Donald Ardell

Donald Ardell (Republican Party) is a member of the Maine House of Representatives, representing District 6. He assumed office on December 6, 2022. His current term ends on December 1, 2026.

Ardell (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Maine House of Representatives to represent District 6. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Ardell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Donald Ardell lives in Monticello, Maine. Ardell earned a B.A. in fine arts and criminology from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh in 1995.^[1] His career experience includes working as a federal criminal investigator and immigration agent.^[2]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Ardell was assigned to the following committees:

Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Maine House of Representatives District 6

Incumbent Donald Ardell defeated Melanie Tompkins in the general election for Maine House of Representatives District 6 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donald Ardell (R)	65.5	3,130
	Submit photo	Melanie Tompkins (D)	34.5	1,647

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,777
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for Maine House of Representatives District 6

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Melanie Tompkins in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔	Submit photo	Melanie Tompkins	100	115	0	Advanced (1)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 115
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Maine House of Representatives District 6

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Donald Ardell in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Donald Ardell	100	514	0	Advanced (1)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 514
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ardell in this election.

2022

General election

General election for Maine House of Representatives District 6

Donald Ardell won election in the general election for Maine House of Representatives District 6 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donald Ardell (R)	100.0	3,294

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,294
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Maine House of Representatives District 6

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Donald Ardell in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Donald Ardell	100	451	0	Advanced (1)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 451
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Donald Ardell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ardell's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am primarily a husband and father of four, and a retired criminal investigator. I enjoy outdoor sporting activities, and value wildlife conservation. I operate a growing pear and apple orchard in Monticello, and I represent the people of Maine House District 6 in the Maine Legislature.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Maine's, and especially Aroostook County's, people value independence and the ability to make our own choices with our own money without unnecessary interference from government. In the 131st Legislature, several policies were debated that limited Mainers' choices of where and how we live, how we heat our homes, how or children are educated, what we can drive, how our money is spent, and how much is taken. To quote Winston Churchill, “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” I will continue to defend our choices from excessive government interference, and support policy that provides us more, and better, choices.
Many of Maine's challenges are symptoms of a greater problem: Maine's disastrous energy policy. Current Maine law selects wind and solar as 'winners' while suppressing clean, reliable, and affordable energy sources like hydropower, creating an energy grid reliant on diesel and natural gas generators on calm days and at night. This forced reliance on fossil fuel backup generation creates uncompetitively high prices and energy uncertainty that drives away business and the anchor employers Maine needs to thrive. In the 132nd Legislature I will re-submit a bill to allow Mainers to access inexpensive, reliable, and green hydropower that will attract employers, relieve ratepayers, and stabilize Maine's economy.
Drug addiction is a trap that destroys lives and families, depletes public resources, and limits the prosperity of our communities. My experience in drug smuggling and trafficking investigation informs me that enforcement, while part of the answer, cannot operate alone; smart and effective drug policy involves treatment for those caught in addiction's trap and education to help Mainers avoid it. This 'three-legged stool' approach is necessary to make genuine progress against addiction. The concept of specialized drug courts, for the right candidates, has shown better outcomes than traditional government response, but firm enforcement against the worst traffickers, traffickers in misery, is also necessary.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My public policy interests are broad. While representing the people of House District 6 in the 131st Legislature I proposed and supported smart energy policy and effective application of criminal justice; supported smart school safety policies to protect our children; devised long-term measures to sustain Maine's critical wildlife and habitat conservation; introduced a citizen's rights bill to help stabilize local elections; defended against legislative attacks on law-abiding Mainers' right to self defense; and proposed policy to help seniors and Mainers of modest means heat their homes more cost-efficiently with Maine-sourced energy and keep them mobile through smarter vehicle inspection rules, among others.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, good listening skills, strong critical thinking skills, strong policy knowledge, and a willingness to learn are all extremely important characteristics of effective legislators. Many public policy issues are complex and an openness to learn about them before casting a committee or floor vote is very important.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Primary responsibilities of good legislation, or of any elected official, is respect for and protection of the individual civil rights of the people they serve. Being a good and responsible steward of public money and using it respectfully of the people who paid it is also critical.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I am not interested in a personal legacy as much as I can help support a Maine that remains or becomes an even better place to live, work, end enjoy life. "The Way Life Should Be" is not merely a saying, but a place I hope to pass to my children in even better shape.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I wasn't yet born when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and was a newlywed U.S. Customs special agent going to quarterly range qualification on the morning of September 11, 2001. However, in Summer 1980, even at about 7 years old, I was aware of the presidential race between then-President Jimmy Carter and soon-to-be President Ronald Reagan, and what a difficult position the U.S. had fallen into.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Among the three branches of government, the legislative and executive branches interact most directly. The Maine Legislature votes on bills that generate public policy. Maine's governor, as chief executive, has both a role of administering existing laws, but also wields veto power over legislation passed by the legislative branch. To achieve both those roles, the governor must only, responsibly, sign legislation that can be effectively and constitutionally administered, regardless of the governor's political ideology. Engaging that responsibility, the governor can act as an advisor to the legislature to, ideally, help steer legislation that is good public policy and can be effectively administered. On the other side of the coin, the governor must veto legislation that would result in bad public policy without regard to partisan politics or ideology, even if that ideology is shared by the governor with members of the legislature.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Many of Maine's challenges are symptoms of a greater problem: Maine's disastrous energy policy. Maine's selection of wind and solar as energy 'winners', and suppression of other sources of energy such as reliable, green, and inexpensive hydropower, has in fact created a energy grid reliant on diesel and natural gas generators used when wind and solar are not operational on calm days and at night. That fossil fuel backup generation creates energy uncertainty and uncompetitively high pricing that drive away business and the anchor employers Maine needs to thrive. Good jobs and a robust economy would go a long way to solving Maine's drug abuse, homelessness, suicide, overtaxation, overreliance on public programs, and education crises we are facing. In the 132nd Legislature I will re-submit a bill to allow Mainers to access inexpensive, reliable, and green hydropower that will attract employers, relieve ratepayers, and help to stabilize and grow Maine's economy and communities.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Experience in government can be useful, as it can provide a deeper understanding of government processes or specific expertise when engaging bills on specific issues. However, every legislator will be required to cast a vote on a bill with a subject in which he or she does not have expertise. In that case, willingness to learn and personal integrity are more important, as these characteristics can't be easily acquired and are more generally useful.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Absolutely; understanding the perspectives of fellow legislators and the people of the districts they serve is critical in building alliances and creating legislation that will serve all Mainers well, and Maine overall, not just those in urban downstate districts or those with special interests.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No. My only goal is to continue to serve the interests of the people of Maine House District 6 as best I can. I have no plans to use my House seat as a springboard to other office.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

