NAPLES — A medical office manager is challenging an incumbent seeking his sixth non-consecutive term in the race for House District 68, which is composed of Naples, Sebago, Baldwin, Cornish and part of Parsonsfield.

Democrat Janice Barter was asked to run by Speaker of the House Sara Gideon, and although she had turned down requests to run in the past, she said she felt “it was time.”

Republican incumbent Rich Cebra was first asked to run in 2004 by Phil Cressey, who then held the seat. Cebra said he was motivated to run after opening an ice cream parlor in Naples and “running into all kinds of regulatory stuff that was making it harder than it should have been.”

During his years in office, Cebra said, he learned that “things take time, and I mean that in a good way.”

Cebra helped introduce the bill to allow concealed carry of firearms. “I submitted that way back in the 123rd Legislature, and it didn’t happen and become law until the 127th Legislature. There are ideas that we need to talk about in our republic that need to be brought up, whether they become law today or 10 years from now,” he said.

If elected, Barter said she would focus on the lack of funding for education, an issue she has been exposed to during her 20 years on the SAD 61 School Board. “Education’s not always valued,” she said.

Barter would also work on expanding access to broadband internet. “We could help our economic development here if we had better broadband access,” she said. She is also interested in assisting Maine’s aging population.

If re-elected, Cebra would focus on overhauling the tax system. He is concerned that the excise tax is “being borne by Maine people 100 percent” while other taxes, like the gas tax, are not. “Why shouldn’t the excise tax be shared by other people who use roads in Maine as well?” he said.

Cebra would also work on reducing regulations. “If we want people to bring jobs here, we’ve got to get the government out of their way and make it easier for people so they can do the things they want to do,” he said.

Barter does not support Question 1 on the statewide ballot, which asks voters if they want to create a new 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, because the bill stipulates the formation of a nine-member board.

“I don’t understand why it couldn’t go through the Department of Human Services or some agency that’s already set up,” she said.

In addition, she explained, “They’re allowing 3 percent of the total monies delegated to run the administration of this agency, and then they allow another 22 percent administration fee. So I think by the time you get down to the caregivers, 75 percent is available for the caregivers.”

Cebra is also against Question 1. “There are too many unknowns. Before we start doing anything like that, we need to know what it’s going to cost us in the long haul,” he said.

The issue of how to deal with opioid addiction in the state, Barter said, “is difficult because it’s hard to measure pain” since it is so subjective, a problem she has witnessed during her time in the medical field.

Some people use opioids “for a legitimate reason” because they perform physical labor, and now because of a crackdown on opioid use, they are “being kind of forced into withdrawal and almost being forced to seek medication on the street,” she said. She said she has seen some success with patients using medical marijuana rather than opioids for their pain.

Addiction “is a disease, and it needs to be treated that way, and people can’t feel stigmatized by it; otherwise they won’t seek treatment,” she said.

Cebra believes that both enforcement and rehabilitation are needed to address opioid addiction. “Until we take it seriously and start doing more of both of those things, it’s not doing to change,” he said.

Cebra added, “I absolutely believe in the rule of law and the Constitution and the rights of the individuals and that the government is there to serve the people. I know the process; I know what it takes to get things done.”

Barter highlighted her years of experience working in the community: “On the School Board, we don’t know who’s Democrat and who’s Republican. We all just want to work for the best of the kids and the taxpayers. I’m not a politician per se. I’m just Janice. I’m part of the community.”

Jane Vaughan can be reached at 780-9103 or at jvaughan@keepmecurrent.com.

Janice Barter
Age: 59
Residence: Naples
Party affiliation: Democrat
Family:  Married, two sons
Occupation: Manager, medical office; owner, Naples Fitness Center
Education: Bachelors degree in economics, Tufts University
Political/civic experience: Member, SAD 61 School Board, 1998-present, and chairman 2005-2007, 2014-present
Website/social media: Facebook: Janice Barter

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