What can we fix in the Maine State Legislature? PLENTY. Although the Democratic Party says it is the party of the people, in my experience, “we” Democrats like to talk rather than act.

My father, an Air Force major, crew commander, veteran and pilot of B- 52s, told me that sometimes you have to act first and think later. My dad was very analytical, like me, and he would solve problems with deliberation. It’s an engineering approach. You don’t take parts at random out of a junk drawer to build a machine – you have to be exact. Every part must be entered in the greatest detail to ensure prior function. He built airplanes that way.

An airplane has to be fail-safe critical, just like public policy ought to be. People sitting around the cracker barrel are not where the solutions are. Engineering is the fine art that makes things. Things that go, things that work, work dependably. My dad was an ace pilot, but he was an engineer too, who built aircraft he would be safe taking off in. And experimental craft as well – a thinker, yes, but a problem solver.

He wanted me to avoid falling into the trap of thinking that problems can be solved just by thinking about them. When you do something, do it right. But do something, don’t just sit around.

What I learned from him, and have done in my life, is to see where we need to focus, identify the problem, and tackle it. Solve it. Get the job done.

If I didn’t bring that type of mindset with me to the State House, then I would not be fit for the job.

We need legislators who aren’t focused on credentials, and while I have them, I am not going to ask for your vote by gloating about myself. I just want you to know that I will work as hard as anybody you have ever sent there could possibly work, on behalf of you. You are what matters.

Send me there, and I will earn your vote and the trust you place in that vote. Please call my number on my website: www.laurie2016.com. I want to hear from you, starting today. That way, I can make sure that what I will act on is what you want done.

Laurie Dobson
Candidate, District 9