NEXT TWO-YEAR GOALS

I’m running because we need more and better jobs in our area. Our children can’t find jobs to support their families and live here. When people lose jobs they find it almost impossible to find another job. When they do, nine times out of ten it pays less. There are a lot of things we can do in Augusta to make it easier to create the jobs we need.

Here are just a few of the things I’d like to work on:

I’m on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee so let’s start there. Freight rail transportation in Maine is very poor, increasing the cost to get our products to market. For example, it costs more to get Maine potatoes to New York than it does transporting California potatoes to New York! Why? Maine moves potatoes by truck. California ships them by rail. We cannot overlook this. This situation becomes even more critical to our economy as energy prices increase.

An East/West highway would make it easier to sell Maine products in Canada. Let’s do it! The eastern Canada economy is growing much faster than ours. I think we can help a private company build and operate this highway. Also, we need to allow big trucks to use the Interstate to save fuel, time, money, and to make our smaller roads safer.   

Every time a road is improved it makes it easier and cheaper to do almost everything in Maine from paper making to tourism.

Utilities: When deregulation took place a new arrangement was put into effect to buy electricity. We’re now paying much higher prices for our electricity than we need to. If we have to get out of ISO New England to fix that - let’s do it. Our high electric rates have driven off as many jobs as our high taxes.

Health Insurance: You can buy health insurance in other states for much less than health insurance in Maine. Let’s adopt the other states’ good ideas. Lowing health insurance costs in Maine would change our lives more than we know. It would certainly make for more jobs.    

Taxes: we need to stop doing things that look good and don’t accomplish anything. School Consolidation is an example. We’re told School Consolidation will save money. It won’t. And it won’t improve education. So, why are we spending all this time and money on it?

If we use some common sense we can reduce spending and taxes, and actually get something done.