AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – Maine’s governor is mourning the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, whom he called “an inspirational leader and a good friend of mine and my family.”

In a statement released Wednesday, Gov. John Baldacci said the Massachusetts senator “has been at the center of the most important public policy debates of my generation and through it all he fought for those without a voice of their own.”

Baldacci said Kennedy was “a ferocious fighter for what he thought was right,” but still always managed to reach across the aisle to find common ground.”