What is one new policy that the state should embrace to make housing easier to build and afford?
One of the main things we can do is reduce the regulatory burden on builders and contractors so that new homes are less costly and don’t get bogged down in red tape out of Augusta. The more expensive housing is to build, the more expensive it is for people looking to rent or buy a place of their own. Some of the newer environmental standards and requirements have only made it more costly to build and furnish homes around the state.

Beyond that, we need to continue to invest in, and boost investment in, the trades so that employers looking to hire construction workers will be able to find, recruit, and hire our own kids and grandkids. Programs like the free community college are a help, but we didn’t get in the spot we’re in over night, and won’t get out of it quickly either.
Transmission lines, solar incentives and offshore wind development have been controversial over the past several years. What steps should Maine take to meet growing demand for electricity?
The first thing we can do is be honest with ourselves about energy. We are selling energy we generate onto the grid. These windmills and solar farms that are popping up won’t lower our costs because the energy is being sold onto a shared grid and shipped out of state. With that, I think we can do a better job of acknowledging that Mainers are footing the bill for these so called green energy sources, and are frustrated that as these sources come online, their bills continue to go up.

We need to be transparent about what solar and wind are costing us, what the impact is on our small communities, many of whom are passing local ordinances in an attempt to push back against the Augusta regulatory environment, and let the people decide where to go from there.
Should the state make changes to its tax laws? If so, outline your priorities.
Yes, because we have been coasting on the benefits of COVID funding for years. That funding is going away more and more each year. While it’s great to get federal money, it also creates the illusion that the state is in a great place financially. Instead of showing some restraint, we have continued to spend hand over fist. We need to manage taxpayers money better and return as much as we can to the hardworking Mainers who pay the bills. We also need to come to grips with the fact that nonprofits — many of them larger than our small businesses — are benefitting from our services without contributing anything in return. It affects our towns, schools, fire departments, and our state government.
We are closing in on the one-year anniversary of the Lewiston mass shooting. Are further legislative responses required around guns, mental health, supporting victims and families or other policy areas?
The Lewiston shooting should be a wakeup call to everyone that we must invest in mental health treatment, counseling, and law enforcement if we are going to reduce the chance of another mass shooting. Our hospitals, police, communities are struggling to keep up with the mentally ill, and until we tackle the root causes of the illnesses, we are never going to prevent them from happening again.

I also believe that we could do a better job of holding criminals accountable. Instead of decriminalizing, restricting the efforts of our law enforcement community, cutting their funding back, and not doing more to get people through the criminal justice system quickly and speedily, we are taking away gun rights from law abiding Mainers. Instead we should focus on bipartisan ways to make Maine safe.
Describe a unique attribute or area of focus that you will bring to the Legislature.
I had the honor of serving 8 years in the Legislature, and believe that one of my biggest strengths is my willingness to listen to and work with people on both sides of the aisle. During my time there I proposed a bill to arm Maine’s forest rangers, worked to reopen our Downeast prison, listened to lobstermen, clam diggers, and those every day working Mainers to make things better. I found little ways I could help out my constituents and put my county first. While I often voted differently from the majority, there were very few Democrats I did not respect.

You can be a conservative Republican, a progressive Democrat, or somewhere in between, but if you aren’t committed to finding and working with anyone who does the same you are never going to succeed, the state isn’t going to succeed.