Welcome to our new blog on Maine politics. We plan to use this space to offer deeper and more sustained coverage of this year's big political races than we can in the newspaper.

So without further ado... I had a story in yesterday's paper that discussed the First District congressional candidates' stances on various issues.

Here's the main link. Sidebars are here and here. I didn't have room in the newspaper for the candidates' answers to a number of other questions. So I'm going to be posting that information on this blog over the next several days.

Today: the six Democratic candidates on energy policy.

* Michael Brennan said that he favors a number of approaches to addressing global climate change, including a windfall profits tax on oil companies that would be used to make investments in renewable energy, a national weatherization program, and increasing fuel efficiency standards in automobilies. Brennan also said he would probably support a cap-and-trade system on carbon-dioxide emissions over a carbon tax.

* Adam Cote said that he favors a cap-and-trade system on carbon-dioxide emissions, saying that energy is one of the most critical issues facing the country. “We really need to approach this in a comprehensive way,” he said.

* Mark Lawrence said that the current U.S. energy strategy is dramatically flawed because it’s reliant on carbon-based fuels, and their prices are going to keep rising as supplies shrink. He said that the best way to reshape energy production is through the tax code. He also said that he favors tax incentives for renwable energy, rather than a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system, which he sees as punitive measures.

* Steve Meister said that he favors federal grants to make homes more energy efficient, efforts to combat sprawl, an improved mass-transit system in Maine, and government efforts to improve fuel efficiency. He said that he leans toward a cap-and-trade system over a carbon tax, which he thinks would slow the economy, but the long-term solution is the development of alternative energy sources.

* Chellie Pingree said that she favors a cap-and-trade system on carbon-dioxide emissions, and would also be open to a carbon tax if a cap-and-trade system doesn’t go far enough.

* Ethan Strimling said that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which was passed in Maine and relies on a cap-and-trade system, should be used as a national model. He said that he has advocated for wind energy in Maine and efforts to improve energy efficiency. “But in the big scheme of things, what we really need to do is bring together a Manhattan Project,” Strimling said.

– Kevin Wack

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