About the Candidate
My wife Sonia and I grew up in Maine. We’ve raised our kids here. I am not a politician, bureaucrat or lobbyist. I am a job creating CEO, growing a company from scratch to 15,000 jobs nationwide.
Education
High school
Previous campaigns and elected office(s) held
None.
Why are you running?
Maine families are facing challenges like never before: rising costs, shrinking economic opportunities and a government that feels out of touch with the real struggles of working people. I’m not a politician. I’m someone who worked hard, persevered and achieved success in the private sector. However, I never forgot where I came from. I’ve had to rely on unemployment and on food stamps, and became a CEO of a large company in a nationally competitive industry. Hard work, determination and common sense can right this ship.
Top three priorities
We must provide a lower cost of living for Maine families including lower electricity rates, lower taxes, lower insurance costs and less expensive housing. Second, we need to restore fiscal discipline and get state spending under control. Lastly, we must end waste, fraud and abuse within our welfare programs. Fraud is wrong. I didn’t come from wealth. I survived poverty to co-found a company and grow it to 15,000 jobs. Maine needs leadership to turn the state around.
If you could change one thing about how Augusta functions, what would it be and why?
Accountability. Augusta needs to remember that it serves the people, not the other way around. Customer service has been forgotten by our state government. Phones are not answered. Offices are not always open. Maine people have to work too hard to get the answers they need and are entitled to. Lastly, government needs to be more transparent. Maine people can and should question their government, and our government should be accountable.
What is one policy area where you disagree with the consensus of most in your party?
I believe state spending is out of control, but addressing spending needs to be done by evaluating the efficacy of the programs. We must determine if services are being delivered efficiently and effectively. Arbitrary targets to cut spending won’t accomplish what we need to do in fixing state government or even eliminating waste. In business, we implement metrics to evaluate success and we should do the same in government.
What is one issue on which you’d be willing to compromise with the other party’s leaders in Augusta?
Too often the word compromise is associated with compromising one’s beliefs or values. In that vein I would prefer to say I will cooperate and work together with anyone, Republican, Democrat or independent, who wants to help eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in state spending, improve our economy and refocus our state government on what matters. We all have to be in this together.