U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner filed his overdue federal financial disclosure late last week, but the document sheds little light on his personal finances.
Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer and combat veteran from Hancock County who is seeking the Democratic nomination, was supposed to have filed the disclosure in September, but it wasn’t filed until Friday.
The document offers an incomplete look into Platner’s personal finances. The campaign has described him as a working-class oyster farmer and critics have cast him as a man of privilege.
Platner is the grandson of Warren Platner, a renowned architect and interior designer. His dad, Bronson Platner, is a former assistant district attorney and author who once ran for state Senate, and his mother Leslie Harlow is a well-known businesswoman who has been active in Democratic politics.
Platner briefly attended The Hotchkiss School, an elite private boarding school in Connecticut, before transferring to John Bapst Memorial High School, a private school in Bangor, for his sophomore year of high school. He later attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in between military deployments, but did not graduate.
In his financial disclosure, Platner only disclosed his $3,000 annual stipend for his role as harbormaster for Sullivan, a small coastal town about 17 miles east of Ellsworth. He’s held that position since January 2024. Platner also served on the town’s planning board from January 2023 to August 2025 but that was an unpaid role.
Platner is also the proprietor and president of the Frenchman Bay Oyster Company, where he reported the value of his equipment as $50,000 to $100,000 and disclosed a business loan of between $15,000 and $50,000. But he did not report any income.
He reported receiving more than $5,000 for providing oysters to his mother’s business, the Ironbound Restaurant and Inn in Hancock.
Platner is not required to disclose his disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. But he told News Center Maine last month that he has a 100% disability rating for “a couple herniated discs,” injuries to his shoulders and knees, and post-traumatic stress disorder from his four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He receives about $4,800 a month.
In response to questions from the Press Herald, a campaign spokesperson said Platner could take either “an owner’s draw” or a salary from the oyster business and it wouldn’t affect his disability benefits. Instead, he has chosen to reinvest that money back into the company.
The disclosure also says his wife, Amy Gertner, receives undisclosed income from Beech Hill School, an elementary school in Otis, as well as from the oyster company, a Belfast catering business and the campaign.
Gertner received two salary payments totaling nearly $3,600 from Platner’s campaign in September, according to the Federal Elections Commission filing. There are no laws prohibiting spouses or other family members from working on campaigns and the practice is not uncommon.
“Graham’s wife, Amy, works full time for the campaign,” a spokesperson said. “She manages the campaign schedule and is a volunteer coordinator. Additionally, as a former teacher, Amy also helps with the campaign’s education work. She is a valued member of the team and will continue to be.”
Gov. Janet Mills, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, has been granted a 90-day extension to file her disclosure and it is now due Feb. 11.
Mills, however, did file a personal financial disclosure with the state in April, though it too lacks details.
Last year, Mills earned $70,000 as governor. The 77-year-old also earns income from Social Security, the Maine State Retirement System and from a rental property in Farmington.
The Democratic primary race between Mills and Platner already has been closely watched, particularly since last month’s revelations about Platner’s old social media posts that many found offensive and for which he has since apologized. He also disclosed a tattoo that resembles a Nazi symbol and which he has since covered up.
The winner of the Democratic primary will take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a five-term incumbent who chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Randy Billings can be reached at [email protected].
