I was born in 1947 in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was raised by two wonderful women, my mother and my grandmother. I have 2 siblings, a brother and a sister. We lived in one of my grandmothers cottages on the beach in Florida from the time I was 7 until I was 15.
We had very little monetarily, but we had something much more valuable, we had each other. I grew up in a time that no longer exists, a time when innocence reigned. I could walk anywhere without worry, I could hitch a ride without fear.
I was married the first time in 1965, had 2 sons, and was divorced after 14 years. During that time I was a consumer electronics technician. I moved to Maine in 1972, because in my mind it was the closest thing to my childhood. To this day, it still feels that way. I, like many others, started working in the restaurant business at 15 as a dishwasher, moved up to salad man, then became a line cook.
I have started and managed several businesses, including a custom cabinetry shop building custom furniture. I have built interiors of multi-million dollar yachts and commissioned furniture for clients. My family and I started and ran a barbecue restaurant for four years and raised cattle and hogs for sale. I was President of the Board of my Condo Association, re-elected the next year with the most votes of all the board members, making decisions involving a budget of close to 1 million dollars. During that time, I climbed on roofs, found problems, corrected problems, patched leaking pipes, improved peoples living conditions, advised maintenance workers on jobs. I did what others could not, because of my knowledge. And all volunteer and unpaid!
I am presently with the same lovely woman for the past 39 years. She and I raised four teen aged children to be productive and decent adults, through many hard times and good times, as anyone who has tried to raise a blended family knows. We have a 36 year old granddaughter and a 5 year old great grandson who is the light of our lives. I have spent the better part of 35 years living in Maine, so I have seen the challenges that the Maine people face, as I have lived them. I've seen the decline of the shoe shops, the linen mills, the paper mills, the lumber industry. I don't profess to know all the answers, no one does. I can say that I am a problem solver, have been all my life. I have always found solutions to my problems. But I don't live within a box. I don't live in a dream world, where you can simply say something and make it true. The world doesn't work that way. In my entire working life, I have only been without a job for 6 months and that was in 1981, during a recession. So I bought a condemned building, tore it down, used the lumber to heat and rebuild my home, and sold the lot for 5 times what I paid for it. That's problem solving! I was never what you would call mainstream, because too many people cannot look outside of their safe space for answers. But I have had a good and productive life that I am proud of. I have no skeletons in my closet that will jump out and cause problems. Not too many can say that!
I would like to offer my skills to the people of Maine and the people of America. I know that I have much of value to contribute. I can work with others to solve problems, not just dig in and vote because someone says I should. I owe nothing to anyone, so I am free to speak my mind and follow what I believe is the best route to a solution.
All I ask of you is to listen to what I have to say and base your vote on that! Ask me questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Thank you, Dennis M. O'Connor
Oxford, Maine
We had very little monetarily, but we had something much more valuable, we had each other. I grew up in a time that no longer exists, a time when innocence reigned. I could walk anywhere without worry, I could hitch a ride without fear.
I was married the first time in 1965, had 2 sons, and was divorced after 14 years. During that time I was a consumer electronics technician. I moved to Maine in 1972, because in my mind it was the closest thing to my childhood. To this day, it still feels that way. I, like many others, started working in the restaurant business at 15 as a dishwasher, moved up to salad man, then became a line cook.
I have started and managed several businesses, including a custom cabinetry shop building custom furniture. I have built interiors of multi-million dollar yachts and commissioned furniture for clients. My family and I started and ran a barbecue restaurant for four years and raised cattle and hogs for sale. I was President of the Board of my Condo Association, re-elected the next year with the most votes of all the board members, making decisions involving a budget of close to 1 million dollars. During that time, I climbed on roofs, found problems, corrected problems, patched leaking pipes, improved peoples living conditions, advised maintenance workers on jobs. I did what others could not, because of my knowledge. And all volunteer and unpaid!
I am presently with the same lovely woman for the past 39 years. She and I raised four teen aged children to be productive and decent adults, through many hard times and good times, as anyone who has tried to raise a blended family knows. We have a 36 year old granddaughter and a 5 year old great grandson who is the light of our lives. I have spent the better part of 35 years living in Maine, so I have seen the challenges that the Maine people face, as I have lived them. I've seen the decline of the shoe shops, the linen mills, the paper mills, the lumber industry. I don't profess to know all the answers, no one does. I can say that I am a problem solver, have been all my life. I have always found solutions to my problems. But I don't live within a box. I don't live in a dream world, where you can simply say something and make it true. The world doesn't work that way. In my entire working life, I have only been without a job for 6 months and that was in 1981, during a recession. So I bought a condemned building, tore it down, used the lumber to heat and rebuild my home, and sold the lot for 5 times what I paid for it. That's problem solving! I was never what you would call mainstream, because too many people cannot look outside of their safe space for answers. But I have had a good and productive life that I am proud of. I have no skeletons in my closet that will jump out and cause problems. Not too many can say that!
I would like to offer my skills to the people of Maine and the people of America. I know that I have much of value to contribute. I can work with others to solve problems, not just dig in and vote because someone says I should. I owe nothing to anyone, so I am free to speak my mind and follow what I believe is the best route to a solution.
All I ask of you is to listen to what I have to say and base your vote on that! Ask me questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Thank you, Dennis M. O'Connor
Oxford, Maine
