Will Neilson

Democrat

Candidate’s Links:

Office Sought: Representative – District 53
Age: 61
Occupation: Restaurateur/Attorney
Education: BA Yale; MBA INSEAD; JD Uconn
Family: Married, 3 grown children
Hometown: Arrowsic

Political experience

I have been on the town planning board for about 14 years, and am in my seventh year as chair.

Why are you running for office?

I have spent most of my career to date at the juncture of law and business, and am ready to use what I have learned in public service. I believe I can reach across the aisle and effectively advocate for policies that will help grow the Maine economy for the benefit of all.

• 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

    Income taxes are the fairest way to raise revenue, because it gets the most from the people best able to pay the most. Furthermore, studies indicate that income taxes have little impact on where people choose to live, and even for businesses looking for new opportunities they are seldom determinative. Workforce availability, corporate tax incentives, education levels, proximity to markets and/or supplies, and transportation links all matter more to most employers than personal income taxes. Cutting state income taxes has led to higher property taxes, which hit Mainers without regard to their ability to pay, forcing many to sell or lose their homes. That is unfair, and bad policy.

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

    It is important to balance the availability of firearms to responsible gun owners and sportsmen, while protecting the public from irresponsible and dangerous individuals acquiring weapons. Quick background checks that keep dangerous weapons from falling into the hands of violent criminals, the mentally ill, terrorists and domestic abusers is a reasonable and overdue reform, as long as there are exceptions for family members and short term use of firearms while hunting or sport shooting.

• 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

    I do support raising the minimum wage to $12/hour by 2020. Because of our shrinking labor force, we are going to have to pay higher wages across the board, regardless of whether this passes. It may help somewhat in attracting people into entry level jobs, and will definitely put more cash in the pockets of people who will spend it, which promotes economic growth.

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

    Marijuana is already widely used recreationally, in spite of its illegality. As Prohibition starkly illustrated, criminalizing common behavior ends up undermining respect for the law and shifting economic power to criminal groups. There are serious public health concerns that accompany marijuana use, but we will be better equipped to deal with them if we bring it into the open, raise revenue from its use, and devote some of that revenue to the study and treatment of the public health issues.

• 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?
  • The state is not doing enough to deal with opiate addiction, and some of what it is doing is making matters worse. This is a complex problem. Unlike prior waves of drug addiction, the current epidemic began for many with legal prescriptions of opioid pain killers promoted by pharmaceutical companies. The state has reduced treatment options for addicts just when they need it most, resulting in a public health crisis that, to the extent it is dealt with at all, is dealt with more through the criminal justice system than the public health system.. So instead of stabilizing individuals and keeping them productively engaged in the workforce, which many can be, addicts are left largely on their own until their addiction destroys their lives and those of their families, leaving a trail of budget-busting human wreckage thorough the courts, jails and foster care networks. Part of the solution is to stop refusing to expand Medicaid, which would greatly increase the resources available to deal with the both the mental and physical health aspects addiction. Aggressive policing and prosecution of drug dealers is also vitally important.