Previous Offices Held
I served on the Auburn City Council in an At Large position representing the entire city from 2021-23.
Top Three Priorities
Cost of living: It’s simple. I think if you work in Maine, you should be able to afford to live here, too. Jobs and workforce stability: We need to keep more students here when they enter the workforce in order to address our aging working population. Working across the aisle: When I talk with voters, everyone is sick of seeing politicians argue with each other. We can achieve better outcomes if political parties work together.
Why are you running?
I’ve spent my career in tech helping organizations solve complex problems by satisfying needs of stakeholders who don’t always have the same motivations. The problems we are facing right now are complicated. The solutions aren’t. I’d like to do this job, and I think I’d be good at it.
What is one way Maine is on the right track? What is one way the state is on the wrong track?
I fully support Maine’s tuition free community college program because we need to address our current workforce shortage. One way that Maine is on the wrong track is through our ever-increasing partisanship. We used to be able to work together and have conversations. We could arrive at compromises. Now it seems that political parties are more important than neighbors, and that’s not right. I’d like to get back to being able to work through issues with people without reverting to party politics.
As one of several dozen legislators in your chamber, how would you make a measurable difference for your constituents?
I think the best way to make a measurable difference is to do things to ease rising prices for people in my district. In order to do that, it’s going to take a lot of smart people – from both parties – to come up with solutions that work. I’m ready to do this work.
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?
I met someone recently who told me that property tax is the most difficult cost for a resident to control. She said she can buy cheaper groceries, drive less, or even use less electricity, but the only thing she can do about property taxes is move. For that reason, I think we need to find a way to raise the homestead exemption. Home prices have raised dramatically since the Homestead Exemption was last raised in 2020. The $25k exemption is no longer enough.