Name: Ricky D. Long
Age: 52
Residence: Sherman
Political party: Republican
What position are you running for: State Representative, District 9 (incumbent)
What other political offices have you held? I have held positions in local government for the past 20 years and served as fire chief for 10 years. I am currently completing my second year in the Maine State House of Representatives. I sit on two committees — Environment and Natural Resources and Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
I am also on the board of directors for the Molunkus Valley Sno Drifters and serve as a trailmaster. I am also a life member of the National Rifle Association and have been a sportsman all my life.
What is your career background? Professional logger.
What made you decide to run for this office? I was tired of taxes always going up; unfunded mandates; and the lack of jobs in the state. Also, I am tired of the state and federal government putting too many rules in place so small businesses cannot survive. Maine can prosper if we just let it.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the community you will serve? The lack of jobs is part of the problem, as are high taxes. These both go hand-in-hand, because with high taxes we cannot have job creation.
Why should people vote for you? I listen to all folks of District 9 and represent them as best that I can. I still do not support unfunded mandates or vote for any tax hikes. I know how hard the people work because I am one of them. Plus I know the problems we face.
Full name: Patrick E. Hunt
Age: 66
Residence: Island Falls
Political Party: Democrat
What position are you running for: State Representative, District 9
What other political offices have you held? This is my second time running for political office. I am a member of the Aroostook County Bar Association and the Maine Bar Association. I have been a trustee of the Millinocket Regional Hospital since 1987, a trustee of the Emma V. Milliken Medical Center and a former trustee of the Katahdin Valley Health Center. I belong to the Island Falls VFW post, the Oakfield American Legion and the Ashland American Veterans post. I am a member of the Island Falls Historical Society, the Maine Historical Society and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. I am a member of Maine Right to Life.
I belong to the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, the NRA, the Benedicta Snow Rovers, the Island Falls Free-Wheelers ATV Club, and the Island Falls Lakes Association. I am a sponsor of several local teams, including the Hunt Law and Sherman softball teams in the Houlton, Sherman and Millinocket areas. During this election cycle, I have received the endorsement of the Maine State Nurses Association and a grade of “A” from the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine.
What is your career background? I am an attorney with my own law practice in my hometown of Island Falls, serving the greater Aroostook County and northern Penobscot areas since 1983. I am a 1964 graduate of Island Falls High School, where I was a three-year varsity letter winner in basketball. I served in the U.S. Army in Korea in 1967-68. I received my B.S. in economics from Ricker College in 1971. I served as an agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Boston from 1971-83. I received my J.D. from the New England School of Law in 1982. My wife, Rose Ann Hunt, is a nurse practitioner who has worked in the Island Falls and Millinocket areas since 1983. We have raised three children together, all graduates of Southern Aroostook Community High School in Dyer Brook.
What made you decide to run for this office? I am running to serve the hard-working people of my area. With the loss of several major employers in our area due to unfair foreign trade laws, I felt strongly that it was time to step up and serve my community in political office. I want to fight for state legislation to keep our jobs in northern Maine and America.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the community you will serve? The big issue is to keep our jobs from going overseas; we also need to attract industry and create jobs for our hard-working people in northern Penobscot and southern Aroostook counties.
What do you see as your primary goal, if elected? I will fight for jobs, local industry, and small businesses for the people of northern Maine, to ensure a brighter economic future for us and our children.
Why should people vote for you? As a native of Island Falls who has served as a lawyer for District 9 for over 25 years, I offer something unique to my fellow citizens: a personal, life-long, local understanding of our economic and political issues, joined with the education, legal background and business experience to intelligently advocate for state legislation that will help our region. The hard-working people of northern Maine deserve to have effective, thoughtful, locally-minded representation in the State house; a vote for Pat Hunt is a vote for the voice of northern Maine to be heard and respected in Augusta.
