Meet Justin Chenette
Always on the job. Always in the community.

Senator Justin Chenette is serving as the youngest Senator in the Maine Senate where he represents Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Hollis, Limington, and part of Buxton. He is the ranking member of the Taxation Committee and sits on the Senate Committee on Conduct & Ethics. Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Justin served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives representing the City of Saco.
In 2012, Justin made history by becoming the nation’s youngest openly gay legislator and Maine's youngest lawmaker at age 21. The Advocate magazine named him “an architect of the next decade” and listed him among the 40 Under 40 most accomplished leaders throughout the country in 2013. While in the House, Justin was a member of the Criminal Justice & Public Safety Committee, State & Local Government Committee, and was co-chair of the Legislature's bipartisan youth caucus.
Justin founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit service organization, the Saco Bay Center for Civic Engagement, to increase volunteerism. Since 2013, the 'center' has invested close to $10,000 to advance arts education, connect homeless Veterans to job training, help students afford college, and improve the community. He is also President of Saco's downtown development organization Saco Main Street, Vice President of the Friends of the OOB Ballpark, and is a member of the Saco Bay Rotary Club, Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce, Saco Grange, and Buxton-Hollis Historical Society.
Justin has been honored by two U.S. Presidents for his community work. In 2008 by President George W. Bush and most recently in 2016 by President Barack Obama, each time receiving the gold level Volunteer Service Award.
He currently works as the Journal Tribune's Digital Advertising Executive, Saco Sport & Fitness's Marketing Coordinator, Ironman's Maine triathlon Volunteer Coordinator, and is also a small business owner, running his own marketing & public relations firm, Chenette Media LLC.
In 2012, Justin made history by becoming the nation’s youngest openly gay legislator and Maine's youngest lawmaker at age 21. The Advocate magazine named him “an architect of the next decade” and listed him among the 40 Under 40 most accomplished leaders throughout the country in 2013. While in the House, Justin was a member of the Criminal Justice & Public Safety Committee, State & Local Government Committee, and was co-chair of the Legislature's bipartisan youth caucus.
Justin founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit service organization, the Saco Bay Center for Civic Engagement, to increase volunteerism. Since 2013, the 'center' has invested close to $10,000 to advance arts education, connect homeless Veterans to job training, help students afford college, and improve the community. He is also President of Saco's downtown development organization Saco Main Street, Vice President of the Friends of the OOB Ballpark, and is a member of the Saco Bay Rotary Club, Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce, Saco Grange, and Buxton-Hollis Historical Society.
Justin has been honored by two U.S. Presidents for his community work. In 2008 by President George W. Bush and most recently in 2016 by President Barack Obama, each time receiving the gold level Volunteer Service Award.
He currently works as the Journal Tribune's Digital Advertising Executive, Saco Sport & Fitness's Marketing Coordinator, Ironman's Maine triathlon Volunteer Coordinator, and is also a small business owner, running his own marketing & public relations firm, Chenette Media LLC.

Justin’s political career began at 17 when Governor John Baldacci appointed him to serve on the Maine State Board of Education becoming its first student board member. He spent the following two summers interning at Saco City Hall. He was instrumental in re-establishing the Maine Young Democrats, a state affiliate of the Young Democrats of America, serving as its president for two years. While he was a National Delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention, he interned for Republican U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe prior to her retirement.
Justin has been a TV host, producer, reporter, and columnist for various media outlets including WPXT, WPME, FOX 23, KATV, CTN, Biddeford Access, Caledonian-Record, Courier, Portland Daily Sun, and the Vermont Center for Community Journalism. He is best known in Saco for his role managing TATV Channel 3 and hosting his own public affairs show while still in high school. He also served on the Society of Professional Journalists National Diversity Committee.
After attending Saco public schools, he graduated high school from Thornton Academy while taking a full semester of college courses at the University of Southern Maine. Justin earned a B.S. in Broadcast News and minors in both Political Science and Communications from Lyndon State College.
Justin lives in Saco with his husband Eduard, who works as an environmental engineer in Portland.
Justin has been a TV host, producer, reporter, and columnist for various media outlets including WPXT, WPME, FOX 23, KATV, CTN, Biddeford Access, Caledonian-Record, Courier, Portland Daily Sun, and the Vermont Center for Community Journalism. He is best known in Saco for his role managing TATV Channel 3 and hosting his own public affairs show while still in high school. He also served on the Society of Professional Journalists National Diversity Committee.
After attending Saco public schools, he graduated high school from Thornton Academy while taking a full semester of college courses at the University of Southern Maine. Justin earned a B.S. in Broadcast News and minors in both Political Science and Communications from Lyndon State College.
Justin lives in Saco with his husband Eduard, who works as an environmental engineer in Portland.
Full Biography Below
Education, Career, & Life Timeline
Early Life

