Janet T. Mills

Janet Mills
55th and 57th Attorney General of Maine
Incumbent
Assumed office January 7, 2013
Governor	Paul LePage
Preceded by	William Schneider
In office January 6, 2009 – January 6, 2011
Governor	John Baldacci
Preceded by	Steven Rowe
Succeeded by	William Schneider
Personal details
Born	(1947-12-30) December 30, 1947 Farmington, Maine, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Massachusetts, Boston University of Maine, Portland

Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947, in Farmington, Maine) is the Attorney General of the US state of Maine. She was first elected by the Maine State Legislature on January 6, 2009, succeeding G. Steven Rowe. Her second term began on January 3, 2013, after the term of Republican William Schneider. She is the first woman to hold the position of State Attorney General in Maine. Prior to her election, she served in the Maine House of Representatives representing the towns of Farmington and Industry.

Political career

Mills was elected to the Board of Directors of the Maine Women's Lobby in 1998.

In 2002, Mills was elected to the Maine House of Representatives as a Democrat. During this time, she served on the Committees of Judiciary, Criminal Justice, and Appropriations. She had been elected to her fourth term when the Joint Convention convened in December 2008 to elect the new Attorney General. Out of several candidates, Mills was elected and became the 55th Attorney General of Maine on January 6, 2009. When Republicans gained control of the Maine Legislature in 2010, Mills, a Democrat, was not reelected to another term. In January 2011, she was elected vice chair of the Maine Democratic Party in January 2011. She joined the law firm Preti Flaherty in February 2011 as a lawyer with the firm's Litigation Group in its Augusta, Maine office. When Democrats regained control of the Legislature in the 2012 elections, she was again chosen to be Attorney General, resigned as vice chair of the Maine Democratic Party, and took the oath of office as Attorney General on January 7, 2013. She was re-elected to her position on December 3, 2014, despite the Maine Senate coming under Republican control.

Republican Governor Paul LePage is opposed to Mills being Attorney General, due to many disputes between them over the legality of some of LePage's policies. On January 28, 2015, LePage requested that the Maine Supreme Judicial Court give its opinion as to whether it is legal for the Governor's office to need the permission of the Attorney General's office to retain outside counsel when the AG declines to represent the State in a legal matter. LePage did so after two instances of Mills declining to represent LePage in matters which she determined had little legal merit, though she approved his requests to have outside lawyers.

Personal life

Mills was married to Stanley Kuklinski, with whom she has five stepdaughters and three grandsons. Kuklinski died due to the effects of a stroke on September 24, 2014. She resides in Farmington, Maine. She is also the sister of Peter Mills, the former Maine State Senator and gubernatorial candidate.

External links

• Harrison, Judy, "Janet Mills takes oath as Maine’s first female AG", Bangor Daily News, January 6, 2009

Legal offices
Preceded by Steven Rowe	Attorney General of Maine 2009–2011	Succeeded by William Schneider
Preceded by William Schneider	Attorney General of Maine 2013–present	Incumbent