Libby for Governor Campaign Announces Director of Communications

Press Release

Jim Libby for Governor

5/28/25

Libby for Governor Campaign Announces Director of Communications

 Former State House Bureau Chief A. Jay Higgins is an Award-Winning Journalist

A. Jay Higgins.  Photos Attached.

Standish, Maine, 5/27/25 – For inquiries, call 207-289-7413.

Gubernatorial candidate James D. Libby is honored to announce the appointment of multifaceted former Maine State House Bureau Chief A. Jay Higgins as Director of Communications.

A. Jay is a legendary journalist who has significantly contributed to Maine's media landscape. He has spent his entire professional career in Maine media, beginning as a teen-aged cameraman for Bangor’s Channel 7 television in 1970.

“I’m excited and honored to be a part of Jim’s quest to make Maine a better place to work and live,” Higgins said.

He began working for the Bangor Daily News in 1972 while still a senior at Bangor High School and his first job involved casting the lead plates for the printing presses in the paper’s stereotype department. In the ensuing 34 years, A. Jay moved up to the editorial department, where he quickly immersed himself in nearly every facet of news reporting, editing and photography.

In addition to his extensive award-winning coverage in the greater Bangor area, he also worked in the paper’s Presque Isle bureau and was named bureau chief of the BDN’s Hancock County operations in Ellsworth in 1988. He was assigned to the paper’s State House Bureau Chief’s position in 1993 and was also a New England correspondent for the Boston Globe in the late 1990s. He held that position until 2006 when the BDN instituted a large-scale reduction in force of employees as the future of the state’s newspapers began a decline.

After a seven month-stint at the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, he joined Maine Public Radio in 2007 as the station’s State House Bureau Chief focusing on state politics, public policy and offbeat news features. A recipient of several Maine Association of Broadcaster awards while at Maine Public, A. Jay’s news stories also aired on National Public Radio. Retiring from the news business in 2018, he resides with his wife, Diane, in the picturesque Hancock County fishing village of Corea and plays and sings seasonally for the locals and tourists at the Travelin’ Lobster restaurant in Bar Harbor.

“A Jay’s career speaks for itself.  His accomplishments in radio, television, and print are unmatched.  His award-winning career spans all aspects of the profession.  His experience, intellect, and profound knowledge of Maine’s political landscape is second to none, and his early council in our campaign has already been invaluable,” said candidate for governor and current State Senator James Libby.  

It’s humbling to know that someone with that kind of career wants to join me in my desire to make Maine a better place to work and live.”

James D. Libby, Candidate for Governor.  Photo Attached.

Authorized by Libby for Governor, P.O. Box 832, Standish, Maine 04084.  Nick Weiss, Treasurer.