WINDHAM — Two experienced legislators are vying to represent part of Windham in House District 24.

Democratic incumbent Rep. Mark Bryant is being challenged by Republican businessman Tom Tyler for the seat, which covers the eastern and northern parts of Windham.

Bryant, 61, has served six non-consecutive terms in the Maine House of Representatives, including the last four years in the District 24 seat.

Tyler, 70, first served in the House in the 1990s as a Democrat before taking a break from the Legislature. He then became a Republican and was elected again to the House in 2012, serving one term before stepping away again to focus on his business.

Tyler replaced Bryant in 2012 after Bryant was termed out. Bryant returned the Legislature in the 2014 election when Tyler didn’t run for reelection and his District 110 seat became District 24 as part of statewide redistricting. However,  the two men have never run against each other until this fall.

After 12 total years in Augusta, Bryant believes his “experience and understanding of the process” would serve Windham well in the Legislature. His favorite part of the job is “when I can help cut through the red tape for a citizen.”

Tyler said he was encouraged to run by people in Windham and around the state, and he is challenging Bryant because he believes the incumbent’s voting record is “extremely, extremely liberal.”

“I like Mark Bryant, he’s a nice guy – family man, etc.,” Tyler said. “But his political voting has gone so radical in the last few years that I’ve just got to give it a shot.”

Tyler cited Bryant’s rating from the left-leaning Maine People’s Alliance. Bryant received a score of 83 out of 100 in the group’s 2018 legislative scorecard, and a 100 percent rating in 2017.

“I just feel it’s time for a more conservative voice, that’s all,” Tyler continued. “Fiscally, I’m a very conservative person. I think the state needs to control their monies well. Socially, I’m pretty much a moderate.”

Bryant said Tyler is “entitled to his perception” about his voting record, adding that  “I think it depends on what your perception of liberal is.”

Bryant said growing up in a large family in a mill town in Oxford county, then working in a mill in Westbrook, “has given me more of a concern for the regular working person.”

“I think everyone should have core values, and be objective too,” Bryant said.

“I’ve always gotten along with my opponent, and we just differ in policy,” Bryant said of Tyler.

One policy issue before the voters this November is Question 1 on the statewide ballot, which if approved, would create a Universal Home Care Program for seniors and people with disabilities through a 3.8 percent tax on individuals and families making more than $128,400.

Tyler said he is happy that all four gubernatorial candidates on the ballot have come out against the question, and criticized the current initiative process for not more fully vetting questions before they go to voters.

“That simple question that they put on the ballot, it’s 11 pages of legislation,” Tyler said. “Looks good, but then you read down through and it talks about joint income – and that’s not clear, but it’s in there.”

Bryant said he supports the concept of keeping seniors and the disabled in their homes but anticipates concerns about the funding mechanism.

“I think the funding part is going to be a hard sell, as it has been in the past with this type of funding,” said Bryant who did not provide a definitive answer on whether he supports Question 1.

Both men have participated in the statewide discussion about whether to expand Medicaid during their time in the Legislature.

Tyler noted that he voted in favor of expansion during his term in the 126th Legislature but did not vote to override Gov. Paul LePage when he vetoed the measure.

“If they find the funds, I could accept the people’s wishes,” Tyler said about the expansion. “But it’s got to be funded, it can’t bankrupt the state.”

Tyler added that hesitancy about expansion is because it’s “a funding issue – it’s not the idea that we shouldn’t give people health care.”

Bryant said he supports Medicaid expansion.

“I think the Legislature need to be cognitive, needs to be responsive, to the will of the people,” Bryant said about Medicaid expansion. “I’ll do my best, and have done my best, to make sure the money is appropriated and the best plan is put forward.”

In terms of combating the opioid addiction, Bryant said the state “getting a rude awakening to just how bad the epidemic is.”

He emphasized “making sure that our officers have the tools and the funding” for enforcement and said that “funding for rehabilitation and recovery is equally part of the solution.”

Tyler said tackling the opioid situation has “to be the old three-legged stool approach,” citing the importance of treatment, enforcement to “stop the darn stuff from getting here in the first place,” and the need to educate young people – both in school and at home – about consequences.

Matt Junker can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @MattJunker.

Mark E. Bryant

Age: 61

Residence: Windham

Party affiliation: Democrat

Family: Wife, three adult sons, four grandchildren

Occupation: Customer service

Education: Associate of applied science degree in computer science from Andover College

Political/civic experience: Six nonconsecutive terms as Maine House of Representative for parts of Windham

Thomas Tyler

Age: 70

Residence: Windham

Party affiliation: Republican

Family: Wife, two children and three grandchildren

Occupation: Semi-retired small business owner of Hidden Brook Associates Inc.

Education: Windham High School graduate, associates degree from Southern Maine Technical Institute (now SMCC)

Political/civic experience: State representative from Windham in the 117th and 126th Maine Legislatures, current vice chair or the Cross Insurance Board of Trustees, member of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine Board of Directors,  former deputy chief of the Windham Fire Department, served on the Windham Economic Development Council, past Boy Scouts Troop 51 committee chairman, assistant varsity coach at Windham High School for five years