This image was chosen as the model design for a potential new Maine state flag. Maine voters will decide in November whether to adopt it as the official flag. Image courtesy of the Maine Department of the Secretary of State.

AUGUSTA — Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Monday unveiled a model design for what could soon become the new Maine state flag.

The design was one of more than 400 submissions that Bellows received as part of a design contest she announced in June.

All entries had to include the elements of the original state flag used in the early 1900s: a pine tree in the center, a blue star in the upper corner and a buff background. But Bellows opted for a more lifelike tree image instead of a stylized version of a pine tree that some had proposed.

Maine voters will decide in November whether to adopt the design as the new official state flag that flies over the Capitol and other state buildings. If approved, it will replace the flag that features the Maine state seal.

“The design I have selected as the model flag to be delivered to the adjutant general – designed by Adam Lemire, of Gardiner – stood out as a beautiful, faithful representation of an eastern white pine tree proper. Should voters vote yes to Question 5 in November, we will have a beautiful state flag that honors our past and our future,” Bellows said.

Image courtesy of the Maine Secretary of State’s Office

While the design Bellows chose will be used for official state use, she said that, if the referendum is passed, any flag that follows the 1901 written requirements could be considered a legitimate state flag. Furthermore, a future secretary of state would be able to change the state flag to a different design that follows the 1901 requirements without legislative approval.

The submissions came from 42 states. Two submissions also arrived from outside the United States, one from Canada and one from England.

Adam Lemire of Gardiner, right, talks about his model design for the Maine state flag, center, after the design was unveiled Monday by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, left, at Bellows’s office in Augusta. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Bellows got help from a diverse group of advisers during the review of submissions and when selecting the winner.

Maine State Archivist Kate McBrien, Deputy Secretary of State Lelia DeAndrade and Deputy Secretary of State Joann Bautista helped choose the 10 finalists. A panel made up of former Rep. Sean Paulhus, D-Bath; Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford; Sen. Tim Nangle, D-Windham; Rep. Caleb Ness, R-Fryeburg; Rep. Maureen Terry, D-Gorham; Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth; former Rep. Gerald Talbot, D-Portland; Colby College professor Chandra Bhimull; and retired journalist Bill Green helped select the winner.

Bellows said she deliberately made her group of advisers bipartisan.

“It was really important to me that this be a consensus recommendation. It was really important to me that this was a design that spoke to members of my team, to historians, that spoke to Republicans and Democrats alike,” Bellows said. “It was not lost on me that Sen. Nangle and Sen. Bennett both enthusiastically endorsed this particular design out of the finalists. I think that unity in this process is really important.”

Nangle agreed that the bipartisan nature of the group of advisers was important, as Ness did not vote for the bill that set in motion the redesign process and referendum.

“There were people on the panel who don’t support this bill and I think that was important as well, to have somebody who doesn’t necessarily support the bill, but wanted to make sure that a flag that was an option is a beautiful flag,” Nangle said.

The current Maine state flag features the state seal on a blue background.

The state flag debate has been a contentious one in Maine, with two proposals similar to the legislation that passed last year failing in 2019 and 2021.

One proposal that was quickly dismissed called for making the current flag more gender-inclusive by changing one of the two human figures – a farmer and a sailor – from a man to a woman.

The drive for the restoration of the 1901 flag was partly fueled by a design popularized by the Maine Flag Co. in Portland, which reintroduced a version of the original flag in 2017 that featured a more stylized pine tree. As of last year, the company had sold over 9,000 of its 1901 flags, plus hats, pillows, bags, wallets, T-shirts, and other items sold through its website and retailers such as L.L.Bean.

Chris Korzen, of Maine Flag Co., said his company plans to continue to manufacture its flag, which is also based on the Maine maritime flag from 1939. Korzen said his company’s flag design, which features a stylized, solid green pine tree rather than a more realistic tree, was one of the 10 finalists.

“I’m disappointed in the sense that I really wish that we had gone with the stylized design,” Korzen said. “If you look at the great flags of the world, they tend to not go for realistic designs.”

Korzen said that while he prefers the 1901 flag design over the one with the state seal, he was concerned that the debate about whether to make the change would become another issue divided along party lines.

Kate Law, production manager at the Maine Flag Company, sews the pine tree onto the company’s version of the original 1901 Maine flag in June 2023. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

“We were never in support of changing the (official) flag to begin with. We weren’t opposed to it, either,” Korzen said. “My fear is it’s going to become another thing to fight about. My hope is that this becomes unifying.”

Despite the commercial and political interests in the outcome of the design contest, Bellows said she did not face pressure from any outside groups.

“We did not invite any outside input beyond those who advised me in this process. Certainly some people shared emails, but again I was really focused on waiting until the design process closed and then reviewing the designs on their own merits,” Bellows said.

Bellows also said the selection process was blind, so the team did not know who created the designs they were assessing. Instead, each design was assigned a randomly generated number.

The winner of the contest, Adam Lemire, 39, of Gardiner, said he was not aware of any controversy surrounding the state flag before he submitted his design.

“I’m a hiker, I love trees of all types. I’m a designer, I’m an architect, and so I thought this was just a great opportunity,” Lemire said. “I love flag design but no, I didn’t follow the politics. I’m sure I’ll find out about it now.”

Adam Lemire, of Gardiner, talks about his contest-winning design for a new Maine flag, center, after the design was unveiled by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows at her office in Augusta on Monday. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Lemire said he submitted his design while he was in a hospital with his partner, who was due to give birth.

“(The design) was due on a very specific date, and my partner was pregnant with our child who was imminently coming. We actually went to the hospital before I submitted it, and I submitted it as she was being induced,” Lemire said. “The doctor said nothing was happening right then, and she was sleeping while I submitted it.”

Lemire works as an architect at Platz Associates in Auburn. He said he got inspiration from his walks with his 3-year-old.

“I took walks with my 3-year-old, both at the Capital Park, just outside the State House, as well as Viles Arboretum. This is an amalgam of many trees, but it’s mostly based on a tree in Governor’s Grove in Viles Arboretum. I was trying to make a simplified, somewhat realistic-looking tree,” Lemire said.

Lemire said he had many ideas but decided to highlight an eastern white pine. He included 16 branches that represent Maine’s 16 counties.