JAY – All Jay Selectman and state Rep. Ray Pineau had to do was sit at a table Saturday night and people came to him.
Hundreds of them.
They came one, two or more at a time to talk to him, hug him, kiss his cheeks, pat his back, and shake his hand as they stopped at his table during a benefit supper in his honor Saturday night at Jay High School.
State Rep. Leila Percy, D-Phippsburg, even sang “Last Night On The Back Porch,” to him, which brought laughter from those in attendance and added more color to Pineau’s cheeks.
Pineau, a Democrat, is steadily improving, getting stronger every day as he recovers from the aftermath of a stroke he had in August.
“I’m doing good,” Pineau said Saturday. “I’m starting to work into Augusta.”
He has had a couple of setbacks in his recovery, he said, but keeps on moving forward.
Pineau in his trademark ivy cap held a wooden cane and a black cane but didn’t use them as he walked to a table to sit where fellow lawmakers surrounded him.
Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Oxford, and others hailed Pineau as someone who cares about his constituents and the working people.
Sen. Nancy Sullivan, D-Biddeford said she asked Pineau if he made it to the Legislature to vote on the bill to increase the minimum wage.
“He did,” she said Saturday. “And you can guess which way he voted.”
Congressman Mike Michaud, D-Maine, also spoke Saturday, telling a funny story about Pineau learning sign language in the hospital, but also wishing Pineau the best and a speedy recovery.
“God bless you Ray Pineau,” Michaud said.
Volunteers from the community and beyond worked the tables, served lasagna and spaghetti, desserts and other food and drinks during the evening.
Earl Allen and his wife, Lorna, had come to support Pineau.
“I work with Ray,” Earl Allen said Saturday. “He’s a real nice guy.”
Maynard Farrington of Jay said Saturday that “Ray has always been a good friend” and that’s why he and his wife Judy were there.
“He’s been so good in this town here,” Hyla Friedman of Jay said Saturday.
State Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington, said Saturday, she has been Pineau’s seatmate for three years.
“He came down twice this week,” she said. “He’s a soft spoken guy ordinarily, but when he speaks people listen.”
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