LEWISTON — Voters will decide in November whether to return Democratic state Rep. Margaret Craven of Lewiston to Augusta to represent House District 93.

Craven, who has represented the area as its senator and state representative for a number of terms, won election to the seat in 2019 after having had taken several years off to care for her ailing husband.

A widow and a mother of two, she said she is eager to continue working on the issues that have always most engaged her: child safety measures, long-term and home-based care for seniors, and services for people with disabilities.

Republican Robert “Bob” McCarthy, a first-term City Council member, is hoping to unseat her in the Nov. 8 general election.

Craven’s background in care for disabled adults and volunteer experiences with hospice work informed her recent bills to eliminate the waiting list for older and disabled Mainers who are eligible to receive home-based care. She also spearheaded an act to create a Rare Disease Council.

Born in Ireland, Craven came to this country alone at the age of 17. Married and a working mother, she earned a bachelor’s degree in social services and a master’s degree in adult education at the University of Southern Maine.

Her work life in Lewiston included waitressing at Steckino’s Restaurant, serving as a cashier at Cottle’s  supermarket and ultimately becoming the director of respite care at John F. Murphy Homes.

Her volunteer work over the decades has made her a recognized figure in every corner of L/A, from dancing the Irish jig at nursing homes on St. Patrick’s Day and ushering at the The Public Theatre in Lewiston to serving on many community boards, including as chairwoman for Museum L-A, vice chairwoman of the Maine Hospice Council and as a member of the Historic Preservation Review Board of the city of Lewiston and the board of trustees for the Lewiston Public Library.

Craven and McCarthy are Clean Elections candidates.