Voters in the newly redrawn state Senate District 23 will choose between two competing visions for Maine’s future.
Democrat Matthea Daughtry, who currently represents District 24 in the Senate, hopes to build on her four terms in the House of Representatives as well as her current work as assistant Senate majority leader.
Like Daughtry, Republican Brogan Teel wants to improve the state’s education and health systems while making life easier for business owners. Yet while Daughtry hopes to expand government programs to improve affordable housing and childcare options, Teel believes the state must instead roll back regulations and lower taxes.
The winner of the general election on Nov. 8 will serve a two-year term. The district covers Brunswick, Freeport, Harpswell and part of Yarmouth and Pownal as well as the area’s islands.
Q&A with Matthea Daughtry
Tell the voters about yourself.
As a Brunswick native and proud graduate of BHS and Smith College, I was fortunate to find work back home after I graduated college during the recession. Like many Mainers, I had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Eventually, I started my own photography and videography business, and in 2018 my partner, Philip Welsh, and I were able to open Moderation Brewing in the heart of downtown Brunswick.
After experiencing first-hand the challenges young Mainers face trying to make a life here, I wanted to help make a difference. At 25, I was first elected to the state Legislature where I served four terms representing my hometown and was able to pass legislation helping students, young Mainers, farmers, fishermen and small business owners and making our environment safer.
Why are you running for this seat?
I am proud of all the achievements we have accomplished during my first term in the state Senate. I’m particularly proud of the work we’ve done to protect working Maine families, to fully fund our schools for the first time and to invest in career and technical education, to support property tax relief, to craft a Paid Family and Medical Leave system, and so much more. We did all of this without raising any new taxes and while bringing our state’s Rainy Day Fund to a record high. But there is still so much work to do. I’m running to protect and help our area thrive and to be a strong advocate for all Mainers — especially young Mainers who are still trying to put down roots in our incredible state.
What are the biggest challenges or concerns facing your district in the coming term?
As a small business owner, I see every day the difficulties we all face. Whether it’s buying supplies, finding staff or simply filling the tank, life is harder. The lack of affordable housing in our area is preventing so many from being able to stay in the community. Our wallets are getting stretched further and further, all while our civil liberties are threatened by national politics. Despite all of this, I still see so much to be hopeful about when it comes to our state’s future if we work together.
What are your top priorities if elected?
• Passing Paid Family Medical Leave. I’m currently the Senate chair of the commission that’s working to create a plan written by Mainers, for Mainers.
• Strengthening and protecting access to reproductive health care for all Mainers.
• Continuing to ensure that Augusta is committed to helping us have a robust economy by supporting small businesses, investing in quality career training programs, ensuring we defend and protect our working waterfronts, strengthen Maine’s agricultural sector, and championing pro-family policies like affordable housing, education and affordable child care.
Q&A with Brogan Teel
Tell the voters about yourself.
My name is Brogan Teel, and I’m an eighth generation Mainer and licensed massage therapist who has owned and operated a holistic health practice since 2009. I have also worked in the hospitality industry for over 10 years. My passion is helping and serving people in all areas of life. I have volunteered on several international humanitarian missions in Uganda, Mexico and Belize as well as working locally with seniors, young families and youth camps. I have had the opportunity to live abroad and have traveled the country furthering my wellness education and entrepreneurial business development ideas and passions. However, my most important role is being a mom to my 4-year-old son, and through this blessing, I have learned just how crucial making a difference is to our future, educational choices, protecting parental rights and personal medical freedoms.
Why are you running for this seat?
Simply put, Maine is going in the wrong direction. We need to lower taxes across the board; no more out-of-control spending on a misguided agenda that does not represent Maine values. We need to grow and develop our local workforce through trades and other vocational programs. Our seniors need to be protected, and it is now our turn to make sure they have proper care and facilities, especially our veterans. While we are helping our seniors, our young children need better day care and early development programs, not critical race theory curricula or instructions from teachers and administrators that exclude parents and challenge our Maine traditional value system.
What are the biggest challenges or concerns facing your district in the coming term?
Helping to change the course of our state back to a Maine that represents our core principles; honest hard-work, limit regulations on our lobster industry, transition our schools back to teaching fundamentals (not the latest social agendas), provide opportunities for Mainers to work and stay in Maine, truly support and fund our local law enforcement and first responders, have all elected officials represent our constituents, and not be influenced from out-of-state money.
What are your top priorities if elected?
• Lower taxes to help combat the increasing economic crisis we’re facing with inflation.
• Grow our local workforce through returning to the trades.
• Protect and support our seniors and veterans.
• Improve child care and early education programs.
• Reduce regulations on our lobster industry and help businesses thrive, not just survive.
• Protect parental rights by fostering stronger relationships between schools and parents.
• Restore medical freedom of choice and strengthen healthcare options.
Our State has been going in the wrong direction by ignoring the basics and ignoring traditional values that coined our motto, “Maine — The Way Life Should Be.”
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