GORHAM — It’s sad to see Bruce Poliquin, the Republican candidate for Maine’s 2nd District, and his allies in Washington playing politics with energy policy. It appears that scoring cheap political points is more important to them than making sure we have a sustainable, affordable energy future.

Here in Maine, we do things differently. State Sen. Emily Cain, the Democratic candidate for the 2nd District, has helped forge an energy policy with broad bipartisan support. Republicans, Democrats and independents adopted three simple but important goals for Maine’s energy future:

• First, lower the total cost of energy for Maine consumers. This is important to improve our economic competitiveness and to help Maine families, who historically have spent far too much of their household budgets on oil and gas.

• Second, reduce volatility in energy prices to avoid price spikes that harm individuals and businesses alike.

• Third, minimize the environmental impact of energy production, protecting our air, water and forests.

Emily Cain has consistently supported policies to advance those three goals.

For example, she supported the creation of the Efficiency Maine Trust, which has saved Mainers millions of dollars in avoided energy costs.

There are countless stories of Maine businesses, from farmers to large manufacturers, who have improved their bottom lines with help from Efficiency Maine. This legislation was enacted with overwhelming votes of 118-27 in the House and 27-6 in the Senate.

Cain also supported legislation to enable offshore wind development, securing Maine’s international leadership in renewable energy. This legislation has led to more than $50 million of investment flowing to the University of Maine to support development of new wind turbine technology.

Given Maine’s vast offshore wind resources, this technology can launch Maine into a leadership position in manufacturing turbines and generating affordable electricity for the region. This legislation was passed into law with unanimous votes on enactment in the House and Senate.

Maine also participates in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a nine-state compact that has strengthened Maine’s economy at the same time it has reduced pollution in the region. Thanks to RGGI, Maine has seen energy savings of more than $250 million. With Cain’s support, legislation implementing RGGI overwhelming passed, with votes of 120-7 in the House and 35-0 in the Senate.

Most recently, Cain helped override the governor’s veto of energy legislation to expand access to natural gas in Maine. This is crucial for Maine homeowners and businesses desperately trying to reduce energy costs and switch from expensive oil heating. The legislation also increased investments in energy efficiency and provided funding to help Mainers switch to more affordable heating systems.

This proposal demonstrated the capacity of leaders like Emily Cain to work across the aisle to forge bipartisan agreement despite opposition from the governor. Indeed, the final votes on the veto override were 121-11 in the House and 35-0 in the Senate.

What’s most important about these initiatives is that, with Emily Cain’s leadership, they received overwhelming support from Republicans, Democrats and independents. She is a consensus builder and has put good public policy ahead of cheap political rhetoric. Unlike her opponents in the 2nd District race, she has a track record of building support for policies that will lower energy costs, strengthen our economy and improve our environment.

The idea that we must choose between the environment and our economy is as outdated as it is wrongheaded. If we are to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need a broad strategy that supports energy generation here in Maine and the United States.

Shifting from Mideast oil to Canadian tar sands oil is not going to lower energy costs over the long run and is not going to be sustainable. We need to support wind, solar and tidal power so that we can keep our energy dollars right here in Maine. And by expanding natural gas, we can lower energy costs by shifting away from expensive foreign oil.

What we need in Washington more than ever are leaders like Emily Cain who have experience building bipartisan coalitions to break through ideological stalemates.

Energy policies that lower energy costs and protect our environment are achievable, as Emily has proven through her work in the Legislature. The divisive rhetoric from Bruce Poliquin and his allies in the Big Oil lobby will never get us there.

— Special to the Press Herald