PRESIDENT AND BARBARA BUSH SUPPORT SUMMERS FOR CONGRESS

July 30, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Ruth Summers, (207) 332-0111
 

PORTLAND, Maine -- First District Congressional candidate Charles Summers today announced that he had received a campaign donation from former President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush, each of whom sent him a financial contribution for his campaign.

Summers is serving on active duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom from July 2007 until August 2008.  A Navy Lieutenant Commander, Summers will be based in Baghdad as part of a joint command with Navy Strategic Communications.  In his absence, Summers is being represented in the First District Congressional campaign by his wife, Ruth Summers.

The Bushes made the donation as a show of their support for Summers’ candidacy for Congress.   “Charlie Summers represents what is best about our nation:  bravery, commitment, honesty and hard work,” said former President Bush.  “Barbara and I have great respect for his willingness to serve, both in Iraq and here at home in the political arena.”

Summers’ wife, Ruth, said she and Charlie are gratified by the support.   “Charlie has laid out a compelling vision for Maine, and the goals of energy independence, business growth and economic and national security.  I am very pleased that President and Barbara Bush recognize this leadership and share our vision to position Maine in the future,” said Ruth Summers.

Summers, former Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration and 2004 nominee for Congress, filed for the Republican nomination for Congress in Maine’s First Congressional District last month before reporting to the Navy for duty.    He has more than two decades of experience in federal and state government.  Since 2005, he served as New England Regional Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.  In this role, he set small business policy for the region, worked with countless small business proprietors to help resolve and meet their needs, and oversaw administrative district offices in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

In 2004, Summers won the Republican nomination in the First District Congressional race, securing a higher percentage of the vote than any previous challenger to Democratic incumbent Tom Allen.  Previously, he served as State Director for U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe, and as a member of the Maine State Senate representing Saco, Scarborough and Old Orchard Beach.

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