Everyone deserves access to the best this great state of Maine has to offer – whether it’s my students who want to stay in Maine and raise a family, get a good job, and contribute to their community, or the lobsterwoman I met who wants to continue working in an industry that’s been challenged by environmental changes, or the elderly man I know who wants to stay in his home but is one car repair away from losing his home. These hardworking men and women trust those in government to make fair decisions. Because of them, I am running for the Maine state legislature, House District 53, which includes Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Dresden, part of Richmond and my own town of Woolwich.

In my six years as a Woolwich selectperson, I understand that every dollar we propose to spend on a town service is a dollar that comes from taxpayers. I’ve also done my best to see that those tax dollars are spent responsibly, to help create a sustainable community and a sustainable state. As one example, I’m proud that Woolwich took the future-oriented step of voting for solar panels to power the Town’s electricity. I’m also proud to have helped maintain the Town’s historic alewife harvest. Preserving that resource helps improves the waters where so many of our residents work. These are the kinds of results that make this area great.

I love being part of this community. Maine’s First Ship, where I volunteer, offers residents and visitors a chance to be part of history. Recreating Virginia, the first English-built ship built in North America in 1607, at the Bath Freight Shed is a great example of how volunteerism is contagious in this region. Originally built at the mouth of the Kennebec River in what’s now Phippsburg, Virginia is also a vivid illustration of this community’s longstanding connection to fishing, seafaring, and shipbuilding.

As a selectperson, and a historian and teacher, I’m an energetic problem solver, a patient collaborator, a careful listener, and I can work with anyone. Whether the issue is large or small — education funding formulas or cutting through red tape to get a road sign on a local road — I have found answers for my constituents.

Finally, I’m proud to live in a state with a genuine citizen legislature and to be a Clean Elections candidate. It’s a system that keeps candidates accountable, and makes it possible for any citizen to seek public office. I support this effort. As a recipient of Clean Elections funding in exchange for collecting small donations from residents, I take seriously not being beholden to anyone’s interests except those of the residents I seek to serve.

It’s an extraordinary honor to work hard to earn your vote. I look forward to meeting you, seeing you again, renewing old friendships, and making new friends.

EDITOR’S NOTE: House District 53 is currently represented by Jeffrey K. Pierce, R-Dresden.