My plan to rebuild Maine

To the editor:
    I am running for governor with a plan to fix state government and rebuild Maine’s economy. Throughout my 15 years’ of service in the state legislature I’ve sounded the fiscal alarm that we are now hearing loud and clear. Our state spends more than it can afford and gets poor value for that dollar. The recession has made this frighteningly obvious. Now more than ever we need an accountable government, one that measures the results of the services it delivers.
    State government is broken. If we could fix it with a hammer and nails, I’d be at work today with my tool belt. But it will take more than simple carpentry to reconstruct the state for our people’s future.
    The majority party has relied on budget gimmicks, federal handouts, and borrowing to expand the role of state government. They’ve propped up a human services department that measures success based on sheer numbers of clients and providers with little attention paid to assessing the results of their spending. Our schools cost dramatically more than other states, yet test scores are dropping, enrollment declining, and we have one of the shortest school years in the world.
    The people of Maine are fed up with an increasing tax burden and not knowing what those tax dollars are buying. It’s time for the Republican Party to step up and offer a plan to repair a government struggling with debt, dependent populations, and decaying infrastructure. Effective management is our party’s strength and must be at the foundation for constructing Maine’s future.
    Construction begins with measuring, measuring the performance of our public services. We raise our school results with modern assessments, timely correction, and a longer school year. We reinforce health care by providing real care to those in need rather than focusing only on subsidized insurance. We can reign in our budgets by trimming duplicate services, cutting school overhead costs, renovating public pensions, and demolishing Medicaid abuse.
    To rebuild our economy we start with the basic step of getting government out of the way of business. Reduce regulations and control taxes. Maine is full of entrepreneurs, but they lack capital to grow their businesses. Together with Tech Maine I proposed a Fund of Funds to make that capital available. As Governor I will implement that fund and we will see similar successes as we’ve seen with the Maine Technology Institute.
    Maine is an energy powerhouse. Yet we pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country. We need a chief executive to produce deals that benefit Maine people. With the right leadership, we can literally power our future.
    We cannot fix the state and rebuild Maine overnight. But we need to start now. We need a governor with a plan for 2011, a governor with the skills to drive change in Augusta, and the will to implement that plan as soon as elected.
    I have that plan and I am ready.
Sen. Peter Mills
(R-Cornville)