STATE SENATE
DISTRICT 34
Residence:
What position are you running for? Maine Senate District 34
What other political offices have you held? If none, what other offices, honors or titles have you earned? House of Representative 119-122; National Education Association Director for Maine, Washington, D.C.; MEA Executive Board (3 terms) Augusta; Vice Chair of Bi-partisan Rural Caucus; eight years Maine Legislature; President of the Senior Housing in Hodgdon.
What is your career background? Currently serving as Maine Senator for District 34; practiced law in southern Maine; taught math and chemistry at the high school level for 29 years; farming with my father raising potatoes, grain and beef; adjunct Professor of Law at Northern Maine Technical College for six years.
What made you decide to run for this office? I decided to run again for state Senate because of a frustration prompted by watching a state budget increase under Governors Angus King and John Baldacci from $2.8 billion to $6.6 billion within an eight-year period, resulting in higher taxes, fines, fees and other costs to the people of Maine.
For eight long years, minority budgets have failed time after time. Now we have arrived at a point where candidates claim to be ready for an overhaul of state revenues and expenditures. I am running on the hope that those claims are true and doable. Let us watch.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the community you will serve? The most important issue for me is to provide services to the people of Maine within our ability to pay for those services; whether it is social services, education or roads. Government must be there to help, not be a hindrance.
What do you see as your primary goal, if elected? My primary goal is for Maine to match revenues in a fair way with necessary services, while lowering the tax burden over a reasonable time period. Encouraging jobs and a business atmosphere to encourage a growing economy is a must as well. Good luck to all of us.
Why should people vote for you? A vote for me would be a vote for my experiences with five different state legislative committees, where I served as lead Republican on four of them. I am also working as a member of Rural Caucus, with Democrats and Republicans with common goals. I have received support on eight to 10 major items for Aroostook County and other rural parts of Maine. Experience does count if it is bipartisan. Thank you for your support.
Editor’s note: The answers to the candidate questionnaire are not verified for accuracy by the editorial staff of this newspaper.
