Rachel Talbot Ross

Rachel Talbot Ross is an American politician and activist. A Democrat from Portland, Talbot serves as the assistant Majority Leader of the Maine House of Representatives. When she was first elected in 2016, Talbot Ross was the first Black woman to serve in the Maine Legislature and the first Black legislative leader in Maine history. Talbot Ross represents District 40, consisting of the Parkside, Bayside, East Bayside, and Oakdale neighborhoods of Portland as well as the University of Southern Maine campus.

Rachel Talbot Ross
Member of the Maine House of Representatives for the 40th District
Assumed office
December 2016
Preceded byBen Chipman
Personal details
Born1961
Political partyDemocratic
ResidencePortland, Maine
Alma materAmerican University
Wesleyan University

Early life & education

Talbot Ross grew up in Portland with her father, Gerald Talbot, her mother Anita, and three sisters.[1][2] Gerald Talbot, a Maine lawmaker and civil rights leader, was the first person of color ever elected to the Maine Legislature, and Talbot Ross describes her family as being consistently involved in public service and civic action.[1]

Talbot Ross attended Wesleyan University and American University[3] and worked as the Director of Equal Opportunity and Multicultural Affairs for the City of Portland for 21 years.[4] She resigned in 2015 following a leave of absence.[5]

Talbot Ross also served as the president of the Portland branch of the NAACP.[6] The branch disbanded in 2013, but as of February 2021 Talbot Ross is working with other area leaders to reinstate the chapter.[7] She also helped direct the Maine Freedom Trails project, the first part of which opened in 2006,[8][9] and co-founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Fellows program with Portland city councilor Pious Ali, a youth-led racial justice program for high school students of color in Portland.[10][1]

Talbot Ross considers herself a prison abolitionist and has advocated for incarcerated individuals in Maine over the course of fifteen years.[11]

Political career
Rachel Talbot Ross

Talbot Ross was first elected to represent Maine House District 40 in 2016. She defeated Democrats Herbert Adams and Anna Kellar in the Democratic primary, and after Republican opponent Carol Taylor dropped out of the race in late September, Talbot Ross received 100% of the votes in the general election.[12]

In 2018, Talbot Ross was challenged in the House District 40 Democratic primary by former state representative Herb Adams,[3] but defeated him 75%-25%.[12] She faced no opponent in the general election and was therefore seated for a second term.[3]

Talbot Ross faced no opponents in either the primary or general elections in 2020.[12] On November 3, 2020, she won her third consecutive term representing House District 40.[6] Later that month, the House Democrats unanimously elected Talbot Ross to be to be the House assistant majority leader, making her the first Black person in a legislative leadership position in Maine history.[6]

Talbot Ross has served on the Judiciary, Health & Human Services,[6] and Criminal Justice & Public Safety committees,[13] as well as the Maine State Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.[3] She is the chair of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Population, which she helped write legislation to create in 2019,[6] and is currently a member of the Legislative Council.[14]

Awards & honors
  • 2006 EqualityMaine Bayard Rustin award for collaborative movement-building[15]
  • 2009 Roger Baldwin award, Maine Civil Liberties Union[16]
  • 2014 Deborah Morton Award, University of New England[17]
  • 2020 Gerda Haas award from the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine for work on human rights reforms[18]
  • 2020 Emerge Maine Woman of the Year[14]

Electoral history
2016 Maine House District 40 Democratic Primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rachel Talbot Ross 199 37.8%
Democratic Herbert Adams 171 32.5%
Democratic Anna Kellar 156 29.7
Total votes 526 100.0%


2016 Maine House District 40 General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rachel Talbot Ross 3,156 100.0%
Republican Carol Taylor[lower-alpha 1] 0 100.0%
Total votes 3,156 100.0%
Democratic hold


2018 Maine House District 40 Democratic Primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rachel Talbot Ross 811 75.7%
Democratic Herbert Adams 260 24.3
Total votes 1,071 100.0%
2018 Maine House District 40 General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rachel Talbot Ross 3,134 85.7%
Independent Write-in candidates 523 14.3%
Total votes 3,657 100.0%
Democratic hold
2020 Maine Maine House District 40 General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rachel Talbot Ross 3,885 100.0%
Total votes 3,885 100.0%
Democratic hold

Notes
  1. Taylor dropped out of the race too late to be removed from the general election ballot.

References
  1. Paradysz, Amy (29 January 2019). "Rachel Talbot Ross, Maine House of Representatives (District 40)". Maine Women Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  2. Hartill, Daniel (11 September 2019). "USM honors Gerald Talbot, Maine's first African-American legislator, with Talbot Fellow". University of Southern Maine. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  3. Gray, Megan (31 May 2018). "Herb Adams challenging Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross in District 40 Democratic primary". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  4. Busby, Chris (19 December 2005). "Affirmative inaction". The Bollard. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  5. "Portland Director of Multicultural Affairs to Resign". Maine Public. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  6. Thistle, Scott (4 January 2021). "Ascension to legislative leadership is bittersweet for Talbot Ross". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  7. Flaherty, Nora (19 January 2021). "Maine NAACP Looks To Reopen Portland Chapter". Maine Public. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  8. du Houx, Ramona (2008). "Portland, Maine Freedom Trail unveils three more historic markers". Maine Insights. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  9. Tompkins, Asha (29 October 2018). "The Portland Freedom Trail". Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  10. Adan, Abukar (16 January 2018). "Mainers Celebrate Legacy Of Martin Luther King Jr". Maine Public. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  11. James, Samuel (6 June 2019). "Perspective: Chatting with Rep. Talbot Ross on jails, racism, and a legacy of doing what's right". Maine Beacon. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  12. "Rachel Ross". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  13. "Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross to serve as Assistant House Majority Leader". Amjambo Africa. 13 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  14. "Representative Rachel Talbot Ross". Maine House Democrats. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. "EqualityMaine Foundation 22nd Annual Awards Banquet". Equality News (Summer 2006). p. 8. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  16. "MCLU Honors Rachel Talbot Ross". ACLU.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  17. "The Deborah Morton Society: Award Recipients". University of New England. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  18. "Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross is the 2020 Recipient of HHRC's Gerda Haas Award". Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  19. Editorial Board, Kennebec Journal (17 November 2020). "Our View: Rep. Talbot Ross reaches an important milestone". The Kennebec Journal. MaineToday Media. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
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