Senator Linda Valentino ’ 74 reflects on family , education , and leading a responsible life in business and politics
BY PATRICIA ERIKSON
Stepping Up to the Plate :
Senator Linda Valentino ’ 74 reflects on family , education , and leading a responsible life in business and politics
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Politics . It ’ s not uncommon for people to roll their eyes or , at best , shrug their shoulders at the mere mention of the word . But after spending an hour talking with Senator Linda Valentino ’ 74 at her kitchen table , I find , to my surprise , that she has nudged me into seeing politics differently . Senator Valentino retires from the Maine State Senate this fall , choosing to devote herself to family and return — full circle — to the real estate business that launched her successful career at a young age . But the force and grace of her political philosophy likely will ripple through Maine politics for years to come .
“ I have always felt a tremendous responsibility for the people who have elected me .”
When I asked Senator Valentino how she entered into politics , she began the story with her father , “ Rusty ” Nally ( later Valentino ), “ My father valued education , in part , because he had been raised in an extremely poor household by his Irish Catholic grandmother , ‘ Ma Nally .’ She instilled in him that hard work and education was the way out of poverty . He worked on the railroad yard just below where they lived , at the same time that he attended
Portland High School . He became a lawyer , a businessman , and a champion of the people . When I was growing up , he always came back to the house with a napkin in his hand . On that napkin he had written a list of people who needed legal help . He didn ’ t charge them . He just loved to help people .”
Senator Valentino ’ s educational career involved some twists and turns ; she described them , “ I was in the College Prep program at Thornton , but I hated it . I had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up . My senior year , I told my guidance counselor , ‘ I ’ m switching to Business .’ That ’ s what I was passionate about . In the 1970s , there wasn ’ t the same emphasis on girls ’ education that there is now , but Dad said I had to go to college . ‘ Go to USM ,’ he said . So I did . I attended for two years and earned my Business Administration associate ’ s degree as well as taking real estate classes at night . That changed everything . Working in real estate empowered me to afford a car , a house , and start my own business — L . M . Valentino , Associates , Inc .— here in Saco . At the time , I didn ’ t think I needed to complete a four-year degree .”