Drew Gattine (D)

Age: 51

Address: 529 Stroudwater St.

Occupation: Senior project manager, Optum.

Political experience: State representative, Maine House of Representatives (current), Westbrook City Council (2004-2009), chairman, Westbrook Charter Commission (2010-2012)

Q: How do you plan to make a difference for your communities if elected to the Legislature?

A: I will continue my work to make sure that Westbrook gets its fair share of state revenue. Municipal revenue sharing is vital to preventing massive property tax increases and I will continue to support state budgets that preserve municipal funding. I’ll also fight to make sure that Westbrook schools are funded to meet the needs of our students. Our public schools confront many challenges as the face of our community changes. Unfortunately, the tone coming from Augusta has been too combative and communities like Westbrook have been under attack from private interests that want to drain money from our public schools. I support giving families educational options but I will oppose any effort to funnel public education dollars away from Westbrook schools.

We need to do more to create jobs for working families. It has been frustrating to watch the current administration put ideology ahead of the needs of Maine workers, even though Maine has lagged behind other states in recovering jobs lost during the Great Recession. Maine has passed up on the opportunity to grow jobs in health care and in energy because our government put politics before people. We need to correct that course and help people get back to work.

We need to continue to reform our public assistance programs in order to make them work better and achieve the core goal of giving people a hand up out of poverty. Maine is moving backward while other states are moving forward. The number of Maine children living in poverty has continued to grow. Last session I introduced comprehensive legislation to makes the Department of Health and Human Services accountable for fraud and abuse. Unfortunately, the governor vetoed it. I will continue to push on this issue and demand more action and less rhetoric. Last session we passed “Ticket to Work” legislation designed to help move people off of welfare and into the workforce. We need to make sure that program is implemented effectively. We need to focus on our senior neighbors and make sure they have the housing and health care support they need to remain in their communities. We need to show them that we continue to value their contribution.

Rose Marie Russell (R)

Age: 72

Address: 345 Saco St. Unit 8, Westbrook, ME

Occupation: Elementary school teacher of 22 years, retired from School Administrative District 40, Waldoboro area.

Political experience: Active in Westbrook’s Republican Committee, chairwoman for two years.

Q: How do you plan to make a difference for your communities if elected to the Legislature?

A: I will work to return power to the citizens of Maine by voting to reduce the size of government in the state and therefore its overreach into the affairs of cities and towns. I am against the UN’s Agenda 21 that puts “sustainable living” above private property rights. Agenda 21 has its tentacles into Maine coastal towns already, including Portland.

I believe the middle class is slowly being squeezed to the point of no return. God bless the poor of Westbrook, who have had their circumstances raised thanks to the taxes paid by middle-class citizens (and God bless them) who are being squeezed economically to the point of no return.

I will work for job training at the local level for citizens at the poverty level. People at the poverty level in Westbrook need a “dog in this fight” to make it fair.

Finally, I will support Gov. LePage’s agenda because the state of Maine and Westbrook citizens will benefit.

Drew Gattine (D)Rose Marie Russell (R)