Age: 66
Residence: Northport
Party: Republican
Present employment: Retired Deputy Sheriff
Highest level of education completed: A.S. degree, administration of justice
Previous elected public office(s) held: None
Statement: I’ve been retired, producing my national public access educational TV program (The Children’s Corner) and pretty much living in my little retirement bubble. Then I was asked to run for office. I decided to research the maine.gov website to see what my opponent was doing in the House before I made any decision. In 2019, LD 434 was co-sponsored by my opponent to tax carbon in all energy. This did not get a vote in the House but could have raised energy prices as much as 40 cents a gallon. However, in 2021, my opponent sponsored LD 864, titled, “An act to protect teacher’s privacy while delivering remote instruction.” In truth, it was an act that would have taken away parental rights to watch or listen to what their child was being taught, while being delivered remote instruction. The “unauthorized persons” definition was amended in committee, so the law that actually passed prohibits copying or transmitting the lesson. My opponent could attempt to take away parental rights again if she is elected to a final term with a new 131st Legislature. Teachers absolutely have rights “within the scope of their employment” and parents absolutely have rights in monitoring their children’s education. (See Jan Dodge’s response in her candidate profile).
What are your thoughts on proposals to do away with Maine’s income taxes?
We need to allow struggling Mainers to keep more of what they earn by lowering taxes. Our state should be more competitive when it comes to attracting young people to move here, live, work and raise a family so that taxes are lower and revenues increase. I am interested in proposals to eliminate the income tax.
When it comes to the state budget, what do you see as top priorities for spending or cuts?
Determining how the end of billions of federal COVID dollars will impact our $8-plus billion state budget. The state budget has increased rapidly while family budgets have gotten smaller.
How can Maine best make health care affordable for its citizens?
Stop pursuing government-run health care and make health care more assessable and affordable for Mainers. More competition and choices for consumers will lower costs and improve care.
What policy changes would you support to protect the environment and respond to climate change?
Solar panel farms are a blight on the beauty of Maine and are toxic and caustic to the soil if their seals fail and their hazmat material leak into the soil. They displace the wildlife and are renewable energy, not clean energy as some politicians want everyone to believe. There are only two types of clean energy we have at our disposal — hydroelectric and nuclear. I would sponsor an act to limit the number of solar farms in the state, not unlike limiting the amount of lobster fisherman licenses the state of Maine authorizes to protect the lobster population, we need to limit solar farms in the state to protect our wildlife population.
Would you vote to support a woman’s right to obtain an abortion?
Nothing has changed in Maine following the SCOTUS decision. This is not a black or white issue, but I personally do not believe in abortion. However, there are times when a bad situation causes an unwanted pregnancy. So, there must be a science-based balance. When a woman gets pregnant, I believe she should have within 90 days from the start of the pregnancy to determine if she wants an abortion or not. It is a woman’s body and she should have time to determine what she wants to do in consultation with her doctor.
What changes would you like to see in the way police do their jobs in Maine?
We can start by ending legislative proposals that disrespect the police profession and make it less likely our young people want to choose law enforcement as a career. The fact that Maine is one of the safest states in the country is a credit to the job our professionals are doing to protect and serve us.
