Full name: Michael Shaughnessy
Address: 43 Park Road, Windham
Family: Married with four sons
Michael Shaughnessy is the Democratic challenger for House District 111, which encompasses Windham. A Windham resident for more than 20 years, he has served on the Windham Town Council and is a founding member of the Friends of the Presumpscot River.
Shaughnessy is a faculty member at the University of Southern Maine, where he has served as department chairman for nearly 10 years.
Knowledge and wisdom gleaned from the many, varied experiences in his life will serve him well in the Legislature, Shaughnessy said. As a teacher, community activist and father of four, Shaughnessy said he has learned how to approach and understand issues from many different angles. He would also bring an artist’s perspective to Augusta, he said.
“We tend to look at things in terms of possibilities, and I think that is valuable,” said Shaughnessy.
Highest among Shaughnessy’s worries is the rising cost of living, especially when it comes to gas and heating fuel.
“The cost of mobility is very high, particularly in places like Windham where we have a high reliance on vehicles,” he said.
To lower dependency on oil, Shaughnessy wants the state to promote all different kinds of public transportation, from sidewalks and bike paths to ferries and trains. Also, the development should be scaled to the size of the community, he said, so a van may be used instead of a bus. Perhaps park and ride areas could be established to help residents move toward a “culture of carpooling,” he said.
The same model could be used for energy production, Shaughnessy said. The state can encourage the use of wind, solar, hydro and tidal energy without spending large amounts of money, perhaps by providing loans for residents who want to put up a windmill or solar panels, he said. Little by little, Shaughnessy said, Maine would lower its dependency on oil while making the state more self-sufficient.
“The more localized things get, the safer we are,” he said.
A department head at University of Southern Maine, Shaughnessy would like to see higher education in Maine become a “powerful economic engine.” Strong university-level programs help attract businesses and fuel the economy, he said.
“When we have a good arts program here, it puts people out in the public. Then that is something that becomes attractive to tourism,” he said. “So it helps businesses that are related to that, and the same goes for every sphere.”
Michael Shaughnessy
Michael Shaughnessy
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