Alan Tibbetts

Democrat

Candidate’s Links:

Office Sought: Representative – District 77
Age: 59
Occupation: Retired
Education: BA Univ of Maine; MA American Military University
Family: Married with two grown children
Hometown: Sidney

Political experience

Currently I’m a member of the Sidney budget, cemetery and agriculture committees. While working for the National Guard I was not allowed to run for a partisan office. After retiring, I ran for this house seat in 2014.

Why are you running for office?

We need jobs that pay living wages, health care that is both affordable and ethical, and a Maine our children and grandchildren can be proud to call home. Today we live in a state with the worst economic recovery in New England; where childhood poverty and food insecurity are getting worse, not better. It doesn’t have to stay this way. How the state spends our tax money is about choices. Unfortunately, politicians in Augusta have been making some poor choices. During the 30 years I served in the Maine National Guard I learned a lot about problem solving and decision making. If elected, I will put that experience to work making better choices, in order to build a better future.

• Income Tax: Gov. LePage would like to lower Maine’s income tax rate and eventually eliminate it, by increasing the state’s sales tax and expanding it across a broader range of goods and services. Do you support this proposal?
  • No

    Lowering one tax while raising others creates winners and losers. The losers in this case will be retirees and homeowners, those who stand to gain the most will be the best off among us.

• Background Checks: Do you support background checks for privately sold firearms in Maine?
  • Yes

    With every right comes responsibility. I’m what most people would consider pro-gun, I own several military-style firearms, but I consider myself to be a responsible gun owner. Several times each year we read about toddlers who get hold of loaded guns and shoot siblings or playmates. Careless gun owners bear responsibility for these tragedies. Similarly, if you or I sold a firearm to a stranger without checking their background wouldn’t we bear some level of responsibility if they used that firearm to commit crimes?

    We are already paying for background checks on the 60% of sales that go thru registered dealers. Spending $10-20 per private sale is worth it to me.

• Minimum Wage: In light of the ballot question facing voters this fall, do you support raising the state’s minimum wage from $7.50 to $12 an hour by 2020?
  • Yes

    There is wide consensus among the people I’ve talked to that the minimum wage needs to increase. We might quibble about how much or whether tipped workers should have the same minimum wage. This is on the ballot because Augusta has not been able to act.

• Marijuana: Do you support legalization of marijuana for recreational use?
  Yes

  To be honest, I have some concerns about the referendum and have not decided how I will vote, but in general terms adults should have this choice.

• Addiction/Overdoses: Do you believe the state is doing enough in response to the rise in heroin/opiate addiction and overdoses? If not, what else should be done?
  • We have not been doing enough for a very long time. We need to decrease the number of opiates being prescribed. We need to increase the availability of treatment and counseling for those who are trying to quit. We need to figure out how to pay for treatment and counseling, because they are probably cheaper than drug related crime and incarceration. We need to look at enhanced enforcement for dealers and those who don’t want to quit.