Personal/biographical information pertinent to the role
I’m a small business owner whose story many Mainers share: navigating hard times, building something lasting and staying true to your values, and I’m running to do what’s right for Maine.
Top three priorities
1. Lower the cost of living by boosting the housing supply, expanding access to healthcare, lowering energy bills by investing in clean energy and protecting consumers from monopolies
2. Strengthen our workforce by investing in public education and the trades and fixing childcare so families can thrive
3. Making it easier to start and run a business by cutting red tape, streamlining permitting and increasing access to capital
Why are you running?
For too long, this race has been about everything but Susan Collins’s repeated failures to do what’s right for Maine. That’s unacceptable. Mainers are literally paying the price for her destructive leadership. The cost of gas and groceries is out of control and women’s right to control their bodies is under attack. Collins supports Donld Trump’s economy and voted to confirm the judges who overturned the legal right to abortion. We deserve a Senator who will fight for us, not one who enables Trump at every turn.
Our recent poll showed that more than half of Maine’s likely voters want Democrats to control Congress, and electability has already been a major issue in this race. Why are you more electable in November than the other candidates?
It’s time for a new generation of leadership in Washington, one that’s not beholden to the establishment that has failed us time and again. I’m not a career politician. I spent the last 20 years building a small business that started at my kitchen table and now employs over 100 Mainers and operates with the “Do What’s Right” motto.
What are the highlights of your plan to lower the cost of living for Mainers?
We need bold ideas to boost housing supply to drive down costs—encouraging “missing middle” housing like duplexes and ADUs, streamlining permitting and encouraging modular construction. We should extend and expand the Affordable Care Act subsidies that Republicans in Washington let expire this year. We should prioritize antitrust enforcement that prioritizes consumers over Wall Street profits. And we should embrace clean energy, which is the fastest and cheapest way to get power on the grid.
Would you support term limits for members of Congress? Why or why not?
Voters across the country are calling for fresh thinking and new voices in Washington. Susan Collins has been in Washington for far too long. I think we should look at structural changes like term limits, but we need to be careful that reforms don’t unintentionally empower unelected lobbyists and unaccountable bureaucrats.
Would you support Medicare for All — expanding the current social program to all Americans? Why or why not?
Mainers’ insurance premiums have risen dramatically, while DC fails to provide a lasting solution. I would vote for Medicare for All in the Senate. While we work towards that goal, I want to get Mainers better coverage ASAP. Let’s expand Medicare to cover those under 65 with a public option. We also need to empower our entrepreneurs by facilitating large insurance pools that give small businesses the same negotiating power as the biggest corporations.
Would you support eliminating the filibuster? Why or why not?
The filibuster is an undemocratic obstructionist tool that has been used to block progress for far too long. In a democracy, voters decide who represents them. We absolutely should eliminate the filibuster and return the will of the people to Washington.
Graham Platner ran on getting money out of politics. If you share this priority, what is your plan to do so?
Mainers are sick and tired of a system that’s been rigged by corporate interests and well-heeled lobbyists. We should crack down on insider trading on prediction markets by administration officials, members of Congress and their staffs and we should ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks. Blind trusts should be mandatory. We also need campaign finance reform that keeps billionaires and big corporations from dominating our elections.
Do you support an end to U.S. military aid in Israel? Is Israel committing a genocide in Gaza? Why or why not?
I’m sickened by what Israel has done in Gaza. It’s morally reprehensible. The immense loss of life, especially among women and children, is unacceptable. As a father of twins, my heart breaks. That’s why I support Bernie Sanders’ legislation to block arms sales to Israel until they make major changes. The U.S. needs to be making sure humanitarian aid is getting into Palestine and pressure Israel to work with the international community to get aid in.
Should ICE exist in its current form? If so, explain your answer. If not, what should exist instead?
ICE just killed a Mainer, Joan Sebastian Guerrero. He and his family deserve justice. Of course we need immigration enforcement and border security, but ICE should be dismantled because Trump has abused it and made it rotten beyond all redemption — with backing and funding from Susan Collins. People are afraid and being terrorized by our own government. This shit has to stop.
Give Susan Collins a performance grade. What, if anything, has she done well?
The Susan Collins of today is not the Susan Collins of 30 years ago. Mainers are paying the price for her lack of leadership. Costs across the board are up as she supports Trump’s economy. She voted to confirm the justices who overturned the legal right to abortion. We deserve a senator who will fight for us, not enable Trump at every turn. I will unite our party and finally defeat Susan Collins.
Collins is running on her seniority in the Senate, including her position as chair of the appropriations committee. How do you plan to refute her argument that Maine benefits from her experience?
The people of Maine are tired of career politicians. They are tired of
representatives who have been in Washington for decades, serving the interests of their corporate donors while people back home deal with out-of-control costs and an increasingly precarious hold on the American dream. Most Mainers are not better off today, and Susan Collins has failed to stand up to Trump when Mainers needed her leadership the most.