Age: 54

Running for: House District 121

Party: Republican

Residence: Cape Elizabeth for 11 years

Family: Wife of Harold Sullivan and mother of two grown children

Education: Boston University

Occupation: Licensed physical therapist, she runs a medical practice

New to politics, Republican Jessica Sullivan said she decided to run for the House District 121 seat because she loves Maine and wants to lift the “terrible tax burden” and turn around the “unfriendly business climate.”

Sullivan, 54, grew up in South Portland and has lived in Cape Elizabeth for 11 years with her husband Harold, with whom she has two grown children, and runs a medical practice. A graduate of Boston University, Sullivan is a licensed physical therapist and has been a volunteer at Mercy Hospital.

Sullivan said she was not in favor of the school consolidation law that was passed last year, because she said she thinks “local control is very important.”

“I’m not convinced that ultimately it will save money,” she said.

Sullivan is also opposed to bringing casino to Oxford County.

“To me, it’s not what Maine is all about,” she said about casinos in general, which she said worry her because of the “social ills that come along with” them.

She doesn’t support the so-called beverage tax, either, both because she’s not in favor of more taxes and because she believes Dirigo Health is “so clearly a failed experiment.”

Sullivan said “fighting for lower taxes all the way around” is the biggest issue at hand in the state. She believes that young people are leaving Maine because of the high taxes and the difficulty of finding a job.

“There need to be better companies that can offer meaningful jobs and careers,” she said and believes, with some changes, it will be possible to bring those companies and jobs to the state.

“I look at New Hampshire, our next door neighbor,” she said. “They have no income tax, they have no sales tax, and business is booming. How do they do it?”

Other than making sure that people will be able to keep more of the money they earn, Sullivan, who comes from “a long line of Cape Elizabeth farmers,” said environmental issues are also important to her. She believes the country as a whole needs to transition to renewable energy sources and believes Maine is capable of being a leader in that change.

Jessica Sullivan