec. 5.

He started his day enjoying the Chester Greenwood parade before coming to the office of the Irregular. From there he met with a handful of Kingfield and Carrabassett Valley residents at the Orange Cat Café before a lager group of listeners greeted him at Judson’s that evening.

Mills was born in Farmington and graduated from Gorham High School. His father served the state as a U.S. Attorney forcing the move to Gorham. As the oldest of five siblings, Mills went on to Harvard while his family moved back to Farmington and his siblings graduated from Mt. Blue High School.

Mills had a navy scholarship and spent five years on board navy destroyers during the Viet Nam era from 1965 to 1970. While serving in the navy, he earned a Naval Achievement Medal and later a Commendation Medal for his intelligence missions against the Soviets.

The Republican went to law school at University of Maine with his first wife in the early 70s.

Mills practiced law in Portland for nine years and helped raise three of his children.

In 1982 he moved to Skowhegan and married Nancy who went on to become a Superior Court Justice. He currently resides in Cornville where he spends much of his time managing his own woodlot.

“I was 51 years old when I decided to run for a seat in the Senate,” the 66-year-old senator said.

The gubernatorial candidate said he took office as a senator for two years for a newly formed district in Somerset County. “I ran in 1994 and spent eight straight years in the senate and was termed out,” he said. He then went to the House of Representatives for one term, and returned to the senate thereafter. Mills is currently in his third term back in the senate.

“It’s easy to think about it as 15 years of legislative experience which is 15 years more than anybody else in the Republican Primary added together. I’ve been there,” he explained. “Why they are trying to be governor without any understanding of what the job entails is way beyond me. That’s the real question.”

Mills grandfather was in the House and Senate back in 1903 and went on to become a lawyer by reading law and never actually going to law school. He came to Farmington where he met his wife whose family dates far back in Farmington history books.

He and the second oldest sibling, David Mills, own a farm along the Sandy River that dates back to 1794 under family ownership.

The next oldest sibling is his sister Janet Mills who is also a lawyer, former legislator and currently the Maine State Attorney General. The next youngest is Paul Mills who took over the family practice in Farmington which his grandfather started in 1911.

“The fifth sibling is Dora who’s 17 years younger then I am,” he explained. Dr. Dora Anne Mills is director of the Maine Bureau of Health and Maine’s chief health officer. Mills said that ironically she and the rest of her staff were currently fighting off the H1N1 virus.

Mills chuckled by saying that based on their own medical protocol, they were not eligible for the vaccine themselves. “That’s a story in itself,” he said. Hundreds of thousands doses of the vaccine have gone through Dr. Mill’s Maine Center for Disease Control office.

Mills said that he and his brothers and sisters get together often and “political gossip” often is the discussion around the table. “They are rigorous discussions. I would not call them a debate though. With our family the biggest challenge is fighting for air time.”

Mills said when growing up, his parents were big talkers and dominated the dinning room discussion. Now it’s all five kids who have no trouble saying their piece.

Mills, who ran for governor three years ago in a tight race, said his return to the Senate was when he decided he wanted to be Governor. “I like to write legislation, I like to argue for legislation. I like to debate. I like to be judgmental on the policy making aspect of it. I like it all. I am good at it all,” Mills explained. “I am the person who people go to in the state legislature to get a bill written, passed or fought for. I get lobbied more heavily then any other member of the legislature. It’s hard to sometimes get to the bathroom because I can not get down the hall. It’s a thrilling experience for me and I like every bit of it.”

With all his experience, Mills says there’s one thing that’s lacking in Augusta.

Responsible management is a driving force and a reason why Mills said he wants to be chief executive. He said he’s not seen that in the 15 years he’s been legislator. He said he’s the only one running for governor with that message. “You need to hire people with managerial expertise.” State agencies and programs need practical management practices applied to them that are in some ways no different from the practices of capitalism, he explained.

Mills said that he would do similar things as in the business world like audit state agencies based on not necessarily financial but performance standards.

Watch ahead for Mills’ views on what’s needed from the next chief executive and how he says he can be the one to make a difference in Maine’s future.