Office Sought: Senator – District 25
Age: 59
Occupation: International Captain, Delta Air Lines
Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University
Family: Married to Christina, daughters Liberty and Lucy
Hometown: Falmouth
Political experience
State Representative, 1991-1999, Georgia General Assembly. State Senator, 1999-2003, Georgia General Assembly. Senior Ranking Republican, House Ways and Means Committee. Senior Ranking Republican, Senate Finance Committee. Rewrote the entire State Senate rule book when Republicans became the Senate majority in 2002. Also served on the Insurance, Natural Resources, Retirement, Banking, Judiciary, and Transportation committees over 12 years. Created the Homestead Option Sales Tax (HOST) that reduced homeowner property taxes by 40%.
Why are you running for office?
As an Air Force veteran, current Delta Air Lines Captain, and with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, along with my extensive experience in elected office, I want to use my unique experience and background to help the people of Maine. I will work to change the state’s trajectory to one of population and economic growth. I have been a student of many state governments over the last few decades and there are many good ideas that we can utilize to help Maine’s citizens. Having an extensive background in tax policy, I can work to adjust Maine’s tax laws to reduce local tax rates while we diversify the government’s income stream, and make Maine a place where more folks will want to live a lifetime. My background in reducing air pollution was second to none for the state of Georgia, and I intend to apply it to protect Maine’s environment, too. And having witnessed first hand the problems of mega-sized school districts, I will defend the excellent local independent school districts of Maine’s towns that wish to retain them, which was the driving force for my family’s return to New England.
-
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?
-
Background Checks: Do you support background checks for privately sold firearms in Maine?
-
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?
-
Marijuana: Do you support legalization of marijuana for recreational use?
-
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?
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.