{"id":11789,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/ayn-handselmann\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:42","slug":"ayn-handselmann","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/ayn-handselmann\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayn Handselmann"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Currently serving third consecutive three-year term on Sanford City Council. Unsuccessful write-in campaign for Sanford School Committee in 2016.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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As a new legislator, my first priority in Augusta is to gain a better understanding of the complex issues that Mainers face by sitting at the table with others to learn and listen. Legislatively, I hear from my neighbors that they want me to support public safety, look at taxation changes for working Mainers, and strengthen healthcare access (among other priorities). I plan to start there!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I want my city and our state to be places where future generations both can and want to live, work and raise families of their own \u2014 just as my family has done for four generations in Sanford. This means we need attainable housing, good healthcare, economic opportunities, excellent public education, natural resources and reasonable taxation, among other things.<\/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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Legislators worked hard to update the education funding formula the last session, and I applaud the work done to address our students' needs across the state. But municipalities are struggling with the impact of the homelessness crisis. We need to look further at both investments to help vulnerable homeless people and how we support municipalities. The York County Recovery Center and Housing for Good projects are moves in the right direction, but likely not enough.<\/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 will be accessible and responsive to my constituents so that I understand their concerns and priorities to guide my work in Augusta. I recognize that good legislators rarely accomplish consequential outcomes alone, but rather in collaboration with others. Because I know how to listen to other perspectives and work toward goals while I advocate for my constituents' needs, I feel prepared to work with other legislators for positive outcomes for my community.<\/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 like us to implement changes to Maine\u2019s income tax structure including conforming to federal tax laws for the overtime and tip deductions, increasing Maine 179 Depreciation for small businesses, and looking at changing our tax rates so that there is less of a burden on middle-income earners. This would ease some economic pressure for many Mainers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5118,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Ayn","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"Mauree","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Hanselmann","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":11788,"voter_guide_candidate_age":51,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Certified public accountant","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"I'm a small-business owner, a CPA, a city councilor, a wife, a mother, and someone who believes deeply that public service is about solving problems \u2014 not scoring political points.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"B.A. in business administration, University of Maine","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1Tx_Be-xLiPgUJz_A2DL_UEaCDEfAOhtN","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1073],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-11789","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\/11789","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\/11789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11790,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11789\/revisions\/11790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=11789"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=11789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}