Editor In Chief – Matthew Gagnon

Matt Gagnon is the owner and major contributor to Pine Tree Politics.

Matt is a product of the University of Maine, where he studied Political Science, concentrating in the fields of American Government and Comparative Politics.

Matt’s interest in politics has been burning for a very long time.  Over the years, he has volunteered or worked for Presidential campaigns, US Senate and House races, and dozens of local elections.

In 2004, Matt ran as a Republican for the Maine House of Representatives (Old Town).  His bid proved unsuccessful, however the experience taught him a great deal about practical politics and grassroots level campaigning – lessons he now applies to political analysis.

Currently, Matt resides in the Washington DC area where he works as professional political communications expert for New Media Strategies.  He is married and has a two year old son.

Moving to the nation’s capital did not deminish his passion for local Maine politics, which is the driving force behind Pine Tree Politics.  He does hope that some time in the future his life will bring him back home, but until then he remains a Mainer at heart.

Columnist – Garrett Murch

Garrett Murch is a columnist for Pine Tree Politics, focusing mostly on political commentary and analysis.

Garrett is a native of Windsor Maine and graduate of Cony High School.

He previously served as a legislative aide to Senator Olympia J. Snowe and was deputy director of U.S. House Relations at the Heritage Foundation.

Currently, Garrett lives in Washington DC and serves as the Coalitions Manager for the conservative online publication Townhall.com.

Although in Washington, Garrett’s eye is always turned to Maine.  He is following the 2010 gubernatorial race closely, and frequently gets home to visit family, duck hunt off the Maine coast, and fly fish the state’s many storied rivers.

Columnist – Steve Kenney

Steve Kenney is an international finance executive who is currently working and living in the Middle East.  He grew up in Orono, Maine, where he also completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Maine.

After earning his CPA designation and working in Maine for one of the “Big 8” accounting firms and as an auditor for the University of Maine System throughout the 1980s, he began his international finance and development career in 1991.

For a majority of the past two decades he has served in various finance and management posts throughout Central & Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and, more recently, the Middle East.  His time in the Middle East included a year in Iraq during “the surge.”

In 2002 he entered the Maine gubernatorial race with a goal of becoming the first Independent candidate to qualify for public funding under the Maine Clean Elections Act.  His “Penny for Kenney” clean campaign walk from Fort Kent to Kittery failed to garner the required support.

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