Three seasoned politicians are vying to fill a vacant seat representing parts of Portland and Westbrook in the Maine Senate.
State Rep. Mark Dion, former state Rep. Ann Peoples and longtime Portland City Councilor Jill Duson are hoping to earn the Democratic nomination in the June 14 primary to replace Sen. Anne Haskell, who is retiring from politics, in District 28. The winner will run against Republican Karen Usher of Westbrook in November with a significant advantage in this liberal-leaning district.
Dion, an attorney and the former Cumberland County sheriff, is serving his third term representing parts of Portland and Falmouth in the Legislature. Peoples, who also has served on Westbrook’s City Council and Planning Board, spent four terms in the Maine House until 2014, when she couldn’t run again because of term limits.
Duson, who recently retired as compliance manager for the Maine Human Rights Commission, has spent 14 years on the Portland City Council and was twice appointed mayor by its other members.
Since her retirement, Duson, 62, said she has found herself “yelling at the TV or grunting when I read the Press Herald more and more often” as a result of what’s happening in Augusta.
“I’d like to serve in a different way and see what I can do,” she said.
If elected to the Senate, Duson said, she would finish out her council term, which ends in 2017, and not run again.
Education funding, preservation of open space, and health and human services issues would top Duson’s priorities as a state senator. She’d like to ensure eligibility for those in need of General Assistance and work to get a “veto-proof majority” to expand Medicaid.
As service centers, Portland and Westbrook “tend to be where there’s a critical mass in terms of public services,” she said.
Her recent work on the council has included advocating to move health care services from a city-run center to a private, nonprofit clinic. She is also chairing the new Housing Committee formed to address Portland’s housing crunch.
Between the relationships she’s formed with local politicians in both cities and her professional experience as a mediator, Duson believes she’s the best person to effect change at the state level to benefit the district, as well as other communities.
“I’m not going in because I want to go wrestle the governor,” she said. “I want to work collaboratively with others to wrestle problems to the ground and highlight the strengths of our region.”
However, she said, if necessary she’s “willing to put my dukes up.”
Like Duson, Peoples commended her two opponents, saying they’d both make fine state senators. But, she said, “I think I’m better.”
A caregiver for her husband, Peoples, 69, said she is a strong advocate for helping seniors age in place. She would like to see a state subsidy for caregivers who cannot work because of their relatives’ needs.
Another way to help seniors age in place, she said, is through improved public transportation – something Peoples has been working toward for a long time and a main motivation for her to run for office again.
“Transportation intersects with what we do every day, impacts what we pay for groceries, what we pay for fuel tax. It affects our neighborhoods. It affects the kids,” she said.
During her time in the Legislature, she sponsored several transportation-related bills, including one that made texting and driving a felony when it results in an accident that causes death or serious injuries.
Peoples admits that substance abuse – a hot topic of the day – is not her “area of expertise,” though she supports increasing treatment and enforcement to tackle the problem. She said she tends to focus on topics that affect everyone, like transportation and housing.
“This is about making people’s everyday life better,” she said. “It ain’t sexy, but it’s necessary.”
Dion, 61, said moving from the House to the Senate is a “natural progression,” and being able to work with both chambers is essential for getting legislation passed.
He said he has already proved his ability to do that while serving as chairman of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and, now, the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee.
Dion said he’d like to continue the work he’s started, including broadening the state’s portfolio of energy generation.
He’d also like to revisit a gun control bill he sponsored, but was vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage, that encouraged background checks by imposing a civil penalty for not conducting one on a person who is prohibited from having a firearm.
He said he believes there was a lack of understanding about the bill and that there’s potential to “build a stronger coalition.”
A former deputy police chief in Portland before being elected county sheriff, Dion was an early advocate for better access to medical marijuana, and last year submitted a bill to legalize recreational use of the drug for adults 21 and older.
Dion said his knowledge of the rules and procedures of both chambers is invaluable and has enabled the reconsideration and eventual passage of legislation that was on its way to being killed.
He said he works to understand and advocate for issues that affect all areas of the state, not just Portland, because they’re interconnected.
“It’s one economy,” he said.
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