Throughout Justin's life, community service has always been a centerpiece. This commitment to help others can be traced back to growing up in a Rotarian family. Both of his parents served as Rotary officers when Justin was young. Every week he would attend meetings and help out on service projects including Operation Christmas Child, organizing pancake breakfasts, and even attended the International Rotary Conference meeting it's president when he was a mere 11 years old.
Aside for playing on a Little League baseball team for 3 years, Justin applied the skills he was learning in Rotary into his Elementary and Middle Schools. In 5th grade, Justin was the student representative on the School Advisory Board where he successfully pushed for a school policy change adopting mandatory student uniforms. This was an effort to combat bullying based on socio-economic differences. He was even interviewed by a local TV station for his advocacy.
Aside for playing on a Little League baseball team for 3 years, Justin applied the skills he was learning in Rotary into his Elementary and Middle Schools. In 5th grade, Justin was the student representative on the School Advisory Board where he successfully pushed for a school policy change adopting mandatory student uniforms. This was an effort to combat bullying based on socio-economic differences. He was even interviewed by a local TV station for his advocacy.
State Board of Education

He carried that spirit into the Maine State Board of Education, when Gov. John Baldacci appointed Justin as the first member on the board to be a student in 2008.
In his 16-month term, Justin pushed for civic engagement curriculum, a universal grading system, increased drug prevention, and to shore up the educational disparity between northern and southern Maine. Justin served on the Student Voices Committee.
In his 16-month term, Justin pushed for civic engagement curriculum, a universal grading system, increased drug prevention, and to shore up the educational disparity between northern and southern Maine. Justin served on the Student Voices Committee.
Career Preparation & College Life

In 2009, Justin was accepted to Lyndon State College. There he majored in Broadcast News and Minored in Political Science and Professional Multimedia Communications.
During his time there, Justin took on a number of projects inside and outside the classroom. He worked at KATV Channel 7 as a producer, host, and editor of a weekly public affairs program.
The Caledonian-Record hired Justin as their New Media Assistant. He took the newspaper from having zero digital footprint to growing their social media presence into the thousands in just a few months. He subsequently worked for his college newspaper, The Critic, as a staff writer and a web editor.
After demonstrating campus activism in protesting executive pay for student elected officials, Justin was elected by the Student Government Association to the role of Vice President of Communications and Outreach. He made transparency, accountability, and increasing student involvement top priorities.
Through the Lyndon State curriculum, Justin reported, anchored, and produced for the Vermont Center for Community Journalism's Emmy award-winning twice daily live newscast, NEWS 7. He served on the Society of Professional Journalist's National Diversity Committee helping craft policies and tools to assist newsrooms across the country diversify their reporting practices and served as the president of a local chapter.
During his time there, Justin took on a number of projects inside and outside the classroom. He worked at KATV Channel 7 as a producer, host, and editor of a weekly public affairs program.
The Caledonian-Record hired Justin as their New Media Assistant. He took the newspaper from having zero digital footprint to growing their social media presence into the thousands in just a few months. He subsequently worked for his college newspaper, The Critic, as a staff writer and a web editor.
After demonstrating campus activism in protesting executive pay for student elected officials, Justin was elected by the Student Government Association to the role of Vice President of Communications and Outreach. He made transparency, accountability, and increasing student involvement top priorities.
Through the Lyndon State curriculum, Justin reported, anchored, and produced for the Vermont Center for Community Journalism's Emmy award-winning twice daily live newscast, NEWS 7. He served on the Society of Professional Journalist's National Diversity Committee helping craft policies and tools to assist newsrooms across the country diversify their reporting practices and served as the president of a local chapter.
2010-2011: Transitioning to a New Chapter

