Jane Pringle

Party affiliation: Democrat

Age: 67

Town: Windham

Occupation: Physician (General Internal Medicine, adult primary care).

Political experience: 1. I served as co-chair of the Windham Action Council on Adolescent Pregnancy which contributed to an improved sex education curriculum in Windham schools and created a program through Windham Adult Education for onsite daycare at the Little Red School House. This allowed high school students with children to finish high school. 2. I serve as the legislative representative for my professional organization, The American College of Physicians, and provide our congressional senators and representatives information on health policy from the viewpoint of a practicing physician.

1. What do you think the three most important issues are? Please identify at least one of those issues specific to your district.

A. The lack of universal health-care coverage and coverage which is not tied to one’s employment.

B. Providing both public and private programs for education in the skills needed for jobs in the new economy.

C. Improving the cost-effectiveness of government.

2. What do you think the solutions are?

A. We need to implement the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) and actively work with various organizations in our state, such as the Maine Primary Care Association and Physicians for Single Payer Health Insurance, to be ready with Maine’s system for coverage under the Act. Leaving anyone uninsured raises the costs for everyone else.

B. Consider creating a clearinghouse or permanent forum where employers can provide information on the job skills they are looking for to our high school and community college and university system educators. Invest in our Vocational Rehabilitation systems so those who become unemployed can find help retraining in skills needed to return to work.

C. Look to resources which have achieved efficiencies in the systems we are using in government and hire them or contract with them to implement improved systems. I would turn to good managers in business or non-profits to help develop a system for quality control in state government.

3. Do you support same-sex marriage? Please explain your position.

I do support same-sex marriage. I have family members and have had patients who are in committed relationships with persons of their same sex. I believe they deserve the same rights in our society as other married couples if they choose to make the same commitment to each other in marriage.

Stuart “Toby” Pennels

Party affiliation: Republican

Age: 53

Family: Married to Brenda for 29 years. Three children – Taylor, Jordan and Shawn

Town: Windham

Occupation: Stock broker – Client Portfolio Management, Retired U.S. Army Colonel – 30 years with six commands and three combat tours (Former Yugoslavia and Iraq twice)

Political experience: Windham/RSU 14 School Board 10-plus years. Past chairman, Past vice-chairman, current finance chairman.

1. What do you think the three most important issues are? Please identify at least one of those issues specific to your district.

Business growth and local jobs creation.

Meaningful education reform.

Affordable energy.

2. What do you think the solutions are?

Business Growth and Local Jobs Creation: I will support tax and regulatory reforms that make it easier for local businesses to grow. When we make it easier for businesses to grow, jobs and individual prosperity will follow. Bottom line, many of the prescriptions written by Augusta to do business in Maine are a hindrance to our recovery and frankly unattractive to a large employer considering setting up shop. Taxes, antiquated regulations, special interests and a large public sector payroll that votes all contribute to the problem. I don’t pretend to have the magic panacea that will change our business climate overnight, but I believe I get the problem and I am experienced at navigating change. I’ve spent enough time at the local level working policy and large budgets to understand that change requires communication, compromise and patience. You have to chip away at it, stay focused on the objective, articulate, effectively argue the priorities, and be willing to compromise in the spirit of the larger good.

Meaningful Education Reform: I believe the heart of education reform will happen at the local level. That is why the control of a Windham-Raymond public education must stay with our community. I’m the first to acknowledge that our education system needs to continue to improve and to become more efficient. Consistent with that, I know first hand that RSU 14 has worked incredibly hard on reforms – and there are some great success stories. I’m always open to new ideas, but when a State Board of Education member indicated to me last year that the state was considering negotiating the Windham-Raymond teacher contract in Augusta I exploded, and I am determined to make sure this kind of psuedo reform ideology doesn’t see the light of day. There is nobody in Augusta, not the Commissioner of Education, not the Board of Education, not the State Treasurer, not the Legislature, nor even the Governor who can do a better job of executing local education reform for RSU 14 (Windham-Raymond Regional School Unit) than the talented staff already in place and the community that hired them to do so.

Energy Costs: I’m not sure how much explanation this one needs but I’m convinced this is a major contributor to the errosion of many Windham citizens’ quality of life. The quick rise in heating and daily commuting costs have diverted monthly incomes that have struggled to rise at the same pace. When you can fill your car up with gas in Boston for less than you can in Maine, the common-sense hypothesis says there is something not right. By my calculation we pay 34 percent more in taxes for a gallon of gasoline in Maine than in Massachusetts. I think that reducing taxes on all fuels is a great first step, but it’s not the long-term solution for escalating Maine energy costs. We must explore alternatives to Maine’s current oil dependence. (We are more dependent than our neighbors). A willingness by all Maine citizens to accept the potential “side effects” in the analysis, decision-making and implementation of sensible energy alternatives is paramount. Whether it’s pipelines, windmills, dams, pellets, LPG terminals, geo-thermal, natural gas, renewable, or non-renewable, we must perform the due diligence and accept that the way ahead will not be perfect. It is so interesting to hear the diatribes about the evils of nuclear energy while at the same time we fight tooth and nail to preserve servicing nuclear reactors at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Need I say it’s complicated?

3. Do you support same-sex marriage? Please explain your position.

Maybe. If the question is “Do you support equal rights for same sex partners?” – the answer is that I unequivocally support equal rights to partners regardless of whether they are the same sex. I would hold out my military leadership record, even before “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” to support my claim. However, I have a bit of tradition about me that would prefer to eliminate any confusion about what marriage between two people means. So call me old-fashioned, but I think the term marriage should define a partnership between a man and a woman, and I’m sensitive to the many spiritually minded citizens who find it objectionable (they have rights, too). Ultimately, to avoid not throwing the baby out with the bath water, I may support same-sex marriage. Indeed, I would prefer that a same-sex partnership be called something other than marriage.

Election 2012
Pennels