Nate Libby

Democrat

Candidate’s Links:

Office Sought: Senator – District 21
Age: 31
Occupation: Economic development consultant
Education: Skowhegan Area High School; Bates College – BA History, Economics
Family: Married with 1 child
Hometown: Lewiston

Political experience

Maine Senate District 21 (City of Lewiston) 2014-present
Maine House District 73 (part of Lewiston) 2012-2014
Lewiston City Council 2011-2015

Why are you running for office?

I’m running for office for 3 reasons: 1) I want to make government work better for people; 2) I take great pride in, and work very hard at, being a fierce advocate for Lewiston and its people; 3) My record of accomplishment in Augusta is largely due to my ability to work collaboratively and honestly with lawmakers, the LePage Administration, advocates, and the public, to come up with constructive solutions to big picture problems.

• Income Tax: Gov. LePage would like to lower Maine’s income tax rate and eventually eliminate it, by increasing the state’s sales tax and expanding it across a broader range of goods and services. Do you support this proposal?
  • Other

    I’ve long advocated, and as Ranking Member of the Taxation Committee helped enact last year, major comprehensive tax reform that lowers income tax for working people, provides property tax relief for Maine residents, and exports a share of the tax burden to non-resident tourists. Eliminating the income tax all together would create perennial state budget crises, and would disproportionately benefit Maine’s top 2%. That said, there is room to lower the income tax for working class people, create additional tax brackets, and export more tax burden to nonresidents.

• Background Checks: Do you support background checks for privately sold firearms in Maine?
  • Yes

    Mandatory background checks for firearm purchases is a reasonable protection for a civil society. The loophole that exists for not needing background checks in private sales must be closed.

• Minimum Wage: In light of the ballot question facing voters this fall, do you support raising the state’s minimum wage from $7.50 to $12 an hour by 2020?
  • Yes

    The minimum wage is worth much less in real dollars than it was 50 years ago. Increases in the minimum wage have not kept up with the cost of living, so I support raising it gradually over time and indexing it to inflation, as proposed by Question 4. No one who works full time should live in poverty or require public assistance to survive, and certainly not in the wealthiest nation in the world.

• Marijuana: Do you support legalization of marijuana for recreational use?
  • No

    While I support Maine’s medical marijuana program, and believe medical marijuana can have positive impacts on patients with chronic pain or epilepsy, to name just two examples, I do not believe the recreational marijuana referendum should be approved. Here are 3 reasons why: 1) legalization will certainly make it easier for young people to access the substance, and we know marijuana usage adversely affects brain development in young people; 2) the State has no way of testing a motor vehicle driver’s level of impairment, or enforcing DUI laws, with current technology; 3) creating a complex regulatory and taxation system is a job best left to the Legislature and the Executive branch, not the marijuana lobby who wrote the referendum.

• Addiction/Overdoses: Do you believe the state is doing enough in response to the rise in heroin/opiate addiction and overdoses? If not, what else should be done?
  • The state and its partners (law enforcement, treatment providers, health care providers, community groups) need to be tough on drug trafficking and compassionate and generous with addiction treatment. I supported a modest increase in funding for law enforcement and treatment earlier this year, but more can and should be done.

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