TOPSHAM

Sen. Linda Baker, a Republican from Topsham, has announced she will run for a second term in the Maine Senate.

Baker represents District 23, consisting of about 35,000 people in all of Sagadahoc County and the town of Dresden.

Baker said she wants to continue to do what’s best for her constituents, stating: “I represent all of them. Not just the ones that vote for me.

“I have no personal agenda, no hidden agenda,” Baker said. “I simply ran when asked to do so to help my state move forward in ways that I think are positive.”

One of the biggest accomplishments during her first term was the recent passage of the bipartisan drug enforcement legislation, which funds 10 more Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agents, and also funds treatment resources.

“Our mental health and substance abuse issues are enormous, and that’s nationwide,” said Baker, who is a member of the Women in Government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Task Force.

Baker has also served as the chairwoman of the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee and has advocated for the marine industries.

Originally an “Orr’s Island girl” who was raking sea moss by her early teens, Baker said she married into a fishing family. All of that gives her familiarity with the marine industries.

“I realized how important the industry is and how diverse the industry is,” Baker said, “but I didn’t realize the depth of the impact on Maine as a whole and on our economy.”

The Marine Resources Committee continues to work on the latency issue arising from the fact that there are more people with lobster licenses than there are people lobstering.

“Our marine industry is just so vital in so many ways to Maine’s economy and to Maine’s culture that we really have an obligation to do all we can to help sustain it and help preserve it,” Baker said.

Marine resources are limited and all marine industries are facing challenges, such as ocean acidification and marine debris.

Casco Bay, according to one report, has the highest rising temperature of any marine body of water in the world, Baker said, “so how do we deal with that?”

Baker said she reaches out and speaks openly to constituents, and brings bills forward based on their ideas.

“I don’t think I’ve brought anything forward that hasn’t come from constituents, because I think that’s where it needs to come from,” Baker said. “I want to do what’s best in my district.”

She noted that small business owners are the people on the front lines, earning a living, trying to balance expenses and investments and energy, insurance and other costs.

“Those are the people we need to talk to,” she said. “It’s easier for me to go to the source.”

She also said the state’s tax conformity needs to happen and soon so the tax structure and incentives align with those at the federal level. One of the big accomplishments she notes in her tenure was the elimination of the state income tax on military retirement. She testified in support of increasing the deductions for military retirement as part of the budget. Hopefully, she said, this will help bring military people to Maine and help bring some people back who have left.

With a background in education, including more than 30 years in teaching at the high school level, Baker has also sponsored and co-sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at improving education policy in the state.

She has also been an advocate for government accountability, sponsoring a measure to hold lawmakers responsible for their attendance at the State House.

“I never, ever cease to be completely in awe of my job,” Baker said of her work as a state senator thus far, which has been one of the greatest experiences of her life. “I’m beyond honored. … I’m so humbled to serve.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com