SANFORD — Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio said she is seeking a fourth term in the Maine House of Representatives to continue her work to grow Maine’s economy and create good-paying jobs in the state.

Mastraccio, 67, a Democrat, is unopposed in the June 12 primary as is Republican candidate Pam Buck whom she will face in the Nov. 6 election to represent House District 18.

Mastraccio currently serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development and as House Chair of the Government Oversight Committee. She also served on the Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and Economic Future. 

If re-elected, Mastraccio said she plans to to work to fully restore municipal revenue sharing to levels required by statute, which she said would reduce property taxes in Sanford while still providing revenue for important infrastructure improvements, like roads.

“Texting while operating a motor vehicle should be prohibited and I will once again attempt to get this through the Legislature,” said Mastraccio.

 She said universal early childhood education is a priority.

“It is so much easier to prevent problems than intervene after the fact and all the data shows this one program would pay tremendous dividends,” she said. 

Mastraccio said treatment options are still not what they should be to help combat the epidemic of opioids and addiction.     

As well, she said, the Office of Program Evaluation Government Accountability has just begun its investigation into the Department of Health and Human Services and the recent deaths of two young children.

“As the current House chair of the bipartisan committee that oversees OPEGA, I will follow through on findings and recommendations that come out of that report,” she said.

She said she’s glad a bill she sponsored to place a 5 cent deposit on so-called  “nip” bottles passed this session and thanked Sanford City Councilor Fred Smith for bringing the matter to her attention. The law will go into effect in January 2019.

She said this session’s work is not finished and she hopes the Legislature will come back to complete passage of a bill that originated in the Government Oversight Committee that calls for the Maine Economic Growth Council to develop, monitor and maintain a long range strategic plan for economic improvement in the state.

“With an aging workforce, a low unemployment rate and a declining population in the northern counties, we know we have a number of issues we will need to address in the next five to 10 years if our economy is to thrive,” she said. “We need to be proactive in economic policy development or we will forever find ourselves in the back of the pack.”

Prior to her election to the Legislature, Mastraccio served on the Sanford City Council and earlier on the Sanford School Committee. She serves on the municipal building committee for the new Sanford High School and Regional Technical Center. 

Mastraccio and her husband, Dr. Albert Mastraccio, are both retired from his optometry practice. They have two adult children, and two grandsons.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.