John Glowa Sr.

Democrat

Candidate’s Links:

Office Sought: Representative – District 79
Age: 62
Occupation: Retired from Maine DEP
Education: BS. Economics Southern Ct. State University, Masters of Public Administration UMaine
Family: Single, two sons age 41 and 37, six grandchildren
Hometown: China

Political experience

As a Maine State employee and as a citizen advocate for Maine’s fish and wildlife resources, I have spent decades working in and with our political system.

Why are you running for office?

I am running for office because Maine government is broken and I want to use my education, experience, and knowledge about State government to work to fix it. As a State employee, I saw first hand much of what does and does not work in government. Fare too many legislators have little or no State government experience. The legislature needs capable, qualified people who are not afraid to lead. We have far too little of both.

• 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

    Absolutely not. Those who can afford to pay the most tax should do so. Governor LePage is anti-government and since his inauguration, has done everything in his power (and some things outside his power) to destroy it. This includes forcing the lower and middle classes to pay for what government is left after he has gutted it.

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

    There is evidence on both sides that background checks do and do not promote gun safety. I support the Second Amendment and I support gun safety and believe we desperately need to act to make America safer. I would like to hear from the public realistically how we can make America safer and who should pay the cost for doing so.

• 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

    America is headed for a fall unless we begin to implement some form of redistribution of wealth. This can be done by raising taxes on the wealthy and eliminating tax loopholes. It can be done by raising wages for the lower and middle classes. The rich get richer and soon there will be only rich and poor as the middle class continues to shrink.

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

    I oppose all recreational drug use. Period.

• 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 greatly need to increase the availability of treatment programs. We need to increase our enforcement presence. We need to do far more for the mentally ill. Mental illness, i.e. anxiety and depression can drive individuals to illegal drug use to escape their problems. If we treat the mental illness, perhaps we can prevent some illegal drug use. We need to do a better job of taking care of our youth-providing the best education possible-providing mentoring to encourage them to be the best they can be-helping them to get out of bad home and family situations where the parent(s) abuse drugs. We have an entire culture of individuals for whom drugs and lawlessness is a way of life. They are caught in a vicious cycle from which they cannot often escape-except through jail or death. We need to work to prevent them from getting caught in this cycle in the first place and then help those who do to get out.