Former Gorham Town Councilor Norman Justice, a Republican, is throwing his hat back in the ring this year to run for the House District 130 seat because he believes he can use his experience to serve the district well.

Justice, 55, owns and operates Justice Farms. He has a wife, Yolande, and four children. If elected, Justice said he would tackle the growing economic crisis in Maine that he said is the biggest issue to him.

“Jobs, taxes and health care are all related in terms of our economy and they are affecting individuals here in Maine,” he said. “People are concerned about the economy. Also heating costs, gas prices, taxes and the rising cost in health care are a concern for people out there and they need to be addressed.”

Justice believes the tax on beer, wine and soda that funds Dirigo Health, a program in which 18,000 Mainers are enrolled, needs to be repealed.

“I wasn’t happy with the way the Legislature did that because it seemed like it was done in the 11th hour without a lot of discussion,” he said. “I’m also not a proponent of Dirigo, so I don’t think it’s an appropriate way of funding that.”

He said he doesn’t support Dirigo because it hasn’t worked.

“It hasn’t fulfilled its need and it’s too expensive,” he said. “It’s a failed policy and it’s time to address it up front and not do things like the beverage tax to try and fund this.”

Justice said he is in favor with bringing casinos to Maine because it will help keep money in the state.

“They’re legal in other parts of the country,” he said. “We’re sending hundreds of millions of dollars to the south of us, so I think any time we can keep resources in Maine, we’re better off doing that. We allow gambling with the state lottery already, so I don’t have a problem with it.”

He said he also supports potential slot machines at Scarborough Downs, but he would honor any decision that Scarborough residents make on the Nov. 4 referendum question to rezone the Downs to eventually allow slot machines at the track.

“That is a local issue and if the voters don’t support it, then so be it,” he said.

School consolidation will also help save the state money, he said.

“I fully support it,” he said. “It’s long overdue when you look at the stats and what we’re paying for in the state in terms of administration.”

Justice said he also believes Mainers are paying too much in taxes and something must be done to lower their burden because it creates job loss.

“We need to reduce our tax burden,” he said. “When you talk to businesses, it’s one of the predominant issues that impacts whether they’re going to stay in Maine.”