Harold L. Stewart III

Republican

Candidate’s Links:

Office Sought: Representative – District 147
Age: 22
Occupation: Firefighter, MBA candidate
Education: Presque Isle High School- 2012, University of Maine- 2016
Family: Single
Hometown: Presque Isle

Political experience

Congressional Intern, 2015-2016, Office of Congressman Bruce Poliquin, D.C. and Presque Isle
Student Body President (2015), and Vice President (2014), University of Maine at Orono

Why are you running for office?

I am running for office to represent my hometown, the City of Presque Isle, to restore our voice and relevancy in Augusta. I will bring new ideas and perspective into this position and have the energy and determination to see these goals through. For too long our representation has been weak and unorganized and Aroostook County and Northern Maine have suffered for it. I believe that it is time for a change in leadership and in our representation and that I am a great candidate to do just that. I am committed to my town and my constituents and have served them as a first-responder in my position as a firefighter at the Presque Isle Fire Department since the day I turned 18. Additionally, I have served my constituents in Aroostook County through my work in Congressman Poliquin’s office for the past two years where I worked hard to make sure our veterans and seniors had access to the resources and are entitled to, and I hope to continue this work in the State Legislature.
As a recent graduate of the University of Maine (Summa Cum Laude) in 2016, I also served as the President of the Student Body where I represented almost 10,000 students. However, I am a “County Boy” at heart and returned home after graduation, unlike so many of my classmates, where I hope to revive the values I was instilled with of hard-work, respect and statesmanship back into our representation at the State House. It is my hope that with your help and support, I will be able to bring more jobs back to Aroostook County so that more of my classmates can return home, raise families of their own and have a prosperous and promising 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?
  • Other

    I think that the elimination of the income tax sounds great, but I’d like to see a breakdown of the impact it would have on our seniors and other folks on a fixed income. Our neighbors in New Hampshire seem to attract new business opportunities, which we badly need here in the County. However, I’d like to speak with folks at the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services to make sure that any proposal would ensure that there were offsets to protect retired Mainers or those on a fixed income.

• Background Checks: Do you support background checks for privately sold firearms in Maine?
  • No

    I believe that as it stands now, Maine is a model of gun safety for the rest of the nation to follow. Gun dealers in Maine are already mandated to perform background checks on their customers, and the system is working. In a state where gun violence is the lowest in the country, Mainers should not have our long-standing traditions threatened and our political system taken advantage of by special interests groups from away.

• 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?
  • No

    First off, let me say that what I want for Presque Isle is to help create an economic environment where we can all take home more money at the end of the week. I think that this increased minimum wage proposal is shortsighted. How did the authors of this bill come up with $12? My understanding is that small business owners were kept out of the discussion entirely. When I drive through Presque Isle, I see a lot of small businesses. These are folks that I’ve known my whole life, people that my family has done business with over the years. From what I understand, this initiative will make it nearly impossible for some of these businesses to keep the lights on. Also, the portion of this bill that requires restaurant owners to pay minimum wage to wait staff will put a lot of our eateries in a tough spot. I read last week that if this passes, the average restaurant will have a 260 percent increase in labor cost; how could any business sustain that?

• Marijuana: Do you support legalization of marijuana for recreational use?
  • No

    With no way to regulate it safely for its customers and those who may come in contact with those under its influence, broad-sweeping legalization of marijuana for recreational uses at this time is dangerous and careless. Perhaps some may use marijuana for legitimate medicinal purposes, but we already have a system in place that provides those patients access to the drug from either a caregiver or a dispensary.

• 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?
  • No. This public health crisis may very well be the epidemic of my generation. It is destroying the lives of its victims and families all across Maine. In order to effectively defeat this epidemic, we must put party differences aside to do what’s best and right for Maine and our future. We must provide services to those affected by this disease, while also ensuring our families and these victims are kept safe. This requires a comprehensive approach reaching across numerous services and communities and collaboration among many organizations and leaders in our state. If we hope to have a chance at successfully defeating this epidemic, we must put our individual differences aside and come together as families, neighbors and friends to put an end to this crisis.