Office Sought: Representative – District 14
Age: 35
Occupation: Business owner
Education: BA Communcation
Family: Not submitted
Hometown: Saco
Political experience
I graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 2008. Soon after, as I started my search for employment, the economy collapsed in the great recession. I consider myself a part of the lost graduates – a group of college graduates that entered into a workforce that had no need for them. I have worked many hourly paid positions. In 2014, I started my own business; through my experiences I understand the struggles of both a employee and business owner.
Why are you running for office?
I am running for office because I have a belief that we are all in this together as citizens of Maine, that Saco is changing, and that we must shape this change, or we will be shaped by it. I believe in the common good. Saco must maintain and continue to grow as a place where community continues to exist. Saco faces many challenges. Property taxes are high and have begun to push out many life-long residents. College debt has prevented many young professionals in our community from qualifying for home loans and has pushed them into renting, with this increase in demand causing rents in Saco to almost double in the last five years. Technical and trade jobs are abundant in the Southern Maine area, yet our workforce lacks easy access to training for these skills that are needed in this new economy. To layout my four most pressing issues: increasing revenue sharing to get more money into our schools and out of Augusta, changing the state of Maine property tax assessment formula policies to keep life-long residents in Saco from being pushed out and preventing gentrification, increasing technical and skilled-based training and certification for all ages of the workforce, and increasing the electorate through automatic voter registration. Finally, the two party system is broken. I am running as an Independent because we need people in the State House that are not beholden to political parties and their special interest groups, but instead to local communities.
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Income Tax: Gov. LePage would like to lower Maine’s income tax rate and eventually eliminate it, by increasing the state’s sales tax and expanding it across a broader range of goods and services. Do you support this proposal?
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Background Checks: Do you support background checks for privately sold firearms in Maine?
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Minimum Wage: In light of the ballot question facing voters this fall, do you support raising the state’s minimum wage from $7.50 to $12 an hour by 2020?
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Marijuana: Do you support legalization of marijuana for recreational use?
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Addiction/Overdoses: Do you believe the state is doing enough in response to the rise in heroin/opiate addiction and overdoses? If not, what else should be done?
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