PLACE OF RESIDENCY: Arrowsic
PARTY AFFILIATION: Democratic
PREVIOUS ELECTED EXPERIENCE: None
What does the legislature have to do to bring quality jobs to the Midcoast region?
The legislature needs to continue to support the work of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), which has already brought almost 100 companies on to the former Naval Air Station property and created more than 1200 jobs, and counting. A comprehensive statewide economic development plan should be drawn up that will leverage regional strengths and provide a framework to consider what, if any, new economic incentives should replace the Pine Tree Zone legislation that sunsets at the end of 2018 and help align secondary, vocational and higher education with the state’s economic goals.
How should the state approach the opioid problem in Maine?
We need a comprehensive 3-pronged approach, working together on: 1) law enforcement/interdiction and reducing supply of illegal drugs, 2) treatment and 3) education and prevention. The state has devoted some additional resources to law enforcement and interdiction, but it has largely failed to act on the treatment side. It has been slow to create additional treatment capacity in the form of detox beds and treatment programs, and it has underfunded medication-assisted treatment. Expanding Medicaid would provide insurance for many people needing treatment, and funding for treatment providers. Education and prevention also needs to be increased to help people avoid addiction in the first place.
What legislation would you push for in the next session that would directly benefit the people living in your district?
Legislation to ensure that bonds the people have approved are released for their intended purpose when intended, especially the affordable senior housing bonds that will help reduce the waiting list of elders for housing.
Legislation to expand Medicaid, bringing hundreds of millions of federal dollars into the health care sector of our economy, stemming recent layoffs, and allowing people who earn too much for MaineCare but not enough to qualify for subsidies on the health insurance exchange to have access to health care. This measure alone would give us a healthier economy, and a healthier workforce, while eliminating the biggest disincentive to working more — losing their health care if they earn too much. And since the federal government pays much more of the cost of expanded Medicaid/MaineCare than they do for people currently covered, as people start to earn a little more, the state’s share of Medicaid/ MaineCare costs for them will drop from 32 percent to 5-10 percent.
I will also be looking for opportunities to:
• Build public/ private partnerships and apprenticeship programs between vocational schools and community colleges on the one hand and businesses on the other to ensure that young people have good jobs and that businesses have employees with the skills they need;
• Help find economically viable uses for green crabs and protect clam flats from them;
• Improve rural broadband connectivity for communities still stuck in the internet’s slow lane;
• Support our growing agriculture sector with assistance with value-added strategies like food hubs, marketing, and finance.
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