Rosa Scarcelli

Rosa Scarcelli
Born (1969-12-13) December 13, 1969
Residence Portland, Maine
Nationality American
Education Bowdoin College (B.A.)
Occupation Businesswoman
Employer Stanford Management
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Thom Rhoads
Children 3
Website http://www.rosaformaine.com

Rosa W. Scarcelli (born December 13, 1969) is an American politician and business executive, currently serving as the CEO of Stanford Management, a low-cost housing provider in Maine.[1] On July 20, 2009, Scarcelli announced that she was seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of Maine in the June 8, 2010, primary election, which she lost to Libby Mitchell.[2]

Notable roles and awards

Early life and education

Rosa Scarcelli grew up in Wilton, Maine. Her father taught for 35 years nearby at the University of Maine at Farmington, and her mother worked for the Maine State Housing Authority and later started her own housing company. Her father and his friends started the first Democrat Party Pancake Breakfast in Farmington, Maine, one that is still held every St. Patrick's day. She was educated at Waynflete School, where she graduated in 1988. Rosa was George J. Mitchell's first senate page in 1987. She later worked as an intern in his office. Scarcelli went on to attend the University of Maine at Orono, and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1992, where she was named a James Bowdoin scholar.

Career

In 1999, Scarcelli founded her own real estate management company, DE Property Management LLC. Six years later, she took over Stanford Management, a provider of affordable housing. Though the company was operating at a loss when Scarcelli took control, her management guided it to turn a profit in the first year. In 2009 the company added 30 new properties to its portfolio, making Stanford Management one of the largest woman-owned businesses in Maine. Rosa was featured in 2008 as one of the top 50 Affordable Housing Owners in the nation by Affordable Housing Magazine.

In 2009, Scarcelli served on the New England Finance Committee for Barack Obama. She is a member of Young Presidents' Organization (YPO). She is also a member of the Women's International Network of YPO, the International Women's Forum and the Maine Women's Forum, and has served on a number of civic and community boards. She has served also as a Board Member of Ingraham, a non-profit social service and mental health care provider, where she received the 2004 Outstanding Leadership Award.

Rosa was recently named to the Aspen Institute's 2009 Henry Crown Fellowship Program, one of 20 "emerging leaders" across the country from business, politics and the arts. Past recipients have included Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.

Maine 2010 gubernatorial election

On July 20, 2009, Scarcelli announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of Maine in the June 8, 2010, primary election. Vying for the nomination with four other candidates, Scarcelli positioned herself as a fiscally conservative Democrat and a political newcomer, being the only candidate who had never held public office before. She attracted support among many younger Democrats.[3] She finished third in the primary behind State Senator Libby Mitchell and former Attorney General G. Steven Rowe.[4]

Post-election

Following the November general election, Scarcelli's husband, Thom Rhoads, admitted to being involved in an anonymously authored website on Maine independent gubernatorial candidate, Eliot Cutler. Rhoads' admission came after allegations of his involvement triggered an investigation by the Maine Ethics Commission. The commission found that Dennis Bailey, a consultant on Scarcelli's failed gubernatorial bid, collaborated with Rhoads to spread negative information about Cutler with a paid attack site titled "The Cutler Files", violating Maine campaign laws. Bailey had previously denied any association with the website.[5] The ethics commission fined him $200 for his involvement.[6] During the general election campaign that followed, Rhoads attempted to sell his research on Cutler to Democrat Libby Mitchell's gubernatorial campaign for $30,000. The Mitchell campaign declined the offer.[7]

During the ethics commission's investigation, Republican attorney Daniel Billings represented the defendants, Dennis Bailey and Thom Rhoads.[8] Billings is now legal counsel to Maine Republican governor, Paul LePage.[9]

In December 2010, Scarcelli suggested in an interview that she was considering running against U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe in the 2012 Senate election, or possibly launching another gubernatorial bid in 2014.[10]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.