Previous Offices Held
Won a race to be on the MSAD 15 School Board in 2024, 2021, 2018, and 2015. Served as chair of the Board from 2020-2024.
Top Three Priorities
1 – Reducing the cost of health care and ensuring its availability to those who need it. 2 – Reducing the cost of housing and ensuring its availability for those who need it. 3 – Creating climate preparedness and resiliency and working to reduce Maine’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Why are you running?
I’m running because I enjoy studying and working on public policy, using evidence and data to identify the best ways to do the most good for the most people. My time on the school board has been enjoyable and productive and consensus-based and I’d like to do that work on a larger scale in Augusta. I love people and try to bring folks together to do good work.
What is one way Maine is on the right track? What is one way the state is on the wrong track?
Right track: I think our plan for response to the changing climate is a good one and we need to continue generating renewable power, fortifying our state for increasingly violent weather, and converting our heating and cooling sources to electric power. Wrong track: We have allowed our housing market to get completely unsustainable and we need to find ways to increase supply and reduce cost.
As one of several dozen legislators in your chamber, how would you make a measurable difference for your constituents?
Much of making a difference for constituents has nothing to do with passing laws or the budget; it’s about representing constituent interests at public hearings, in meetings with administrative staff, and making sure constituents can access services effectively. I’m a good communicator and problem solver and I think I can ensure the residents of Gray-New Gloucester get actionable information and the attention of those in power.
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 think health care’s rising costs drive much of the economic anxiety we see today, along with housing costs and food costs. I would work toward creating a public option for health insurance, with premiums indexed to family income. I would work toward creating public housing similarly designed to be affordable. I would work to connect local food producers with their neighbors. Those are not doable overnight with a simple law, but I believe we need to head in that direction.