Rep. Lisa Miller walks the walk.

Miller, a Democrat, has been member of the Legislature for the last four years, where she serves on the Health and Human Services Committee.

But her legislative service is only one part of a life that's clearly been devoted to public service. She's served on the Somerville School Committee, acted as her town health officer for 22 years and has been a director of organizations that range from the Maine Philanthropy Center to the Family Planning Association to the Maine Health Access Foundation. She and her husband are the volunteer organizers of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association's merchandise booth at the Common Ground Fair.

Miller's got a job, too, although we can't imagine when she has the time to do it; she's the senior program officer at the Bingham Program, a foundation established to promote health and advance medicine in Maine.

Miller is running for re-election to her third term in the House. Her opponent, John Stewart of Washington, is a small businessman and former timber framer and boat builder who's running on a platform of getting government off people's backs.

"I want to remove government encumbrances from our prosperity," Stewart says, and considers the income tax "immoral."

Stewart's got a clearly articulated, almost libertarian dislike of government. He's smart and appears eager to serve.

But he simply can't compete with Miller's deep and broad experience in public service, which has given her a valuable perspective that she's brought to the Statehouse. We endorse Miller for re-election in House District 52.