Brunswick residents have less than two weeks to go before they solidify who will take the District 100 seat in Maine’s House of Representatives.

Rep. Dan Ankeles is seeking reelection as his first term representing the district, which encompasses a portion of Brunswick, closes out. This year, Brunswick resident Ivon H. Prescott Jr., a Republican, is challenging Ankeles for the seat.

Both candidates spoke to The Times Record about their campaigns, highlighting concerns about high housing costs and taxes burdening fixed-income households.

Candidates also addressed how they would deal with the disastrous Aug. 19 spill of PFAS-laden firefighting foam (also referred to as AFFF, which stands for aqueous film-forming foam). The spill is the state’s worst in 30 years and has sparked concerns about toxic forever chemicals.

Candidate responses have been lightly edited for grammar, spelling and brevity.

Courtesy of Dan Ankeles

Dan Ankeles

Please tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I am serving my first term in the Maine House of Representatives. My family and I have lived on Beech Drive since 2011. I’m a 43-year-old father of two kids, both in Brunswick schools. I started my professional life as a public radio journalist, but for nearly a decade I served as a legislative staffer in Augusta. I also spent five years on our Town Council, several years on our local Recreation Commission and multiple seasons coaching youth soccer. 

Why are you running for this post?  

I want to use my experience in public policy to make a positive difference for my community. I first ran two years ago to advocate for Brunswick at the state level, especially to better integrate Brunswick Landing into the rest of town and to work to make Brunswick more affordable through both housing policy and changes to property tax law. Those are goals that I still hold, especially given the revaluation and the ongoing spill crisis.

What are your most pressing concerns for the town? If elected, how would you address those challenges? 

The most pressing concerns are at least threefold. First is the lack of accessible housing and a diversity of housing types. Large employers in our region are having trouble hiring because there are not enough units that are reasonably priced. You also have the massive property tax burden shift from commercial to residential. It’s absolutely crushing people on fixed incomes, renters and working class homeowners. Maine’s tax code is fundamentally unsustainable right now. Finally, we are home to the worst AFFF toxic foam spill in Maine history. Brunswick residents and business deserve a clean and healthy community, and the state needs to fight alongside us.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I helped secure more than $72 million across the housing policy spectrum this year. We must continue these efforts, make Maine’s new rent relief program permanent and re-pass multiple pieces of planning legislation that died in the spring due to disagreements around funding. In terms of taxation, I have already started having serious conversations with my colleagues in the hopes of convincing them that tax reform is not nearly as big a political lightning rod as older Mainers losing their homes and their communities. The new property relief we just put in place this year does not provide the peace of mind that the fatally flawed property tax freeze did for many older Mainers, so we need to keep pushing the envelope.

The district you are running for includes Brunswick Landing, where an Aug. 19 toxic firefighting foam spill sparked an ongoing cleanup effort to mitigate PFAS contamination. What are your most pressing concerns related to this spill, and how would you approach resolving them?

The spill is both an environmental and a public health crisis. In the immediate term, I have been working around the clock to keep my constituents informed and to publicly call for accountability and the immediate shutdown of the Hangar 6 fire suppression system, which is a direct threat to our drinking water if something goes wrong.

When the Legislature returns in the new year, we need — at the very least — a four-pronged plan. I have already submitted three bills directly related to AFFF. The first requires the removal of all AFFF from Brunswick Landing and clears any remaining regulatory hurdles that might be in the way. The second authorizes and conducts a statewide inventory of all AFFF. The third creates a statewide AFFF take-back and removal program similar to what New Hampshire has. Technology to break down the PFAS bonds is slowly improving, making take-back programs finally viable. Sen. [Mattie] Daughtry will have a fourth bill that I will co-sponsor and help her develop. That bill reforms the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, ending the town-within-a-town problem and giving Brunswick a true say in the future of the Landing and ensuring that those who make critical decisions follow open meeting laws and are accountable to those who live and work here.

Where can readers learn more about your candidacy? 

I have a webpage and a campaign Facebook account, but honestly, I would rather just have direct conversations with people who want to know more. They can call me at 756-3793 or write me at dankeles@gmail.com.

Courtesy of Ivon Prescott Jr.

Ivon H. Prescott Jr.

Please tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I was born in Camden and lived in south central Maine, going to schools in Gardiner, Farmingdale and graduated from Hall-Dale High School. I spent a number of years away from Maine, going to Bible College and eventually 10 years in the U.S. Navy. I got out of the Navy and settled for some years in northeast Illinois, until the company I worked streamlined its business. I moved back to Maine in 2017, and I’m currently living in Brunswick.

Why are you running for this post?  

I saw that the last couple legislative sessions were not responsive to the people of Maine — numerous bills were passed against the will of the people of Maine. Our representatives and senators have passed numerous tax bills making us one of the states with the highest tax burden. We have taxation BY representation. That’s not acceptable.

What are your most pressing concerns for the town? If elected, how would you address those challenges? 

The cost of living for the average Mainer is way too high. I had a two-bedroom apartment in Waukegan, Illinois, which cost less than half of a one-bedroom apartment available in Brunswick. Maine’s median income is near the bottom among all states, and our tax burden is near the top among U.S. states.

Maine needs to attract good businesses; we have great workers with that New England can-do work ethic.

We need to address the tax burden Maine residents face, reducing regulations and reducing the costs associated with home ownership. Assessments have been too high; many Mainers cannot afford homes, and many have been forced to move because of tax assessments.

Our Legislature needs to be more responsive to Maine residents who are U.S. citizens — our poor, our servicemen and women. We need to be more focused on taking care of our citizens’ tax money and spend it judiciously.

The district you are running for includes Brunswick Landing, where an Aug. 19 toxic firefighting foam spill sparked an ongoing cleanup effort to mitigate PFAS contamination. What are your most pressing concerns related to this spill, and how would you approach resolving them?

The U.S. Navy is responsible for the superfund sites on the ex-Navy base until they are all satisfactorily cleaned up, and MRRA needs to have a Navy representative on-site, working with available resources to replace the existing AFFF system in the affected hangars in a timely manner. I would like to meet regularly with this Navy representative, along with MRRA, to receive updates to pass along to Brunswick officials and Brunswick residents.

Where can readers learn more about your candidacy? 

Voters can reach Prescott at iprescottsrepd100@yahoo.com or call 449-8294.