Daughter of Maine’s 1st Black legislator named House speaker

By DAVID SHARP
Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine House has selected Democrat Rachel Talbot Ross to be its first Black speaker in a vote witnessed by her proud father, who made history himself 50 years ago by becoming the first Black person elected to the Legislature in the nation’s whitest state. House members and spectators erupted in applause Tuesday after picking Talbot Ross to lead the chamber. She told those assembled, “I want any child in our state to know today that this is possible.” Like her father, Gerald Talbot, Talbot Ross served as president of the Portland NAACP. She was first elected to the House in 2016. After the speakership was settled, lawmakers rejected the governor’s proposed $474 million heating aid package.