Name: Alexander Reginald Willette.
Age: 23
Hometown: Mapleton
Political Party: Republican
What other political offices have you held? If none, what other offices, honors or titles have you earned? Maine State Representative, Chairman of the Legislative Youth Advisory Committee
What is your career background? Real estate and accounting.
What made you decide to run for this office? I was tired of watching people leave Aroostook County and Maine in droves due to our dismal business climate and lack of jobs. Over the last two years the legislature has turned our state around, going from 50th in the nation for our business climate to 35th. We have done this by making common sense reforms like LD 1605 that helped increase agri-tourism by instituting tort reforms preventing farmers from frivolous lawsuits. We passed LD 1 that brought all parties to the table and repealed burdensome regulations, while creating the first in the nation Small Business Advocate, helping Maine business navigate state bureaucracy. We have removed many burdensome regulations that prevented businesses from expanding and in the last two years Maine’s unemployment has dropped and stayed constantly below national average. I am running because I have knocked on almost every door in my district talking to voters who are asking for more jobs and worried about the economy. Maine needs to continue the trend of the last two years, decreasing unemployment by partnering with the private sector. If sent back to Augusta to serve another term as your State Representative, I will continue to fight for jobs in the County.
What do you see as the most important issue facing Aroostook County? The most important issue facing Aroostook is the same as the rest of the state, and that is our economy. We have unique issues to deal with, being the largest geographical county in the state and the more northeastern county in the nation, but that also offers many advantages. We now have a Maine Canadian Trade Ombudsman that is helping expand our trade opportunities with our Canadian neighbors. With the current value of the Canadian dollar we have a great opportunity to sell more products to the Canadians who are crossing over in greater numbers now than ever before. We also need to look toward technology, with the new IT infrastructure in Aroostook thanks to the Three Ring Binder project, we need to look for companies like Google, Apple, and other tech-centered businesses who don’t need a physical road to operate on, just a great IT infrastructure. We have seen that states with the best business climates get these companies to invest in more rural areas like ours, and if we continue the reforms of the last two years, we will become more competitive with the states currently receiving these major investments by companies in the tech sector. In two years we have brought Maine’s ranking from 50th to 35th in the nation for business climate with our common sense pro-business reforms that have led to job creation and lower unemployment. We need to continue this pro-jobs agenda to grow Aroostook County.
What do you see as your primary goal, if elected? As a young person, I have seen many of my friends leave the County for college and never come back. I see how upset their parents are that they won’t be able to have their grandchildren nearby. My primary goal, if re-elected, is to bring more economic opportunity to the County so that more families will be able to stay around. That means easing regulations on small businesses, expanding vocational opportunities for young people and displaced workers, supporting bills that allow new employers to come and stay in the County, and keeping taxes low for working families.
