"Win" Edwin Mitchell for maine senate

Born Here. Worked Here. Served Here.

I was born in June 1966 at St. Andrews Hospital in Boothbay Harbor and raised on Southport Island. I grew up in the Methodist Church in Southport, working summers on the water and learning early the value of hard work, responsibility, and community.

Like a lot of kids here, I fished lobster through my youth and high school, worked commercial docks in the lobster and shrimp trades, and deckhanded with my father on tugboats and marine construction jobs—building piers, bridges, and wharves across the coast.

This wasn’t just a job. It was a way of life.

Education, Leadership, and Life on the Water

I graduated from Boothbay Region High School in 1984—serving as senior class president, captain of the golf team, and manager of the basketball team (despite a complete inability to dribble).

At 18, I earned my Marine Science degree from Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute, along with my U.S. Coast Guard Master’s License (200 Tons, Oceans). For three years, I captained vessels up and down the Atlantic seaboard and into the Bahamas, working in sport fishing and vessel delivery.

But Maine was home.

Protecting Maine’s Waters

In 1988, I returned to Maine and joined the Department of Marine Resources as a Marine Patrol Specialist. After graduating from the first combined Marine Patrol / Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Criminal Justice Academy, I spent the next 12 years enforcing Maine’s fisheries laws and protecting our coast.

My service included:

• Southwest Harbor: lobster and scallop fisheries

• Wiscasset: the Sheepscot and Kennebec estuaries, clamming, worming, and recreational fishing

• Boothbay Harbor: fisheries enforcement, search and rescue, drug interdiction

I also oversaw and managed the construction of four new patrol vessels during my tenure.

Family, Faith, and Community

In 1992, I married my wife Lori Mitchell of Barters Island. In 1996, I was raised to the Third Degree in the Masonic Seaside Lodge #144—a commitment to service I still carry today.

Building Businesses the Maine Way

In 2000, I retired from Marine Patrol and entered the world of small business and entrepreneurship. Over the years, I’ve worked as a certified logging professional, lobsterman, and sawmill owner/operator.

Looking for our next challenge, Lori and I rebuilt and managed Robinson’s Wharf and Lobster Pound from 2004–2006.

In 2006, we purchased a run-down 1950s roadside cabins property and began building what would become the Boothbay Craft Brewery & Tavern—literally using trees we milled ourselves. “Beams to Brewery” wasn’t a slogan; it was how we built it.

Over 20 years, we’ve grown that property into a successful business and transitioned the cabins into a boutique RV resort.

Giving Back

I’ve always believed that if you make your living here, you owe something back.

• Board Member, Maine Brewers’ Guild (2009–2013)

• Board Member, Boothbay Region Chamber of Commerce (2010–2012)

Why I’m Running

I’m running for State Senate because Maine needs practical leadership grounded in real experience—not party labels. I’ve worked the water, enforced the law, built businesses, and met payroll. I understand what policies mean on the ground, not just on paper.

This campaign isn’t about politics.

It’s about Maine—and keeping it working for the people who live here.