Anne-Marie Mastraccio

Democrat

Office Sought: Representative – District 18
Age: 65
Occupation: Retired dental hygienist and office manager
Education: Forsyth School for Dental Hygienists, Northeastern University
Family: Married, 2 married children and 2 grandchildren

Hometown: Sanford

Political experience

12 years Sanford School Committee
9 years Sanford Town Council
4 years Maine House of Representatives
Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee
Government Oversight Committee

Why are you running for office?

My 21 years of experience as an elected municipal official led me to run for state office. There is a serious disconnect between what goes on in The State House and what is happening at home. I felt I could bridge that gap and I have tried over the past 4 years to use my experience and knowledge to support the passage of legislation that would positively impact Sanford residents, particularly in the area of property tax relief, workforce and skills training and education funding. When municipal revenue sharing and funding for special Ed was reduced, our homeowners felt that directly in an increase in property taxes. And, while there are jobs available in our area, those jobs require a higher skill level. I will continue to focus on finding ways to provide training and education for those under and unemployed workers who need it.

• 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

    Eliminating a fair tax that is based on income will only shift a greater tax burden to those least able to pay. Lower wage workers and seniors are already paying a disproportionate amount of sales and property tax because of the income tax reductions passed over the last 6 years. They cannot afford to pay anymore; in fact, they are in desperate need of relief. What we really need is comprehensive tax reform to address all of the inequities in our current system.

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

    Why should private sales have different rules than sales at gun retailers? If the goal is to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally ill individuals, this would seem to be a loophole that we might want to eliminate. I think we would have a better law if the legislature had done the job themselves rather than rely on government by 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?
  • Other

    Once again, the Legislature tried to pass a minimum wage increase that would have increased to $9 an hour over 3 years, with no tipped wage and it was blocked by both House and Senate Republicans as well as many in the business community. More than 75% of Mainers support an increase in the minimum wage but I believe the original legislation would have been a better solution than what a people’s initiative came up with. However, they did the work and got it on the ballot and now the people will decide. Once again, government by referendum!

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

    I am concerned it will be difficult to set up the regulatory structure necessary to oversee the implementation, I am concerned about easier access for our young people and the fact that marijuana use for any reason is still illegal at the national level. We still have many local issues around regulating medicinal marijuana that need to be addressed before we add more potential problems to the mix.

• 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?
  • I think this problem is more severe than we realize and affects many people across the socioeconomic spectrum. I think we are not doing enough to provide evidence based treatment that includes both medication and counseling in the community. We need to do more around education and prevention in our schools and community. While we have increased financial support for law enforcement, we have not done enough to address the treatment and prevention pieces. Mainecare needs to be expanded to cover those without healthcare coverage and this might help fill the treatment void that exists currently.