The economy, Medicaid and the opiate crisis are key issues for Republican state Rep. Jeff Pierce of Dresden and his opponent, Democrat Will Neilson of Arrowsic.

The two are running for the seat in House District 53, which represents Arrowsic, Dresden, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Richmond and Woolwich. Pierce, who is serving his first term after being elected in 2014, said one of the first issues he wants to tackle if he is re-elected is the statewide opiate crisis.

“I think the toughest thing, and the most important thing the 128th Legislature is going to have to get a handle on, is the drug epidemic in the state,” said Pierce. “It’s going to be a massive undertaking.”

Pierce’s strategy would involve heavier penalties for drug dealers caught smuggling drugs across state lines, proposing a minimum 20-year sentence for anyone caught carrying drugs into Maine. “We have to aggressively go after interstate drug traffickers,” he said.

Pierce is an independent contractor who has run his construction business in Maine for the past 30 years. He cites his experience as a small-business owner as a reason for his strong interest in building the economy. He said striking a balance between keeping taxes low but keeping education intact is important to bring jobs to the state.

“Companies aren’t going to bring high-tech jobs or light manufacturing to Maine without a skilled workforce that (has) a mechanical aptitude,” said Pierce.

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Neilson is also a small-business owner. He and his wife, Pia, have co-owned Solo Bistro in Bath for 11 years. He is also a member of the Arrowsic Planning Board, and a volunteer with a number of local nonprofits.

Neilson also sees tackling economic growth in Maine as a key issue for the 128th Legislature. “Generally, I think there’s a sense of malaise. Some people focus on one thing or the other, but we have not really recovered our spirits or our confidence in the wake of the Great Recession,” he said.

Neilson said the current tax system and proposals to eliminate income tax are misguided, and that revenue sharing should be reinstituted to ease the property tax burden.

“Income tax is the fairest way to raise revenue; a graduated income tax makes the people who can most afford it pay the most,” he said.

Another key issue for Neilson is the expansion of Medicaid in Maine, a move that has been vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage. Expansion of Medicaid would bring federal funds into the state for health care, he said.

“One of the reasons why I hit so hard on Medicaid (is) because people usually want to look at that through the lens of welfare reform and the kind of moral judgments that some people like to put on that. But the economics of it are stark. There’s no question that it would be very, very favorable,” said Neilson.

He added that expanding Medicaid and providing more funding for counseling services would help curb the opiate epidemic.

Pierce, on the other hand, was one of the House members who voted against expansion, citing the failure of the program in other states.

“There’s five states who are going completely bankrupt now because of it,” he said.


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