Justin was an integral part of Rep. Linda Valentino’s re-election campaign in 2010 serving as her Political Communications Director and subsequently as a Campaign Strategist on her successful state senatorial bid.
In the summers of 2010 and 2011, Justin was brought on board as an intern for the City of Saco. He produced multimedia content to enhance government-citizen relations.
Justin joined the Journal Tribune and the Portland Daily Sun as a Political Columnist. In this role, he provided insight and analysis to the political headlines of the day reaching a collective circulation of more 25,000.
In the summers of 2010 and 2011, Justin was brought on board as an intern for the City of Saco. He produced multimedia content to enhance government-citizen relations.
Justin joined the Journal Tribune and the Portland Daily Sun as a Political Columnist. In this role, he provided insight and analysis to the political headlines of the day reaching a collective circulation of more 25,000.
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2012: Press, Politics, and Perseverance![]() In April of 2012, Justin took a leave of absence from his job at Fox 23 in order to run for office citing a conflict of interest.
In May of 2012, Justin represented York County as a Delegate to the Maine Democratic State Convention. There he was elected as an At-Large Delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Justin was one of the youngest members of Maine's delegation to the DNC. There Justin participated in the youth caucus with fellow under 30 delegates from across the country. Justin became a Board Member of Saco Spirit, a non-profit organization committed to community development, economic growth, and promoting Saco's historic downtown. In June, Justin won the Democratic nomination for State Representative with 78% of the vote with 543 votes to 154 votes as the final tally. Justin joined the team at Rocky Coast Marketing, a locally owned and operated small business in Saco, as their Vice President of Social Media in July of that year. There Justin developed websites and managed social media for businesses and organizations. During the campaign season in the Fall, Justin worked out of the U.S. Senate District Office in Biddeford as a Congressional Intern. He prepared correspondence for federal agencies, handled incoming constituent cases and closed previous cases, and assisted in the closing down of the district office as U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe transitioned into retirement. There he learned the importance of bipartisanship, as Snowe, was a wildly popular Senator and well known for working across the political aisle. |
2013-2014: Business, Philanthropy, & Political ActivismIn an effort to continue his background and education in the media field to help others as well as be able to personally afford to serve in the legislature, Justin started his own small business.
Chenette Media LLC is a multimedia public relations company that amplifies a clients' brand by infusing social responsibility with traditional & digital marketing communications services, strategies, and publications. The company was started in 2013 and has memberships in the Biddeford Saco Chamber of Commerce, Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce, and the Maine Public Relations Council. He was instrumental in re-establishing the Maine Young Democrats, a state affiliate of the Young Democrats of America , serving as its President and representing Maine on the YDA National Committee. Under his leadership, Justin helped create regional chapters across the state along with bringing together Maine High School Democrats, Maine College Democrats, and MYD under one united organization. This joint collaborative is laying the foundation of empowering young Mainers to get more involved in politics and public policy advocacy and helping to reshape the Maine Democratic Party. Justin resigned from his role in late 2015 in order for the organization to grow into forming it's own legal entity to raise needed resources. This was in part due to a new campaign finance reform law Justin championed and introduced, preventing clean election candidates from operating or being principal decision makers of political action committees. |