CUMBERLAND COUNTY — A registered nurse is facing a chiropractor for the District 30 state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Linda Sanborn, D-Cumberland, whose term expires at the end of this year.

Stacy Fielding Brenner, D-Scarborough, a nurse who also owns Broadturn Farm in Scarborough, is running against Sara L. Rivard, a chiropractor with offices in South Portland and Standish. District 30 covers Gorham, Buxton and part of Scarborough. Neither have held public office.

When asked how they would work to combat the coronavirus pandemic, Brenner focused on the need for economic recovery, particularly for small businesses such as her farm. She called for stronger local forgivable grant programs and other forms of assistance such as eviction moratoriums, rental and mortgage assistance and expanded food and health care programs.

“We have to prioritize relief for the local small businesses that were already operating on tight margins and that employ almost 60% of our state’s workforce,” she said. “We can’t hope to rebuild our district’s economy if working people are losing their homes and apartments and are unable to receive the medical care and afford the food they need to stay healthy.”

Rivard said she believes the government hasn’t given the public enough say in setting policies to manage the pandemic and she wants that to change.

“I believe business owners, parents and community members, which are our lifeblood, should have had more input into decisions that were made that impacted their children and our livelihood,” she said. “We should also have input into all future decisions to recover our communities.”

Brenner said she also wants to fight climate change, calling for policies on the state level to encourage the development of more green jobs in farming, forestry, fishing and similar industries.

“As someone who has been a farmer for 19 years and has an intimate understanding of how the world is changing, I fear for our food supply and for the future world all our children and grandchildren will inherit,” she said. “If elected, I want to pursue policies that treat climate change as the emergency it is and transition our economy to a green economy as quickly as possible.”

Rivard said the biggest issue the state will face in the next three years is an estimated $1.4 billion budget shortfall. She said she wants to work “to close that gap.”

“This issue is going to overshadow all others,” she said. “Without addressing this, our state is at risk for deep and lasting damage to our small businesses, our young families and our at-risk population. I believe this is where all of our focus should be.”

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