{"id":11625,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/cheryl-golek\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","slug":"cheryl-golek","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/cheryl-golek\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheryl Golek"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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2022 \u2014 Elected to the Maine House of Representatives, House District 99. 2024 \u2014 Re-elected to the Maine House of Representatives, House District 99. 2026 \u2014 Candidate for re-election to the Maine House of Representatives, House District 99. Served in the Maine House of Representatives from 2022 to present.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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My top priorities are lowering the cost of living for Maine families, expanding access\nto affordable housing, and strengthening the communities we call home. That means\nexpanding childcare, rebuilding our workforce, supporting our schools and teachers, strengthening health care and access, and protecting Maine\u2019s fishing heritage. I want Maine to be a place where people can afford to live, work, raise a family, and build a future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I believe politics should be about helping people. I\u2019m running to continue being a strong voice for the community that raised me. Being born and raised here has shaped how I serve. I listen, I show up, I advocate, and I work hard to find practical solutions that improve people\u2019s lives. It has been an honor to represent my neighbors, and I\u2019m asking for the\nopportunity to continue that work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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What is one way Maine is on the right track? What is one way the state is on the wrong track?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Maine is on the right track by investing in people, expanding housing, child care,\neducation, and support for our workforce. But we remain on the wrong track by failing to fully recognize the inherent sovereignty and self-determination of the Wabanaki Nations. Maine has made progress, but we must continue working toward a future where opportunity, dignity, and fairness extend to everyone who calls our state home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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As one of several dozen legislators in your chamber, how would you make a measurable difference for your constituents?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Making a difference starts with listening. I stay accessible, meet people where they\nare, and bring their concerns with me to Augusta. I advocate for individual constituents while also looking for ways to turn what I hear into better policy. I\u2019ve learned that one legislator can make a measurable difference by building relationships, working across differences, and never losing sight of the people behind the policies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Surveys show the economy is the top concern of voters. What is a specific proposal addressing Maine voters\u2019 economic anxieties that you\u2019d work to make law?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Maine has always been a place where hard work means something. It\u2019s time our tax\ncode reflected that. I would continue working to make our tax system fairer by asking those with the greatest ability to contribute to pay their fair share. Those resources can lower costs and invest in housing, child care, health care, education, property tax relief, and so much more. Mainers deserve a fair tax system that benefits us all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5078,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Cheryl","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"A","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Golek","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":11624,"voter_guide_candidate_age":59,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"State Representative, small business founder, aging specialist.","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Born and raised in the district I now serve, I\u2019m a mother of four and small business founder who overcame generational poverty and brings that lived experience to my service.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"Education and professional training: Merrymeeting Adult Education, high school graduate; attended Southern Maine Community College and New Hampshire College; certificate in gerontology, Allegra Learning Solutions (2015); AFA-qualified dementia care specialist, Alzheimer\u2019s Foundation of America (2015\u20132017). Leadership and public service education: Maine Equal Justice Partners Circle advocacy training (2016); Maine AFL-CIO candidate training (2018); Emerge Maine graduate (2019); Emerging Legislative Leaders Program, University of Virginia Darden School of Business (2024); Robert J. Thompson Eastern Leadership Academy, Council of State Governments, Fels Institute of Government, University of Virginia (2024).","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1-iJhfAuHXTp4YPo_v_3rXVvh6iIGV1MQ","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1073],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-11625","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-democratic"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11626,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11625\/revisions\/11626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=11625"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=11625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}