If you have followed my previous articles in the Lakes Region Weekly, you would note I often mention the dysfunction of the state elected government. So, you may be surprised to see me writing about a process that succeeded. (I am a bit surprised myself.) However, to be balanced, I must report the good work that resulted in unanimous votes in both the Maine House and Senate concerning L.D. 1626, a bill I sponsored.
L.D. 1626 is actually entitled: An Act To Leverage Expert, State-based Resources for Emergent Intervention and Long-term Comprehensive Resource Protection of Lakes. It was said it has the record for longest bill title this session. The bill, thankfully, became know as the milfoil bill. The bill was the result of citizens starting with Raymond resident Diane Potvin and then others who lobbied for the bill and then worked extremely hard to get it passed. The initial bill sought to get more funding into the local groups who do the actual eradication of milfoil. They have done the work for years with little financial support from the state, spending their own money. For local readers, realize these heroes have been working to protect and save Sebago Lake. The heroes include individuals, local neighbors (Raymond Waterways) who banded together to fight this menace and organizations like Lakes Environmental Association (LEA).
Milfoil is a nasty weed that can take over a waterway. The LEA website tells us that the dense growth and rapid spread of milfoil along lakeshores dramatically impedes swimming and fishing. As the quality of our waterways decline, people are less likely to visit them. We know how important our waterways are here in the local economy as well as statewide. A milfoil infestation has the potential to affect jobs, the entire economy and homeowners’ property values. The bill as written intended to give locals more money to work with. Throughout the process, no one disagreed that this was a state problem but the payment method of raising boater registration fees was not as well received. Many felt a $5 fee increase to boat registrations would be a fair price to pay, others were against this method of payment especially given representatives and senators who had made a no-new-tax pledge. I was not excited to raise fees, but came to see we needed to act.
When the bill seemed to be stuck with a split vote as to how to fund the concept, I met with a variety of people including the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Chair Rep. Mike Shaw of Standish and other members of that committee. We met with Gov. Paul LePage and his staff. We discussed milfoil eradication in hallways and on staircases. It seemed to be a daily ritual, discussing milfoil.
Ultimately, the extra push may have come from you. I cannot speak more highly of the effort the statewide public gave in passing this bill. Your calls and emails reach elected officials statewide and caused all (elected officials) to work a bit harder to find the solution. I was told that the Governor was impressed that elected officials of all parties and ideologies contacted him to discuss this bill given constituents’ interest. Everyone seemed to be talking milfoil. The final funding was solved when carryover monies were found within IFW. Instead of a one-year infusion of money, this bill will now make the funding available yearly to the various communities fighting milfoil. We expect it to be about $250,000 a year. It will prioritize eradication and actually will positively affect how the money intended for milfoil efforts gets budgeted and used. It does not raise boater registration fees.
People still have power in government when they make the effort. L.D. 1626 started when Diane Potvin asked me, her representative, a question. We submitted a bill and drew in many others including LEA and Raymond Waterways to do the heavy lifting. Your representatives and senators, including a great group on the IFW Committee, reacted to the challenge. The noise you made was heard statewide. L.D. 1626 passed 136-0 in the Maine House and 35-0 in the Maine Senate. Well done!
Rep. Mike McClellan represents District 103 (Raymond, Frye Island, parts of Poland and Standish).
Time for change
I write this to inform the citizens of Windham that I will not at this time seek to be re-elected to the Maine House of Representatives in the new House District 24. I am however happy to see Windham has grown enough over the last decade to have two representatives solely for Windham.
More than two years ago when my former employer decided to move the company out of state I decided to stay home not moving to the south where my job went. From that, my wife and I considered becoming self-employed starting my own sales company as a manufacturer’s representative. Doing so has created a wonderful opportunity for me, not only for income but also helping other companies obtain business through my contacts in the industry I came from. My wife has also retired during my term in giving us the opportunity to do some traveling, spend time with our family, etc.
Winning or losing the next election was never a consideration as with the support I have received during the last two years my confidence level of success was high. I never say never to anything in life so, who knows, in a few years you might see my name on a ballot again. That said, I will say our current political atmosphere is not working well in Augusta. One side of the aisle wants nothing more than to spend your money in liberal programs causing us to raise taxes taking more and more of your hard-earned dollars. Constant fighting between the parties trying to make each other look bad going into the fall elections is the norm. It has not been a great two years in the chambers of the statehouse.
Lastly, I do want to say a big thank-you to all of those who voted for me and to all who have contacted me with their opinions whether they agreed with me or not. I do enjoy working for the people of the district. Please do not forget that I am your representative until December, so please if my help is needed for state issues contact me.
Rep. Thomas Tyler
District 110
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