{"id":11822,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/walter-gerry-runte-jr\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:42","slug":"walter-gerry-runte-jr","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/walter-gerry-runte-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"Walter “Gerry” Runte Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Currently serving second consecutive two-year term representing House District 146.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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My top priority is making Maine more affordable. This means tackling costs people face every month, like housing, property taxes, healthcare and energy. Second, improving our energy system by using our current infrastructure more efficiently so we can lower costs and boost reliability before asking ratepayers to pay for new projects. Third, Maine needs an economy where businesses can invest, innovate and create jobs, and where workers can afford to live in the communities where those jobs are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In the past four years, I\u2019ve seen how hard it is to change big systems and how much progress steady, informed work can bring. I\u2019ve focused on improving the electricity grid since rising energy costs affect everyone in Maine. There\u2019s still much to do on housing, affordability and growing our economy. I\u2019m running because experience is important when dealing with tough problems. Good ideas only make a difference if you can turn them into real policies, build support and get them passed.<\/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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Right direction: Investing in education, people and infrastructure. These investments help keep Maine a place where people can live, work and raise families, but they\u2019re not enough, and those challenges are made more difficult by losing responsible federal partners. Wrong direction: We are falling short when it comes to affordability. We should stop approaching affordability challenges piecemeal and stop responding to drivers of affordability as mutually exclusive issues, instead seeking integrated solutions.<\/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 doing my homework, working with others and staying focused on results. One legislator can't do everything alone, but I can spot a problem, come up with a practical solution and gather the votes to make it happen. I also help individual constituents when they have trouble with state government and look for policy changes that can prevent those problems. My goal is to deliver results that lower costs, improve services, and bring clear benefits to York, Ogunquit and Wells.<\/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\u2019d change how electric utilities are paid so they are rewarded for lowering costs, not just for building more infrastructure. Demand management, storage and smarter grid tools can delay or avoid expensive construction. When those options save customers money, utilities should benefit too. The goal is simple: Get more from the grid we have before asking families to pay for a bigger one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5117,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Walter \"Gerry\"","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"Gerard","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Runte","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"Jr.","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":11630,"voter_guide_candidate_age":76,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Former energy executive","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Retired business executive bringing decades of practical, technical and management experience in electric utilities and emerging energy technologies to legislative problem-solving.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"B.S. in science, master\u2019s of engineering in nuclear engineering, both Pennsylvania State University","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1gamey4epp8zmND4vyF_j___7wdAJkS6t","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1073],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-11822","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\/11822","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\/11822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11823,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11822\/revisions\/11823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=11822"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=11822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}