About this user
Alex Cornell du Houx is currently running for the Maine State Legislature in district 66. He has worked as a tutor in area schools for the past six years and served on the board of the local Habitat for Humanity chapter. Alex also led a service trip to Guatemala with the program Safe Passage to help kids move from the city dump into the classroom. Similarly he worked in Peru to help build a playground for kids in Lima and completed a year of service in Brunswick with the AmeriCorps program.
He was deployed to Iraq with the Marines in 2006 and serves as a 0351 assaultman, which works with demolitions and rockets. After a yearlong deployment patrolling the streets in and around Fallujah he returned safely to continue his work serving the community through military, political and community service
Alex grew up in the small town of Solon Maine where he attended Carrabec High School. He was accepted to Bowdoin College as a Mitchell Scholar and joined the Marine Reserves in 2002. Originally an Astronomy and Government major, he spent most of his time founding and building the Community Service Council, working for Habitat for Humanity and running track.
Alex became politically engaged after returning from eight months of training with the Marines in 2004. He realized that most of the service work he was participating in is politically related and was disturbed at the gap in participation between service and civic engagement, when in fact they should both be a service to ones community. He understood that service programs such as Habitat for Humanity and homeless shelters are extremely important in their ability to care for individuals who have an immediate need; even so, the problem of homelessness will continue, unless the source of the issue is addressed, which becomes much more political.
Alex worked for the Office of Health Policy and Finance where he assisted the Dirigo Heath program, which aims to provide health insurance to every citizen of Maine. He is currently working with the Legislative Youth Advisory Commission, which has passed legislation to encourage civic participation and improve school athletic policy.
Alex also serves as the National Council Chair for the College Democrats of America and was formally the co-president of the Maine College Democrats, which grew from 3 to 23 chapters within a year, published the only statewide college Dems paper in the nation and have become a strong political organization in Maine. In addition, he worked to block a bill that would have prevented college students from registering to vote on campus.
Alex is also an experienced photographer (www.acornell.com) and his parents, Paul and Ramona, have a small publishing company in central Maine. He has two sisters. Emily recently graduated from Amherst College and Becky serves in the Maine National Guard and attends the University of Maine at Farmington.
Interests
As your State Representative, I will make sure our voices in Brunswick are heard in Augusta:
• Jobs and Economic Development -- We need to ensure that the redevelopment of the Brunswick Naval Air Station is an opportunity to attract new business and jobs. I will work closely with businesses and the community to make sure that we bring quality jobs to Brunswick.
• Health Care -- I worked on the Dirigo health program and I remain committed to making affordable and quality health care available to small businesses and individuals across Maine.
• Tax Reform & Controlled Spending -- I've worked successfully to build coalitions with organizations in Brunswick and will continue to do so in Augusta, so we can create responsible tax reform and control spending.
