Don Pilon

Seth Berry (D-Bowdoinham), who was elected House majority whip Thursday, was up against five other candidates: Cynthia Dill (D-Cape Elizabeth), Herb Clark (D-Millinocket), Richard Cleary (D-Houlton), Mike Carey (D-Lewiston) and Don Pilon (D-Saco).

See below for video of Dill, Clark, Carey and Pilon. Regrettably we were unable to get video of Cleary.

State Rep. Seth Berry (D-Bowdoinham) was just elected House majority whip.

In a six way contest between Reps. Cynthia Dill (D-Cape Elizabeth), Richard Cleary (D-Houlton), Mike Carey (D-Lewiston), Don Pilon (D-Saco) and Herb Clark (D-Millinocket), Berry got more than 50 percent of the vote, winning on the first ballot.

We will have more on the election later.

Maine House Democrats will elect their leaders at 10 a.m. this morning. We have put together brief bios of each of the candidates, taken from the legislative record.

House Republicans will elect their leaders this afternoon, and those bios will be posted later this morning.

Don Pilon

Running for: Majority whip

District: 133

Town: Saco

Occupation: Real estate broker, golf instruction to underserved youth

Political experience: Entering third term in the Legislature

Republicans and Democrats in the Maine House will elect their respective leaders Thursday.

On the Democratic side, Rep. Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven) will likely be unopposed for House speaker.

For House majority leader, Reps. Gary Connor (D-Kennebunk), John Piotti (D-Unity) and Sharon Treat (D-Hallowell) have all announced intentions to run.

It is a five-way race for majority whip between:

State Rep. Herb Clark (D-Millinocket), who is running for his 11th term in the Legislature, has thrown his hat in the ring to be the House assistant majority leader.

Also running are Reps. Seth Berry (D-Bowdoinham), Cynthia Dill (D-Cape Elizabeth) and Don Pilon (D-Saco).

In a statement, Clark said many members of the Democratic caucus came to him and asked him to run. He promised to put the caucus first, and not use the role as a “stepping stone”.

He wrote:

I attended my first political "house party" in 1994 when I was a senior in college. It was hosted by one of former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell's brothers for would-be Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Brennan (Brennan eventually lost the general election to Independent Angus King).  I was invited because I was a member of the Colby Democrats and the Brennan campaign was trying to recruit volunteers in the Waterville area.

I was interested in going because, up until that point, the closest contact I'd had to a political house party was eating lunch every Sunday at my uncle's house in Sanford; he was a local Selectman, hardly a mover and shaker in the political world, to say the least.

AUGUSTA -- State Reps. Seth Berry (D-Bowdoinham), Cynthia Dill (D-Cape Elizabeth) and Don Pilon (D-Saco) all have their eyes on the assistant majority leader slot next session, providing they win their respective races and the Democrats maintain the majority in the state House.

Current Majority Whip Sean Faircloth (D-Bangor) is not running for re-election, instead focusing on his bid for attorney general.

In addition, Reps. Sharon Treat (D-Hallowell) and John Piotti (D-Unity) are engaged in a race for House majority leader.

AUGUSTA -- State Reps. John Piotti (D-Unity) and Sharon Treat (D-Hallowell) will compete to be House majority leader next session, providing they win their re-election bids and the Democrats maintain control of the House.

Current Majority Leader Hannah Pingree is expected to become the next speaker, as no challengers have emerged. Current Assistant Majority Leader Sean Faircloth (D-Bangor) is not running for re-election, hoping legislators will elect him to be state Attorney General.

Reps. Seth Berry (D-Bowdoinham), Cynthia Dill (D-Cape Elizabeth) and Don Pilon (D-Saco) will compete for the assistant majority leader slot.