Ryan McDonald

Republican

Candidate’s Links:

Office Sought: Senator – District 26
Age: 38
Occupation: Consultant
Education: Greely High School, SMCC, Liberty University
Family: Married
Hometown: Windham

Political experience

I have been lied to, had my liberty traded away, my money squandered and my safety compromised all at the hands of those with great political experience.

Why are you running for office?

We need elected officials who are willing to fight in order to protect the rights of the individual. We need someone who will lead the effort to re-assert State’s rights and return the power of self determination to the people. I believe that implementing sound economic policy, repealing excessive regulation, and reinstituting limits on the power of the government (at every level) is the best way to put us back on track. Though I applaud the incumbent for his years of service to our district, the time has come for more decisive action. I am compelled to do everything within my power to protect this way of life that I and so many others have come to treasure. We can no longer remain as passive observers of our own demise. I want to work for the people of District 26 to represent and defend them against the strangling effects of government (State, Municipal and Federal) that no longer feels it is accountable to the people.

• 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

    We need to stop playing this shell game in regards to taxes. Lower income tax and raise sales tax? We need a better answer, I say no to expansion of sales tax to include “broader range of goods and services”. I am not comfortable that a sales tax increase to 6.5% is the appropriate either. I’m more interested in lowering the sales tax rate back down to 5%, a straight across the board income tax rate of 7% and aggressive spending cuts.

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

    Expanding background checks is not the answer. I think that Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant said it perfectly “If we want a law that addresses criminals and others that should not be in possession of firearms, let’s craft a bill that addresses those issues, and not create a hardship at the expense of all the good citizens in our state who are law-abiding hunters, sportsmen, protectors of property and responsible gun owners.”

• 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

    A number of things can result from raising the minimum wage. The new wage will increase the earnings of workers, or at least the workers who are able to keep their jobs, but it will reduce the employment opportunities overall. What troubles me even more is that there will be an adverse impact on the youth and low skilled workers who use these lower paying, entry level types jobs as a way to gain experience, develop good work habits and skills that will help make them more valuable and subsequently able to ascend the ladder to better and higher paying jobs. In order to offset the higher wage rate, it is likely that job training opportunities may be reduced and there will be a reduction in non-wage benefits as well. I do not support raising the minimum wage from $7.50 to $12.00

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

    We can do better than this. Let’s fight for something a little more consequential than the right to get high. I say do what you will in your own home, so long as it doesn’t endanger or infringe on the rights of others. Right now we have bigger issues to deal with.

• 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?
  • It isn’t a question of “enough”. The question should be is the state doing the right things? I see it like this, we need to address the root cause of the addictions, I know of the highly addictive nature of these substances, but why are our people turning to them in the first place? What are we wiling to do to help those addicted to overcome their addiction? What lengths are we willing to go to in order to stop the flow of these drugs? I think that the heroin/opiate addiction epidemic is a symptom of a much greater problem. To truly “do enough” we need to address the real problem.