PORTLAND — Like the periscope of a World War II submarine breaking the water’s surface, Tom Connolly’s beige sword-bill fisherman’s cap is the first thing you see as the Portland lawyer makes his way through a crowded room.

Just beneath the cap’s patent-leather brim lies a very busy mind that is simultaneously capable of nimble wit and social outrage. These days Connolly’s thoughts are on securing the Maine Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nomination.

On this day, Connolly has just left the Cumberland County Courthouse where he plies his trade as a criminal defense lawyer. Throughout 17 years in the business, he prides himself on never having forgotten that his “clients” are, first of all, “people.”

“This morning I got a kiss from a heroin addict and she was grateful!” Connolly said of a client after a court case. “I bet Governor King has never gotten a kiss from a heroin addict.”

Connolly’s Fore Street office is more like a featured room in a carnival fun house than the respectable offices of a Portland law firm. There’s a stun gun here, and a few police baton flashlights there. The place is strewn with weird souvenirs of cases past — including a full-size skeleton hanging up in the back, its skull encased in a football helmet. But it’s headquarters to the 40-year-old lawyer and his collection of high-profile, court-appointed clients.

The list of people he has defended includes criminals such as John Lane, convicted in the notorious Lewiston baby-in-the-oven case; assorted murderers; rapists; and Dennis Dechaine, a Bowdoinham man with Madawaska roots, convicted of killing 12-year-old Sarah Cherry in 1988.

“This [the law] is my ministry, and these are my people,” Connolly declares. “These are the people no one else would help. Their own families wouldn’t have anything to do with them. They are the most alone, the most desperate and the most isolated of human beings.”

Connolly’s profession also has won him a reputation for standing up to unorthodox police procedures and negligence suits stemming from instances of police brutality. He has had his disagreements with the departments in Portland, Old Orchard Beach, South Portland and, the most memorable, Standish.

“I knocked out completely the town of Standish Police Department — it just ain’t no more,” he says with a toothy grin suggesting a resemblance to the skeletal specimen behind him. “They beat up a pregnant woman and they’re gone.”

A career in law has been a traditional pathway to the Blaine House in Maine. Most lawyers have held local office and served in the Legislature before making a bid for governor. Connolly’s closest brush with politics up to now has been as a 1996 delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

No prior political experience? Connolly would say “no problem.”

“I have a depth of experience in the law, which is a branch of government, thank you very much,” he said. “And by God, I’ve got a lot of ideas on how to change Maine into a better place. I really know how much better it will be after four years and after eight years.”

On the assumption that his out-of-nowhere bid wins the primary and his sheer determination convinces Maine voters to put independent Gov. Angus S. King on ice, the Connolly administration would be guided by what the candidate calls his five-point, “Marshall Plan” for Maine. Looking at factory closings in Winslow, Augusta, Madawaska and, most recently, the Bass Shoe Co. in Wilton, Connolly said it is time for Maine government to start taking care of its own.

“Go visit Wilton,” he suggested. “Wilton is as devastated as if someone had dropped a bomb on it. Only it wasn’t a bomb, it was $1.50-per-day labor.”

Connolly would:

Create a state government loan fund to help Maine employees buy out the businesses leaving the state for cheaper labor markets.

Guarantee access for two years of college to everyone in Maine.

Support an east-west highway linking Quebec and Calais.

Raise the minimum wage to $5.40 per hour, a proposal that passed in the Legislature but was vetoed by King.

Boost research and development programs within the University of Maine System.

Connolly favors keeping Maine’s liquor stores under state control and also supports increasing taxes on alcohol to encourage a 10 percent reduction in consumption among the state’s residents.

“In one year, 40 people in Maine die as a result of alcohol,” he said. “That’s one school bus full of kids and adults. Half of all workers’ comp injuries are caused by alcohol, so 10 percent of them is huge. Seventy-five percent of all car accidents are caused by alcohol, not to mention alcohol’s impact on the crime rate.”

Portraying King as an elitist who caters more to big-business interests than the needs of poor Mainers, Connolly said one of the governor’s largest errors in judgment was his decision to veto the $5.40 minimum wage hike.

“That’s $520 a year to the poorest of the poor, 32 percent of whom are single, head-of-household mothers,” he said. “He said he was afraid it would send a bad message to business. The message he sent to business was: `Come on Down East, make our people poor and give them no benefits.”‘

Thomas J. Connolly

Age: 40, born Sept. 25, 1957

Birthplace: Canton, Mass.

Residence: Scarborough

Occupation: Trial attorney

Experience: A Portland lawyer for 17 years, representing a number of notable clients. He has also taught a bar review course. Although he has never held public office, he was a 1996 delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Education: Bates College graduate and class valedictorian in 1979. Earned his law degree from the University of Maine School of law in 1982.

Last movie seen: “Hang Up Your Brightest Colors”

Last book read: Robert F. Kennedy biography

Favorite pastime: his children

Family: Married to Elaine Connolly, a registered nurse; three children: Anne, 4; Kate-Kate, 2, and Thomas, 8 months.

Top three priorities if elected: Increase the minimum wage to $5.40 per hour. Create a state government loan fund. Provide funding for more research and development in the University of Maine System.