GORHAM — Two candidates with business management backgrounds are running for the House District 27 seat vacated over the summer by Andrew McLean.

Kyle Bailey of Gorham, a Democrat who owns a project management consulting business based in Gorham, is facing Republican Roger E. Densmore III of Gorham, a business manager at Camp Sunshine in Sebago, for the district which covers parts of Gorham and Scarborough.

Both candidates said they would focus on protecting businesses and the economy statewide as Maine continues to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Bailey said he will support investments in the state’s health, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure, along with “reforms to government institutions” that will benefit the less wealthy and connected in Maine.

“I will work across the aisle to develop innovative solutions that help families and businesses survive, recover and thrive after the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

Densmore said that restrictions imposed by Gov. Janet Mills can do long-term damage to the economy. He wants to find ways to keep the state up and running while remaining as safe as possible.

“We need to move to less restrictive policies, noting the state is very large and what might be needed to be done in southern Maine doesn’t necessarily work for other parts of the state,” he said. “To better manage our recovery, we need to keep regulations waived by the governor through executive order and identify even more opportunities to get the state out of the way of Maine’s small businesses.”

Bailey also cited a list of other key issues, ranging from the cost of health care to affordable housing and climate change.

“These are all important issues that require difficult conversations, hard choices and real solutions,” he said. “This is a time for principled and pragmatic leaders who will put partisanship aside, work collaboratively, think differently and act boldly. I believe that I am that leader.”

Densmore said that he wants to work to ensure that the state budget in the years to come has funding built into it to handle emergencies such as the pandemic. He argued that spending prior to the pandemic went up sharply enough to erase a previous budget surplus, making it harder for the state to fight the pandemic and support the state’s economy.

“We need to prioritize how we spend the people of Maine’s money and that should be the goal of everyone elected,” he said. “This has now become more difficult over the next two years because the money that could have been used to help us has already been spent.”

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