Stanley Paige Zeigler Jr.

Democrat

Candidate’s Links:

Office Sought: Representative – District 96
Age: 67
Occupation: Retired Merchant Marine deck officer
Education: BA, Dickinson College, AA, SMCC, attended graduate school at Maine Maritime dealing with international maritime management
Family: Married, one daughter
Hometown: Montville

Political experience

Since I retired as a ship’s master I have become the vice chair of the RSU 3 School Board and the vice chair of the Unity Area Regional Recycling Board. I have been engaged in the solid waste contracts that are coming up in 2018. I am also the Democratic chair for my town.

Why are you running for office?

First of all, I am running because our representative Christine Burstein is retiring and asked me to run. But more than just that, I am running because as a retired senior on a fixed income I want to make sure that we have a safety net so that seniors don’t lose their homes due to increasing property taxes. And as these seniors age, that we have a system that provides assistance to keep them in their homes as long as possible. Also, I have a daughter who has graduated with student loan debt. We need to assist the next generation in finding employment that can aid society, yet without worrying that they won’t be able to repay their debt. As a school board member, I see how the future opportunities of our students are limited by this debt. Furthermore, we need to protect our environment, as it will protect us and give our children the future they deserve. Government is neither the problem nor the solution, but a tool to provide our society the ability to help all our citizens. I would like to go to Augusta to be able to work with this tool!

• 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

    I believe that a progressive income tax (one that rises along with income level) is one of the few positive ways of producing revenue. A sales tax that is increased to compensate for the loss of an income tax will eventually encroach on items that are necessary for daily existence. This will hurt the middle class as it will probably effect food items. We need to examine all forms of taxation to meet the needs of our society and distribute them as fairly as possible to make sure that no class suffers.

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

    This referendum is an expansion of current laws; however, it is flawed and needs to be adjusted by legislative action. People still need to be able to borrow a firearm throughout the entire hunting season. We don’t need to regulate sales within families. I am an owner of firearms myself, and I don’t believe that this referendum will lead to the confiscation of firearms. I feel that we do need to bring internet sales into the open. And lastly, we need to mitigate the costs of background checks. This question will not solve the issue of violence in our society, but it does continue the conversation. We need to address the issues of mental illness, crime and domestic violence. If we didn’t have these problems in society, we wouldn’t need to have this referendum.

• 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

    As shown in California, raising the minimum wage will assist people in lifting themselves out of poverty, but not bankrupt society. This may be a way to reduce the huge discrepancy of wealth and give more people the chance to enjoy the American dream that we all would like to be a part of.

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

    We need to make sure that people needing medical marijuana will not be taxed and that providers of medical marijuana be treated as a different entity than growers of marijuana for recreational use. The issues we need to deal with are making sure that large corporations don’t replace local producers, that adolescents not be allowed to purchase recreational marijuana and that police be given better tools to judge what is “operating under the influence”. Also, we must make sure that purchasers know where their product comes from, its strength and purity.

• 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. We need to expand treatment with maintenance. We need to make the treatment centers more accessible. We also need to look at what options are available for people who are on maintenance and engaged in therapy. We should provide assistance with finding employment and housing options.