Two Falmouth residents are competing for an open seat in the Maine House of Representatives representing District 111, which includes a portion of the town.
Democrat Amy Kuhn is facing Republican Jeffrey York. Here is a look at their priorities and positions on some key issues.
AMY KUHN
Q: What are your three top priorities and why?
Consistent with Falmouth’s priorities, I anticipate advocating for high quality public education, forward-thinking environmental and energy policies, and continued careful management of taxpayer funds.
Q: What are your biggest concerns about the economy right now and what should the Legislature do to address them?
Going into winter, many Maine families are struggling with high cost of living. We should make sure that residents are able to access all the support that is available now, including home heating assistance, prescription drug savings for seniors and people with disabilities and the recently adopted senior property tax relief program. We should also continue to incentivize energy efficient home heating options that reduce carbon emissions and cost less to operate.
Amy Kuhn
More broadly, one of Maine’s greatest challenges is that we are the oldest state in the union. We need to attract young people to Maine to live and work. We should also offer expanded opportunities for prosperity to those already here, such as increasing access to higher education, including community colleges, and further engaging our immigrant communities with workforce opportunities.
Q: Do you support changing Maine’s abortion law to make it more or less restrictive and how?
Decisions about reproductive healthcare are private and should be made between patients and their providers. Fortunately, Maine has strong protections that safeguard access to reproductive health care. I am committed to defending these longstanding protections.
Q: Do you believe President Biden won the 2020 election fairly?
Yes.
AT A GLANCE
Town: Falmouth
Party: Democratic Party
Occupation: Attorney
Education: BA in English from Goucher College (1987), JD with honors from George Washington University National Law Center (1991)
Civic/Political Experience: Falmouth Town Council (2018-present), Council Chair(2019- 2022), Falmouth Memorial Library’s Board of Trustees including president and co-chair of the capital campaign for facility expansion (2009-16), the Falmouth Food Pantry, Falmouth Public Schools, youth booster organizations, and more.
JEFFREY YORK
Q: What are your three top priorities and why?
School curriculum. Making sure schools adhere to teaching reading, writing, history, science and math and keep woke/CRT agendas out of the classroom. Leave personal/sexual matters to the family.
Jeffrey York
Limit the scope and duration of executive orders issued by the governor. During the pandemic I believe there was an abuse of these powers and overreach in their scope. Basic rights were suspended and infringed on. Remote learning for schools went on far too long and we will be years accessing the damage done to children’s development, not to mention childhood memories robbed by a callous dictatorial governor.
The opioid epidemic is a top priority that needs to be addressed immediately, lives depend on it. From January-June 2022 there were an estimated 4,922 fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses statewide, 329 were confirmed fatal. I qualified in the administration of Narcan and carry a rescue injection kit daily.
Q: What are your biggest concerns about the economy right now and what should the Legislature do to address them?
Property tax relief. The recent revaluation of Falmouth has resulted in many cases in a doubling of tax bills. Folks are struggling to make ends meet in the highest inflation we’ve had in 40 years. This increase during a recession with high interest rates is a stinging reminder of runaway spending by the current government.
Housing. If a person cannot afford to live here, they cannot afford to work here. There needs to be a plan to help accommodate folks to achieve affordable housing. Perhaps rewrite or revisit MSHA/LIHEAP guidelines? Maybe fund it with surplus revenue to help ensure warmth and housing rather than “rebates/stimulus” a few weeks away from elections.
The Maine AG, Aaron Frey, needs to sue the federal government over mandates put in place to protect the right whale. Needless regulations penalize lobster fishermen. They don’t need to have more regulation restricting their livelihood.
Q: Do you support changing Maine’s abortion law to make it more or less restrictive and how?
I am not aware of a movement to change the current abortion law or any cases in the courts to challenge so I’m not sure how relevant this question is. However, if there were, I would base that on what the constituents of the district wanted. After all, I would be elected as their representative and my job would be to make sure their voice was heard accordingly.
Q: Do you believe President Biden won the 2020 election fairly?
Yes, you don’t need to be a D.C. lawyer to figure that out. It’s the third quarter of 2022 and you are still asking this question? It’s time to move on.
AT A GLANCE
Town: Falmouth
Party: Republican Party
Occupation: Desktop support technician
Education: Sacopee Valley High School / United States Navy / Andover College
Civic/Political Experience: none
Website/Social Media: none
– Juliana Vandermark
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