Two Republicans are vying June 10 for the chance to represent the party as the candidate for the 1st Congressional District seat.

Dean Scontras – Conservative promises reform

Dean Scontras says the biggest problem facing the country is out-of-control spending by both Democrats and Republicans and a $34 trillion un-funded liability for social programs including Medicare.

“The biggest issue facing us as a country is we are $34 trillion in the hole in un-funded liability because of all the egregious spending that has come out of Washington, D.C. It’s Republicans and Democrats, who have spent egregiously,” he told a gathering recently, promising to go to Washington “as an outsider to reform.”

Scontras is proud of the fact he’s never held political office. A sales and marketing professional for high-tech start-up companies, Scontras has tried to position himself as the conservative in the race.

He is against abortion and received the endorsement of the National Right to Life Political Action Committee. He also has spent a lot of his time on the campaign trail talking about illegal aliens.

“Of all of the candidates in this race, I have a policy on illegal immigration,” Scontras says. “Dean Scontras will have a border fence built, offer no amnesty and crack down on sanctuary states.”

Scontras was a vocal critic of Maine’s lax driver’s license rules, which until this year did not even require an applicant to be a resident of the state. He also called for the state to require proof that a person is in the country legally before getting a license – proof the Legislature adopted last month under pressure from Department of Homeland Security.

Scontras, 38, who lives with his wife and two children in Eliot, graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in public policy and did graduate work at Georgetown University.

He is opposed to universal health care and believes efforts should be made to bring down health care costs, by switching to electronic medical records and advocating tort reform to cut down on malpractice suits. On Social Security, he believes people should have a choice to stick with the system as it now exists or invest their contributions on their own.

“We should allow people to do what they want to do with their own money,” he said.

Charlie Summers – Energy costs biggest issue

Charlie Summers, a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves, got a lot of attention for what he wasn’t doing on the campaign trail for the last nine months.

Summers has been in Iraq as a communications officer since last August and just returned home May 12. His wife Ruth has been his surrogate on the stump. Summers, 48, saw first hand what is going on in Iraq, and says an immediate troop withdrawal is not only logistically impossible, but a strategic mistake.

“We need to keep troop levels where they are for 12 to 18 months and train Iraqi security forces,” he said. After that the U.S. needs to “win the peace” by bringing in organizations like the Peace Corps and agricultural experts to help people help themselves.

While Iraq has been top of mind, Summers said the biggest issue facing the country and Congress is the cost of energy. Summers would offer tax incentives for people to buy hybrid vehicles, increasing the current $3,000 tax break to $10,000. He also believes people should be able to write off the cost of their loan on their taxes, just like they do mortgage interest. He says the country has to rely more on nuclear power and allow more drilling for domestic oil until alternatives can be developed.

He is opposed to a universal health care plan and would like to encourage small businesses to pool together nationally to offer discounted insurance rates. He would also make the cost of health care 100 percent tax deductible, even for individuals.

On two issues highlighted by his opponent, Summers is pro-choice on abortion and against amnesty for illegal immigrants. The only caveat is, he would allow a path for citizenship for those who serve at least eight years in the military.

The father of two and a two-term state senator from Scarborough, Summers ran a small business, worked as state director for Sen. Olympia Snowe and served as regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration. He’s run for Congress before, most recently against Rep. Tom Allen in 2004.

“I’m running for Congress because I believe public service is about solutions,” he said. “I’m not just somebody that beats up on government.”