Andrew Gattine (D)
Age: 49
Occupation: Senior project manager, Optum Insight.
Political experience: Westbrook City Council (2004-2009); chairman of the Finance Committee and Committee of the Whole; Westbrook Charter Commission (chairman); director, Westbrook Economic Improvement Corp.
Q: What do you think the three most important issues facing Maine are?
A: The three most important issues are:
1. Job creation to provide economic security for working Mainers.
2. Funding for education to prepare the next generation for the challenges of the 21st century.
3. Promoting economic security and better health for all Mainers by promoting quality delivery of health care and reducing the number of uninsured. These issues are intertwined and all impact Westbrook.
Q: What do you think the solutions are?
A: We need to support local school districts by reforming and rationalizing the way that education is funded. A well-educated workforce is the cornerstone of future economic success and job creation. The current school funding formula is confusing and capricious and results in tremendous fluctuations in funding on a year over year basis. As a result, local school committees and taxpayers are unable to provide consistent programming to meet the needs of Maine students and are constantly forced to “shift on the fly” to respond to these variations.
We need to make our public health-care programs, such as MaineCare, more efficient and more effective. These programs are critical to maintaining the health and economic security of middle and working class families and senior citizens. Cutting these programs is not the best solution to our problems, especially in tough economic times. We do need to manage the costs of these programs, which are expensive. There is a strong connection between providing access to quality preventive care and cost. Other states are employing effective strategies to manage the cost of these programs while improving health care outcomes. We need to do the same. Fighting fraud, waste and abuse in these programs needs to be a priority. In my professional career, I have worked with human services agencies across the country helping them fight inefficiency in how they provide services. I want to use that experience to benefit Maine.
We need to make state government more transparent and accountable. State agencies need to provide more clear information to the taxpayers justifying the cost of programs and describing what their strategies are to make them more efficient. The negative, partisan tone in Augusta needs to change because it interferes with rational discussion on what needs to be done to make government more responsive.
Q: Do you support same-sex marriage?
A: I am strongly in favor of allowing full marriage rights for same sex-couples. For me, this is a basic civil rights issue. I am proud that Westbrook has a strong history of promoting fairness and supporting anti-discrimination efforts. It is in the best interests of all of us to promote and support stable families.
Matthew Maloney (R)
Age: 36
Occupation: Transportation and food recovery specialist for a nonprofit hunger relief agency.
Political experience: None provided
Q: What do you think the three most important issues are?
A: Our employment environment is probably the most important issue in Westbrook. Many are looking for work or better work, and employers are uncertain about growing their workforce in this economic climate.
I am concerned about our general loss of liberty. From warrantless spying on our emails and cell phones to forbidding the consumption of raw milk, our government is overreaching its enumerated powers every day.
Maine’s debt is still out of control. Adding more debt to families who are already living on the edge is immoral.
Q: What do you think the solutions are?
A: Augusta should offer a climate of certainty for the next few years. A period of no new regulations, taxes, or red tape will encourage investment in our state.
By adopting an attitude of localism and protecting civil liberties, we can restore liberty and organically rebuilt a local economy.
We need to cut up the state’s “credit cards,” end the nonessential and unconstitutional spending, increase transparency, resist the huge bonds offered every election cycle, and cut Maine’s gas tax down to 15 cents per gallon.
I have more solutions on my website www.MaloneyforLiberty.com.
Q: Do you support same-sex marriage?
A: I believe in the separation of church and state, so I would get the government out of marriage licensing all together and return it to the religious institutions to do as each sees fit.
Election 2012
Matthew Maloney
Drew Gattine
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