{"id":11666,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/bruce-bickford\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:41","slug":"bruce-bickford","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/bruce-bickford\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Bickford"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. Elected to the Maine Senate in 2024. Previously served two terms on the Auburn City Council.<\/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 making Maine more affordable by reducing taxes and controlling state spending, growing our economy and creating good-paying jobs, and improving public safety by addressing mental health, addiction, homelessness and crime. Maine needs policies that make it easier for working families, seniors and small businesses to stay and succeed here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019m running because I believe experience matters and there is still more work to do for the people of Auburn, Durham, Poland, New Gloucester, and the people of Maine. I have spent years listening to the people I represent and working to solve problems. My mission is simple: stand up for hard-working Mainers, make our state more affordable and make sure the people of District 20 have a strong, accessible voice in Augusta.<\/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 when we invest in career and technical education and give young people more pathways into good-paying careers. Where we are going wrong is affordability. Property taxes, energy costs and everyday expenses are putting too much pressure on families and seniors. Augusta needs to be much more disciplined about spending taxpayers\u2019 money and focused on making Maine affordable.<\/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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I make a difference by being accessible and doing the work. Whether someone is struggling with a state agency, a local business needs help, or a community has an issue that needs attention, I listen and follow through. My experience in local government and seven terms in the Legislature allows me to work across the aisle, navigate state government and turn constituent concerns into action.<\/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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I would work to provide meaningful property-tax relief by increasing the Homestead Property Tax Exemption while ensuring municipalities are reimbursed so the cost is not simply shifted to other taxpayers. Property taxes are one of the biggest concerns I hear from homeowners and seniors. Maine needs tax relief people can actually see in their household budgets, along with greater accountability for state spending.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Bruce","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Bickford","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":11627,"voter_guide_candidate_age":70,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Pharmacy technician; retired small-business manager","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Former small-business manager; two-term Auburn city councilor; six-term state representative; current state senator and longtime member of the Taxation Committee. Husband, father, grandfather.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"Edward Little High School, Class of 1973","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1MIdo92AA7DWTWs8YLxGJazk47S4Jr5LG","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[564],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-11666","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","hentry","vg_party-republican"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11666","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\/11666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11667,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11666\/revisions\/11667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=11666"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=11666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}