SACO — Stephen DuPuis, a retired software engineer has announced his candidacy for House District 129, part of Saco.

A Republican, DuPuis serves on the city’s Economic Development Commission and is a former Planning Board member. He is a bus driver for the Saco School Department. He is a graduate of Thornton Academy and the University of Southern Maine.

“I’m running for office because I care about our kids and the education they get,” DuPuis said. “Our schools need to work with parents and families to make sure the kids get the best education they can, the best education we as a community can provide. That means giving people options, choices. It means encouraging kids to get into career and technical education. It means that schools talk to parents about what they’re teaching, and work with them to provide the most opportunities for their children.”

DuPuis and incumbent Democrat Margaret O’Neil are the sole candidates for their parties in the June 14 primaries and will face each other in the Nov. 8 contest.

DuPuis, a father of three and grandfather of 10, says he believes education is critical to growing the economy. “Great schools, more choices, and more parental involvement in education is a win-win for Saco,” he said. “It’s going to help us build our economy. It’s going to led to better jobs with better pay, not just here but in Southern Maine and beyond. Investing in our kids is an investment in our economy, our future.”

DuPuis said that he is concerned about the soaring cost of living, whether inflation, electricity rates, or gas prices.
“We have to get the cost of energy under control,” he said. “We definitely need to bring the cost of power down, and that may mean reform at the Public Utilities Commission, or a policy shift at the State House that has only led to much higher electric bills, gas prices, and the cost of providing basic goods and services that we all rely on every day.”

DuPuis said he would work with policymakers on pulling Maine out of the pandemic era by ending health care mandates.

“You see help wanted signs everywhere,” he said. “Businesses are screaming for dependable workers. Nurses, doctors, people in the healthcare system are working long hours and are short staffed. There are long wait times for anyone needing a procedure, or even just to get a doctor’s appointment, and we need to address that. The vaccine mandate isn’t working. It’s only adding to that shortage of workers, and it’s forcing good people who have given their lives to taking care of others out of work at a time when we really need them. I think we know what the numbers are – most people are vaccinated against COVID 19 – and we need to accept that people have a choice and go from there. That would be my approach as a legislator.”

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