DIXFIELD — Police Chief Richard “Dick” Pickett announced he is running for the Maine House of Representatives in District 93.

Pickett, a Republican, will run as a clean election candidate against Democrat Mac Gill, a selectman from Dixfield.

Rep. Sheryl Briggs, D-Mexico, will leave office this year after reaching her term limit.

District 93 serves the towns of Canton, Dixfield, Hartford, Mexico and Peru.

“Public service is very important to me and has been the cornerstone of my professional life,” Pickett said. “If I am blessed with the vote of my friends and neighbors, I pledge to listen to their needs and concerns and to always fight for my district, my state and my country.”

Although he has considered running for office “for a number of years,” Pickett said this is the first time he has thrown his hat into the ring.

“I wanted to be able to devote myself to the position, and until now, I’ve never really been in a position to give it my all,” he said. “Since I’m retiring near the end of this year, or at the very beginning of next year, I’m finally able to commit myself to the position.

“I believe the governor and the Legislature are elected to do the right thing by Maine voters,” Pickett said. “To us folks here at home, governing and creating opportunities for Maine people is not a political game, and pretending to cut taxes in Augusta to make political points, for either party, is disingenuous.”

Elected officials are sent to Augusta to make the hard choices that benefit hard-working Maine taxpayers, he said. “When the Legislature passes an increasing number of spending bills, and continues to pass the cost of those bills and other costs to the local taxpayer, then hard choices are not being made. I am prepared to make those hard choices.”

Prior to the 16 years he has served as police chief, Pickett was a trooper and detective with the Maine State Police for 22 years.

He previously served as selectman for five years and was on the town Finance Committee. He is a member of the Planning Board and the Roads Committee and secretary of the Oxford County Communications Governing Board. He’s also a member and coordinator of the Oxford County Crimes Task Force.

Pickett said that while he has served for most of his life as a police officer, he is running for the seat “not as a former police officer, but a resident who loves his town and his state.

“If elected, I promise my friends and neighbors that they will always come first,” he said. “I will listen and act only in the best interest of my constituents, and I will use honesty and common sense to help bring responsibility and accountability back to Maine government.”

mdaigle@sunjournal.com