{"id":11945,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/matthew-c-townsend\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:43","slug":"matthew-c-townsend","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/matthew-c-townsend\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew C. Townsend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Town Council 2021-2024, 2024 – current, Ran for HD 67 in 2024 and was unsuccessful<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The top priorities for my term in the Maine House are Affordability (taxes, property taxes, housing, utilities) — the residents of HD 67 are working hard but falling behind, Healthcare — we need to address provider access and costs, especially considering the aging population of our district and state, Safe Water — this district is at the forefront of the PFAS crisis, we deserve continued testing and remediation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I am frustrated with the status quo. I have four daughters and a grand-daughter who want to stay in Maine. I see Mainers working hard every day but falling further behind while the upper class gets richer on their backs. I see seniors making choices on medicine, food, property taxes, utilities, heating. They are scared. We have a great state with talented people, tremendous natural resources and a can-do attitude. We can do better and I want to help guarantee the future for this state.<\/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 in supporting the community college system. Reduced\/free tuition will help prepare Maine students for further education or for a career in a rewarding profession. This is how we keep the youth in Maine. Maine is on the wrong track when it comes to taxes, particularly property taxes, being the basis for municipal government. The state must look at broadening the tax base and reimbursing municipalities more for government and education.<\/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 feel strongly that I will be responsible for and accountable to the residents of my district. This means that I will work to find areas of common ground on affordability issues, healthcare, education, infrastructure, heritage industries and the PFAS crisis and work across party lines to get things done! As a veterinarian, I ask questions and seek other opinions, I will do the same as a Representative to get the best results for my district.<\/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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We have to address the burden of increasing property taxes on Mainers, particularly seniors. I would propose an increase in the Homestead Exemption as an immediate aid to help as we look at other long term, sustainable approaches to a fairer tax structure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5071,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Matthew","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"Channing","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Townsend","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":11944,"voter_guide_candidate_age":57,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Veterinarian","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Grew up in rural Maine, served the community as a veterinarian, youth sports coach, Humane Society volunteer and board member, town councilor, husband and father of four daughters.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"BS University of Maine, DVM Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1xLVcldArQ7Yk8n-zu9U8Qp8iBkI5gwmj","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1073],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-11945","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\/11945","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\/11945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11946,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11945\/revisions\/11946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=11945"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=11945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}