Previous Offices Held
None, though I have run for and served in elected officer positions in two unions.
Top Three Priorities
Healthcare: Quality affordable healthcare should be a right not a privilege.Job market: It's going to take a combination of supporting a thriving local economy and reigning in corporations so our residents can find reliable, long-term work that supports their families and strengthens our middle class. Housing: It isn't enough to keep building properties if they aren't affordable. We also need to reform property taxes so that we aren’t pricing our senior residents out of their homes.
Why are you running?
I experienced homelessness three times before I was 18 years old, I relied on social safety nets into my 20s, and have since, through a combination of hard work and good luck, managed to dive off the welfare cliff. I bought my home in Augusta eight years ago. I understand what it takes to support people through hard times, and what needs to be done to better the economy for everyone.
What is one way Maine is on the right track? What is one way the state is on the wrong track?
I am eager to see the results of the "millionaire tax" on our state. I saw a tourist recently post about "the things that surprised me most on my trip to Maine" and one was the level of poverty here. I think the millionaire tax is the first step toward fixing that problem. No Maine resident who works full-time hours should be unable to provide for themselves and their family, and the biggest issue is money being hoarded at the top of the wealth bracket.
As one of several dozen legislators in your chamber, how would you make a measurable difference for your constituents?
As a union president, I am very practiced at elevating the voices of the people I represent. Over the last few months I’ve been knocking on doors all over my district, listening to the concerns we all share, and the number one concern is property taxes and the economy. I am extremely motivated to find solutions for that issue going forward.
Surveys show the economy is the top concern of voters. What is a specific proposal addressing Maine voters’ economic anxieties that you’d work to make law?
Every one of my neighbors that I talk to is concerned about the cost of utilities. I just paid my own electricity bill this morning, and it was just under $600. I would like to create legislation that lowers our utility costs, makes those costs more transparent, and keeps that money here in Maine.