SANFORD — Current Senate District 3 Sen. John Tuttle and State Rep. Andrea Boland are seeking the Demo-cratic nomination in the June 10 primary, to be senator for the newly formed District 33.
Boland is currently representing House District 142, serving part of Sanford, but cannot run for re-election due to term limits.
The winner of this race will face Republican Adam McGee in the November election. The newly configured Senate District 33 includes Parsonsfield, Cornish, Limerick, Newfield, Shapleigh, Waterboro and Sanford.
”¢ Tuttle, 63, is married with one adult daughter and works as an emergency medical technician for North East Mobile Health Services. He served as a medic in the Army Reserve in Maine’s 133rd Engineering Battalion. Tuttle has served 28 years in the Legislature, the longest serving legislator currently in the Senate. He is also a former Sanford selectman.
Tuttle said he takes people for the person they are, not the party.
“I’m a consensus builder,” said Tuttle. “That’s what we need (in the statehouse).”
Tuttle said he is dedicated to veteran’s issues, having sponsored veteran legislation in the past. He was “shocked” to hear about a proposal to trade his former Engineering Battalion, with roots dating back to the 1880s, to Pennsylvania in exchange for an infantry unit, he said, and he’s dedicated to keeping the 133rd Engineering Battalion in the state. Tuttle said he would like a thorough review of the proposal.
Tuttle said some of the cuts made in the legislature a few years ago need to be evaluated, including eliminating the Circuit Breaker tax relief program and cuts made to Head Start. He said the Legislature needs to be more fair and better represent the middle class.
Ӣ Boland, 67, is self-employed as a real estate title examiner and an independent nutraceutical distributor. She is a widow with two adult children.
Boland is serving her fourth consecutive term as state representative and will be termed out.
Boland said she’s running for Senate to continue her work on “life and death issues,” and said there needs to be more transparency and accountability in government.
She sponsored legislation that requires the study of electric grid threats from solar storms and electromagnetic pulse, which could cause wide-spread blackouts. Boland, who has worked with national experts, said there are protections available that are “old technology.”
“It’s not rocket science,” she said.
Boland said she’s concerned that the North American Energy Reliability Corporation will block progress on this issue.
“Any delay is dangerous,” she said.
She also wants to continue work regarding cellphone usage, she said, and is concerned with children using cell phones and being susceptible to low-level radiation.
Boland is also concerned with health and wellness, including more transparency with vaccine ingredients.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].
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