By virtually any metric, Maine is dramatically under performing when it come to the state’s economic potential. Without an appropriate policy response, Maine risks falling dangerously far behind in a rapidly evolving global economy. Tax cuts, deregulation, healthcare coverage expansion, and higher education spending will not close the gap. Not even close. A targeted, creative, and highly aggressive approach is required from the next Maine governor.
Even a cursory review of the 11-person gubernatorial field suggests Democratic candidate Adam Cote is far and away the most qualified candidate; but I would take it a step further and say that he could be a once-in-a-generation change agent that resets Maine’s economic trajectory.
Cote is laser-focused on economic transformation, smack in the middle on key cultural issues, and in the bipartisan majority on issues specific and core to Mainers. Frankly, Cote’s platform should appeal to 75 percent of the Maine electorate, but within the confines of a two-party system that is not a reality. For a truly moderate unenrolled voter such as myself, however, a vote for Cote should be a “no brainer.”
Cote’s plan to transform the Maine economy is three-fold: turn the state into a clean energy powerhouse; jumpstart workforce development via deployment of a Human Capital Investment Fund; and aggressively maximize Maine’s share of federal spending in order to responsibly fund the transformation.
Cote’s ambitious 10-year plan to transform Maine’s economy into a clean energy powerhouse is precisely the targeted approach to economic policy Maine needs to reach its potential. And given the fact the clean energy is so intimately entwined with the broader technology sector, Cote’s plan would likely reach far beyond the clean energy sector.
His plan to establish a Human Capital Investment Fund represents the ideologically agnostic creativity critical to transforming Maine’s economy. The fund would issue targeted workforce development loans, funded by a $75 million to $100 million public bond program, to be paid back by employees and/or employers. By pairing public market funding with private sector payback, Cote’s plan sits at the ideal nexus of government and free market.
Also on the economic front, in a mid-May interview on News Center Maine Cote mentioned the Hall of States in Washington, D.C. and the fact Maine is one of just two states that do not have an office. In addition to heeding the will of a bipartisan majority of Mainers and expanding Medicaid, which would bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Maine economy over time, Cote wants to aggressively position Maine for receipt of its fair share of federal funding in order to fund his economic agenda without bolstering Maine’s status as one of the highest taxed states in America.
Turning to culture, on the two key issues of guns and abortion, Cote is smack down the middle. As a veteran with significant high-capacity weapons experience, Cote is well-positioned to craft Second Amendment-friendly gun legislation that protects those who cannot protect themselves.
And on abortion, as a father of five children Cote is quite obviously personally pro-life. But as a politician he strongly respects the fact that a majority of Americans believe a woman has the right choose. On both issues, each side of the aisle has something to like and dislike — a sign of much-needed political pragmatism.
Rounding out the case for Cote, unique to Maine is a strong focus on healthcare and the environment, two issues where Cote’s platform is in the bipartisan majority. With a rural and aging population, Medicaid funding is critical to Maine’s economy. By expanding Medicaid, Cote will inject hundreds of millions of federal dollars into the Maine healthcare system, and in turn the Maine economy.
Cote’s clean energy plan will grow Maine’s economy in an environmentally-friendly manner, while boosting the state’s environmental leadership position.
I would strongly urge Democratic primary voters to think big about Maine’s economic future, and join me on June 12 in a vote for Cote. I would also remind my fellow unenrolled voters — 37 percent of active Maine voters — that they can enroll in the Democratic Party to cast a vote for Cote.
Benjamin J. Michaud is a resident of Cumberland and a Chartered Financial Analyst.
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