In the 132nd Legislature, I will re-introduce a bill I sponsored in the 131st Legislature, LD 622; "An Act to Create Equal Opportunity Access to Clean Energy by Removing the 100-megawatt Limit on Clean Energy Sources." Maine's disastrous energy policy, and the cascading effects of expensive energy ultimately reliant on price-fluctuating fossil fuels, is at the root of our economic, unemployment, and even our social problems. This failure must be reversed.

What committees interest you?

In the 131st Legislature, I served on the Joint Standing Committee for Criminal Justice and Public Safety, and brought my 25 years of professional experience to the bills and issues engaged there. Similarly, my experience with criminal law attracts me to the Joint Standing Committee of the Judiciary. Additionally, my interest in wildlife conservation would serve the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee; an assignment to the Committee on Taxation would allow me to represent House District 6 with a sense of fiscal responsibility; and my understanding of Maine's energy policy would serve Mainers well in the Energy Committee.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Financial transparency, the right of the people to know where their tax money is spent and if it is effective there, is critical. Government accountability can take the form of assessment of government effectiveness, response to citizens, and correction or discontinuance of public policy when that policy is identified as ineffective, failed, or wasteful.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

I like that Maine's people have a direct voice in public policy, to include ballot initiatives and the 'peoples' veto.' However, with a population of only approximately 1.3 million, Maine is vulnerable to fringe policy ideas promoted by out-of-state interests with deep pockets, ideas difficult for Maine to defend against. Maine ballot initiatives need to be Maine-driven, and not subject to outside interests. I support measures to ensure ballot initiatives are Maine-driven, funded within Maine, and the ability of outside interests to manipulate our policies is minimized.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Donald Ardell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia Logo Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Donald Ardell campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Maine House of Representatives District 6	Won general	$1,900	$27
2022	Maine House of Representatives District 6	Won general	$973	$975
Grand total			$2,873	$1,002
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Maine

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Maine scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Maine State Legislature was in session from January 3 to April 17.

