BANGOR, Maine — Republican congressional challenger Jason Levesque will bring his anti-big government message to an “old-fashioned town hall meeting” at the former Bangor Armory tonight, he said Monday.
He’ll probably do a fair share of talking, but his biggest goal, he said, is to listen.
“We get to hear what some of their [attendees’] solutions are,” Levesque said Monday. “The whole point of being a representative is listening and being the eyes and ears of people.”
The meeting will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bangor Parks and Recreation Department building at 647 Main St.
One of the things Levesque conceded that he hasn’t done yet is roll out any particular plans or initiatives he would pursue if elected to succeed U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-East Millinocket, who has held the 2nd Congressional District seat for four terms.
That likely will come in late September or early October, Levesque said. He denied that his lack of announced initiatives was based on thoughts of political timing.
“It’s not about waiting. It’s about making it right,” Levesque said, describing himself as a perfectionist. “I see some holes in our ideas, and I want to make sure they are filled. One thing the people of Maine don’t need is empty promises.
“I wish I had an army of analysts and congressional staff” to help assemble such plans, he said.
Michaud has no campaign stops planned this week, his staffers say. The congressman will be in Washington, D.C., attending hearings on Chinese currency manipulation, a major barrier to the exports that create many U.S. jobs.
Michaud supports ending the manipulation and is an original cosponsor of the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (HR 2378), a bill that would target exchange rate misalignment between the U.S. dollar, Chinese yuan and other major trading partner currencies in order to reduce the unnatural comparative advantages that com-mand economies can use against market economies, according to his website, michaud.house.gov.
He submitted testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee on the issue in April.
Levesque held a town hall meeting in Poland on Aug. 30 at the Poland Municipal Building and will hold another at the Farmington Community Center at 127 Middle St. from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 23. Other such events likely will follow in October, Levesque said.
He also hopes to see later this week whether recent polls showing that his candidacy is beginning to reach voters will draw more campaign funding from the National Republican Congressional Committee. One pollster said the latest poll on the race shows Michaud “in a bit of a horse race” with Levesque, but that raising much more money would be the key to Levesque’s chances, an idea the candidate disputes.
“The prognosticators need to also realize that this is a different time, not like past elections,” Levesque said, comparing it to the 1994 election, where voter dissatisfaction with incumbent Democrats paid off big for the GOP. “The amount of money that you have in the bank at the end of the day does not make a race.”