Gay M. Grant

Democrat

Candidate’s Links:

Office Sought: Representative – District 83
Age: 56
Occupation: Small business owner/writer
Education: Gardiner Area High School; BA History from USM
Family: Ron Grant, husband of 36 years, 2 grown children
Hometown: Gardiner

Political experience

Two terms in the House, (126th and 127th) Committees: Appropriations and Financial Affairs (127th) Environment and Natural Resources; and the Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and Economic Future (126th).
Six years on the MSAD 11 School Board.
I also have volunteered extensively through school, community and church organizations over the past 35 years.

Why are you running for office?

Growing up I learned that when you’ve had a hand up, you give your hand back to help others. I see my legislative work as the continuation of a life of community service, a way of giving back to ensure opportunities for others who want to better their lives. My work strong ethic, my background in small business, and my experience raising a family here have all allowed me to contribute real leadership and creative, bi-partisan problem solving to Maine’s citizen legislature for four years.

I believe we need to grow Maine’s economy by focusing on our small businesses and expanding opportunities for jobs that pay a livable wage. Maine people need education and job training to gain the skills they need to be part of a growing economy. People cannot work when they are sick, so we must expand access to affordable healthcare so all Maine citizens can see a doctor when they need to.

Over my four years of legislative service I have worked to develop fair and balanced state budgets. I have worked to address the public health crisis of opioid addiction by pushing for increased treatment, prevention and enforcement and believe we must continue to expand access to medically effective treatment. I worked hard for increased services to our veterans, and was a staunch supporter of our state’s employees and retirees. I will continue to be a strong voice for the people of my district in Augusta.

• 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 support more than half of all state services so to fully eliminate them would require massive cuts to education and other vital services, and would necessitate drastic property tax increases to make up the difference.

    Taxes need to be fairly balanced. Income taxes are tied directly to a person’s ability to pay. Sales taxes on goods and services hit hardest the people with the least ability to pay. Similarly, property taxes do not always reflect ability to pay – such as when a senior has lived in their home for decades, and their retirement income does not keep pace with property values.

    Most people complain to me about property taxes, so before we pass more income tax cuts we need to first meet our legal obligations to lower property taxes through the Municipal Revenue Sharing program and by paying the voter-mandated 55 percent state share of public education.

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

    I grew up in Maine in a family of responsible gun owners who hunt, and my father was a law enforcement officer. I learned gun safety and that possessing a deadly weapon is a serious responsibility. Countless responsible gun owners have told me they support background checks because they know domestic abusers and other violent people should not have guns. The proposed law exempts “transfers between family members, while the parties are hunting or sport shooting, for emergency self-defense,” and if other issues arise we can work them out in the legislature next session. Our law enforcement community supports closing the background checks loophole. These reasons and the fact that 56 percent of perpetrators of domestic abuse homicide over the past five years used firearms to murder their victims are enough reasons for me to support this initiative.

• 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

    The last time the minimum wage increased in Maine was 2009. We have a service-based economy and more working families rely on minimum wage jobs to support their families. Better-educated workers increasingly fill these so-called ‘entry level’ jobs that often do not provide the opportunities for advancement they once did. When lower-wage working families have more money for food, housing and other necessities this pumps more money into our local economies. I think Maine’s working people deserve to earn enough to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. When they don’t we all pay to subsidize these low wages through state and federal food, housing and medical supports. This citizen initiative would provide a modest, gradual increase, and it’s well overdue.

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

    We have a medical marijuana program in Maine because people believe that this substance is such powerful medicine that it helps with epileptic seizures and other serious illnesses. I do not think medicine should be used recreationally. Adult recreational use would increase youth access to a drug that science shows is harmful to developing brains. There are also many legal issues that are not addressed in this law. We do not have the technology for law enforcement officers to determine marijuana-impaired driving, and this substance is still illegal under federal law. I think we should wait and see what we can learn from the other states that have recently legalized this drug before we proceed down this path.

• 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?
  • Maine people continue to die at an alarming rate as this public health crisis devastates families. All of us know someone who has been affected. I have heard heart-breaking stories from families I know right here in my own communities, so I am anxious to do more to address the problems they have shared with me, especially by expanding access to medically effective treatment.

    We must also eliminate the stigma that still attaches to the disease of addiction. When people in recovery, and their families and friends, tell their stories publicly their courage helps others toward recovery and reminds us that this epidemic impacts us all. Local leaders in my own communities have stepped up their efforts to help, but we must do more at the state level. We made a good start last session, but we haven’t yet even seen the peak of this epidemic. I am also deeply concerned about inadequate services to support babies born to mothers who have used opioids. These are the tiny voiceless victims of the drug epidemic who will likely experience problems over their entire lives. Our current child welfare system is unprepared to address these issues.