Maine AFL-CIO

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues.

Maine Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

Maine People's Alliance

Legislators are scored by MPA on "where they stand on community, investing in the future, fairness, equality, and justice for all Maine people."

Maine Women's Lobby

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to gender equity.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund

Legislators are scored on their votes related to reproductive health issues.

Wabanaki Alliance

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that would put the tribes in Maine on equal footing with the other federally recognized tribes across the country.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Maine State Legislature was in session from December 7 to March 30.

Maine AFL-CIO

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues.

Maine Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

Maine People's Alliance

Legislators are scored by MPA on "where they stand on community, investing in the future, fairness, equality, and justice for all Maine people."

Maine Women's Lobby

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to gender equity.

Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund

Legislators are scored on their votes related to reproductive health issues.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Officeholder

Maine House of Representatives District 6

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Maine House of Representatives, "Donald J. Ardell," accessed April 26, 2023
↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 29, 2024

Political offices
Preceded by Tiffany Roberts (D)	Maine House of Representatives District 6 2022-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Maine House of Representatives

Representatives

District 1

Lucien Daigle (R)

District 2

Roger Albert (R)

District 3

Mark Babin (R)

District 4

Timothy Guerrette (R)

District 5

Joseph Underwood (R)

District 6

Donald Ardell (R)

District 7

Gregory Swallow (R)

District 8

Tracy Quint (R)

District 9

Arthur Mingo (R)

District 10

William Tuell (R)

District 11

Tiffany Strout (R)

District 12

Billy Bob Faulkingham (R)

District 13

Russell White (R)

District 14

Gary Friedmann (D)

District 15

Holly Eaton (D)

District 16

Nina Milliken (D)

District 17

Steven Bishop (R)

District 18

Mathew McIntyre (R)

District 19

Richard Campbell (R)

District 20

Dani O'Halloran (D)

District 21

Ambureen Rana (D)

District 22

Laura Supica (D)

District 23

Amy Roeder (D)

District 24

Sean Faircloth (D)

District 25

Laurie Osher (D)

District 26

James Dill (D)

District 27

Gary Drinkwater (R)

District 28

Irene Gifford (R)

District 29

Kathy Javner (R)

District 30

James White (R)

District 31

Chad Perkins (R)

District 32

Steven Foster (R)

District 33

Kenneth Fredette (R)

District 34

Abigail Griffin (R)

District 35

James Thorne (R)

District 36

Kimberly Haggan (R)

District 37

Reagan Paul (R)

District 38

Benjamin Hymes (R)

District 39

Janice Dodge (D)

District 40

D. Michael Ray (D)

District 41

Victoria Doudera (D)

District 42

Valli Geiger (D)

District 43

Ann Matlack (D)

District 44

William Pluecker (I)

District 45

Abden Simmons (R)

District 46

Lydia Crafts (D)

District 47

Wayne Farrin (D)

District 48

Holly Stover (D)

District 49

Allison Hepler (D)

District 50

David Sinclair (D)

District 51

Rafael Macias (D)

District 52

Sally Cluchey (D)

District 53

Michael Lemelin (R)

District 54

Karen Montell (D)

District 55

Daniel Shagoury (D)

District 56

Randall Greenwood (R)

District 57

Tavis Hasenfus (D)

District 58

Sharon Frost (U)

District 59

David Rollins (D)

District 60

William Bridgeo (D)

District 61

Alicia Collins (R)

District 62

Katrina Smith (R)

District 63

Paul Flynn (R)

