Husband. Leader. Mainer.

Tim was born in Portland, Maine. His dad was a 9th grade dropout who worked as a garage door installer, the stern man on a lobster boat, and washed cars at the post office. His mother worked in the high school cafeteria. Tim was the first person on his father’s side to ever go to college. It took him ten years to graduate. He also attended chaplaincy school.

Tim worked for a start-up healthcare company, as a union organizer, and in the restaurant industry. In 2013, he started a small coffee shop in Bar Harbor that became The Independent Cafe, one of the most popular fast-casual restaurants in Downeast Maine. Tim served as the Vice-Chair of Hospitality Maine and was an active member of the Maine Small Business Coalition. He married Rebecca in 2021, and together they turned part of the restaurant into a small-batch market promoting locally made foods, craft beers, and other products made in Maine.

In 2024 Rebecca and Tim sold their business and their home. They took on substantial debt so they could move across the state to take care of Tim’s elderly mother in her final years.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Tim said. “But it’s what you do for family.”

Meet Tim's Family

Tim knows what working-class Mainers are all about. He's spent his life as one.

The Independent Cafe

For over a decade, Tim owned The Independent Cafe and Market in downtown Bar Harbor. He started The Independent with a $20,000 loan and grew it into one of the busiest fast-casual restaurants in Downeast Maine. The Independent actively supported the Milk for Justice campaign, consumer-owned electricity, local food pantries, a preschool, and many other nonprofits.

Tim served on the board of Hospitality Maine, the advocacy organization representing over 1,000 small restaurants and hotels in Maine. He married Rebecca in 2021, and together they turned part of the restaurant into a small-batch market promoting locally made foods, craft beers, and other products made in Maine.

Community Activism

Tim Rich is a longtime community leader, activist, and the host of the Mainesplainer Podcast. He has worked as a campaign staffer, a union organizer, and as a healthcare reform advocate. In 2009, he was part of a team that pushed for a public option inclusion in Obamacare. “Without the public option, many of us knew that healthcare in this country would fail,” Tim said. “I wish we had been wrong.”

He is part of a small group pushing for a referendum to enact universal healthcare in Maine by the end of the decade. He is an active volunteer at several non-profits, including his local food bank. He is also a member of the recovery community. Tim has lost several people he loved to alcohol and drug addiction.

Adventures & the Outdoors

Tim recently summited the last of the 67 mountain peaks in New England over 4,000 feet. He is an avid hiker, runner, and backpacker. He has hiked the 100 Mile Wilderness twice, has completed about 1,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and has logged several thousand miles of backcountry hiking.

He has hiked the 100 Mile Wilderness twice, completed over 1,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and has logged several thousand miles of backcountry hiking. He has also rafted the Dead River on the largest release day of the year.

Join Tim

Over 90% of U.S. Senators are millionaires. This is how you help elect the working class.

We promise not to spam you with a million fundraising texts, but this is really important. We will send you updates on the campaign, let you know where our town halls will be, share articles laying out more detailed positions, and share videos of Tim and Rebecca’s travels around the state. Not too many emails, not every day. That’s our promise.

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