Carlton Day Reed, Jr., better known to his friends as Bud, was born in Bath, Maine in 1931.
Reed almost didn’t live to become Senate President; as a young boy he was shot while hunting in the woods and left unconscious to die. Found by two other hunters he recovered from his wound and went on to become the center and captain of the Colby footbal team.
A graduate of Morse High School, Reed spent a year at Governor Dummer Academy before graduating from Colby College in 1953. Following graduation, Reed returned to his father’s bridge building firm and became involved in Sagadahoc County politics.
After an unsuccessful attempt in 1956, Reed was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1958. Losing his bid for reelection in 1960, he ran for the Senate in 1962 defeating Rodney E. Ross, Jr.
Reelected in 1964, Reed was as amazed as anyone to be running for the Senate President’s post. Barry Goldwater’s landslide defeat in that year helped the Democrats gain control of the Maine Legislature for the first time since 1911.
Following his term as Senate President, Reed served two more terms in the Maine Senate, one as minority leader. When he left the Senate, Reed returned to Woolwich as a partner in the firm of Reed & Reed, general contractors.