District 64

Flavia DeBrito (D)

District 65

Cassie Julia (D)

District 66

Robert Nutting (R)

District 67

Shelley Rudnicki (R)

District 68

Amanda Collamore (R)

District 69

Dean Cray (R)

District 70

Jennifer Poirier (R)

District 71

John Ducharme (R)

District 72

Elizabeth Caruso (R)

District 73

Michael Soboleski (R)

District 74

Randall Hall (R)

District 75

Stephan Bunker (D)

District 76

Sheila Lyman (R)

District 77

Tammy Schmersal-Burgess (R)

District 78

Rachel Ann Henderson (R)

District 79

Michael Lance (R)

District 80

Caldwell Jackson (R)

District 81

Peter Wood (R)

District 82

Nathan Wadsworth (R)

District 83

Marygrace Cimino (R)

District 84

Mark Walker (R)

District 85

Kimberly Pomerleau (R)

District 86

Rolf Olsen (R)

District 87

David Boyer (R)

District 88

Quentin Chapman (R)

District 89

Adam Lee (D)

District 90

Laurel Libby (R)

District 91

Joshua Morris (R)

District 92

Stephen Wood (R)

District 93

Julia McCabe (D)

District 94

Kristen Cloutier (D)

District 95

Mana Abdi (D)

District 96

Michel Lajoie (D)

District 97

Richard Mason (R)

District 98

Kilton Webb (D)

District 99

Cheryl Golek (D)

District 100

Dan Ankeles (D)

District 101

Poppy Arford (D)

District 102

Melanie Sachs (D)

District 103

Arthur Bell (D)

District 104

Amy Arata (R)

District 105

Anne Graham (D)

District 106

Barbara Bagshaw (R)

District 107

Mark Cooper (R)

District 108

Parnell Terry (D)

District 109

Eleanor Sato (D)

District 110

Christina Mitchell (D)

District 111

Amy Kuhn (D)

District 112

W. Edward Crockett (D)

District 113

Grayson Lookner (D)

District 114

Dylan Pugh (D)

District 115

Michael Brennan (D)

District 116

Samuel Zager (D)

District 117

Matthew Moonen (D)

District 118

Yusuf Yusuf (D)

District 119

Charles Skold (D)

District 120

Deqa Dhalac (D)

District 121

Christopher Kessler (D)

District 122

Matthew Beck (D)

District 123

Michelle Boyer (D)

District 124

Sophia Warren (D)

District 125

Kelly Noonan Murphy (D)

District 126

Andrew Gattine (D)

District 127

Morgan Rielly (D)

District 128

Suzanne Salisbury (D)

District 129

Marshall Archer (D)

District 130

Lynn Copeland (D)

District 131

Lori Gramlich (D)

District 132

Ryan Fecteau (D)

District 133

Marc Malon (D)

District 134

Traci Gere (D)

District 135

Daniel Sayre (D)

District 136

John Eder (R)

District 137

Nathan Carlow (R)

District 138

Mark Blier (R)

District 139

David Woodsome (R)

District 140

Wayne Parry (R)

District 141

Lucas Lanigan (R)

District 142

Anne-Marie Mastraccio (D)

District 143

Ann Marie Fredericks (R)

District 144

Jeffrey Adams (R)

District 145

Robert Foley (R)

District 146

Walter Runte (D)

District 147

Holly Sargent (D)

District 148

Thomas Lavigne (R)

District 149

Tiffany Roberts (D)

District 150

Michele Meyer (D)

District 151

Kristi Mathieson (D)

Democratic Party (76)

Republican Party (73)

Independent (1)

Unenrolled (1)

[bio-1] Maine House of Representatives, "Donald J. Ardell," accessed April 26, 2023

[2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 29, 2024

[1]

[2]

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Donald Ardell

Biography

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Maine House of Representatives District 6

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for Maine House of Representatives District 6

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Maine House of Representatives District 6

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for Maine House of Representatives District 6

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Maine House of Representatives District 6

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

Campaign finance summary

Scorecards

2024

2023

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2024 Elections

2024 Election analysis

2025 Elections

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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