Political experience

I have not run for elective office before. I have been an attentive voter since I became eligible at 21 in 1966. I have never failed to vote in any general election. I have assisted in the campaigns of others via phone calls, literature drops, etc.

Why are you running for office?

I believe that government is trying to do too much and spending more than we can afford. We need a stiff dose of fiscal discipline to keep our towns and cities, and our state, from sliding into bankruptcy.

• 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?
  • Other

    This is not an accurate statement of the Governor’s proposal. Gov. LePage would tighten standards on various programs in order to reduce costs, and thereby reduce the income tax rate. I support his actual proposal, not this misrepresentation of it.

• Background Checks: Do you support background checks for privately sold firearms in Maine?
  • No

    I do not support Question 3, which goes far beyond background checks for private sales. Maine is not a significant source of guns used in crimes in other states. We cannot solve New York’s gun crime problem. There is no way to enforce background checks without also registering all guns. That’s what Mr. Bloomberg intends, in Maine and in other states. Maine does not have a gun problem. We have a Bloomberg problem.

• 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?
  • No

    Whenever government decides what someone should be paid, regardless of the actual value of the work performed, jobs are lost at the margin. People need to learn to be responsible workers, providing value for the wage. Those who lose the most are those who have not had that opportunity. Any business must choose between paying entry-level workers more than they are worth or finding ways to employ fewer workers. Many automation opportunities become cost effective when the minimum wage rises. Jobs lost to automation will never come back.

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

    It will be taxed and regulated like cigarettes or alcohol. We have fairly draconian rules about tobacco these days. In various places it is illegal to smoke in a car which is transporting a child. Will we do that with marijuana? There are legal standards for alcohol-impaired driving. Standards for pot? A legal requirement to allow a test or lose a driver’s license for refusal? Not in the proposal. Tobacco smoke can soil the walls and fabrics in a home, and the smell lingers. Marijuana creates a much greater degree of soil, and can cause adjacent rental units to reek. I have talked to owners of rental property in Portland who are horrified by the prospect of legalized marijuana. I agree with them.

• 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 don’t know what could be enough. Narcan has become available both to first responders and to random others. Two results should not have been surprising. The price has spiked. And the number of overdoses has increased. When an antidote becomes readily available, the fear of abusing the drug goes down and the frequency rises. I do not know the answer. I wish that I could.