FREEPORT (AP) — Alan Caron has become the second independent running for governor in Maine, announcing he wants “big change in Maine, from the bottom up.”

The founder of GrowSmart Maine dropped out of high school in ninth grade but went on to start his own business and eventually earn a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

In 2010, Caron formed Envision Maine to work with businesses, government and nonprofits on ways to improve the state’s economy.

In a statement, Caron said the state needs “a new spirit of respect, civility, common sense and common purpose in our public square.”

It’s a crowded field with more than a dozen candidates. But there are only two independents, Caron and state Treasurer Terry Hayes.

Comments are not available on this story.