When Dave Emery started his campaign for governor he had one undeniable advantage over other Republicans in the race. People knew his name.

Emery was the congressman for the First Congressional District from 1975 to 1983. While some people say his political experience is dated, he is the only one of the three candidates running in the June 13 Republican primary who has held statewide office.

“Some people will say, ‘He hasn’t held office for 20 years.’ Is that a shortcoming?” Emery asked. He calls it a lifetime of experience.

Emery, 57, does tend to invoke the name of Ronald Reagan in his campaign speeches. The president appointed him to a federal position after he lost his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. George Mitchell in 1982.

And rather than shy away from his Washington roots, he uses them – most recently to get Sen. John McCain to do a fundraiser for him in South Portland that attracted a lot of headlines.

What gets less attention are his conservative views on social issues. He said he would not have supported the gay rights bill passed by the Legislature last year and upheld in a referendum.

“I wasn’t convinced and I’m not convinced that it was necessary,” he said of the law that made sexual orientation a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination statute.

And, he does not support the right to an abortion except in the case of rape, incest, a threat to the life of the mother and a few other circumstances he said he would rather not discuss.

His main goal, if elected, would be to make state operations more accountable by creating a new Department of the Inspector General, with auditing and enforcement powers, to replace the existing state auditor’s office; building the budget up from zero rather than just adding onto last year’s spending and making accounting procedures more straightforward so people can see if money is being shifted around.

He said he is inspired to “turning this ship of state around” so young people, like his 19-year-old son, can return to Maine after college and find a good-paying job.

Issues

Key to a change in the state’s economy, he said, is affordable health insurance. Rather than the Dirigo Health approach to insurance, which he said has been a failure. “I would prefer market-based solutions,” he said.

He supports changing current Maine insurance regulations, including the way rates are set under what’s called community rating.

“The problem with the community rating strategy is it lumps everyone together. If someone takes good care of himself or poor care of himself, they pay the same,” he said, with no incentive for good behavior. A high-risk pool would be set up for those who couldn’t afford market-based rates.

When it comes to state spending, Emery supports the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, which he said “provides guide rails – limitations on the ability of government expense to grow.” The proposal puts caps on spending at all levels of government and requires voter approval of tax and fee increases.

If TABOR doesn’t pass, he is not yet ready to suggest spending caps of his own. He wants to get his auditing system in place first. “Then we’ll decide whether (existing) spending caps are adequate or not adequate,” he said.

On the environment, Emery said alternative and renewable energy technology is a primary interest, ticking off support for wind energy and ethanol to replace motor fuels.

He would support research and development at the University System and Community College level to improve fuel efficiencies.

Background

When Emery lost to Mitchell in his bid for U.S. Senate, Reagan appointed him to a deputy director’s position in the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. In 1988, he left Washington and came back to Maine to own and run a public opinion and market research firm.

The Rockland native now lives in St. George with his wife Carol, a Rockland attorney, and their son Albert. He goes back to experience when asked what makes him qualified for the job of governor.

“I have so many different levels of experience,” he said, referencing his work on various congressional committees, from Armed Services to Science and Technology, and in the arms control agency.

“It gives me a background of facing difficult problems and getting those problems solved,” he said.

When not on the campaign trail, Emery said he is an amateur astronomer and golfer, or more accurately, “golf plays me.” He loves to garden, hunt, fish and read – mostly histories and biographies, although Tom Clancy sneaks in. He likes two types of music -classical and 60s rock – his favorite rock musicians being Crosby, Stills and Nash and the Rolling Stones.

And, as he shares with everybody, he’s a fanatical Red Sox fan.

The president he most admires, not surprisingly, is Reagan.

“He’s very much at the top of the list probably because I’ve gotten to know him,” he said.