Democrat State Sen. Bill Diamond is running against Republican Lani Kelly for the District 12 State Senate seat.
Bill Diamond
Incumbent Bill Diamond, of 261 Windham Center Road, Windham, is seeking re-election this November.
“You can really have an impact on policy if you’re where the policy is made,” said Diamond, 61. “What I really enjoy is helping people through all the red tape. I represent 45,000 people, and receive about 40 e-mails a day. Out of those, five to eight of them need some help in the government, and I really enjoy guiding them through the process.”
Diamond earned a Ford Fellowship in college, allowing him to write his own program and travel around the country to learn about different education practices. He interned with Maine’s former Gov. Curtis. He also traveled to Austria, where he said he witnessed education principles similar to those of Maine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Gorham State College (USM), a master’s degree from the University of Maine, and a post-graduate work from the University of New England. He said these accomplishments as well as his accumulated experiences make him a solid candidate for the senate seat.
“And experience,” said Diamond. “I know where to go, who to talk to, what actions to take to get things moving. That’s a huge advantage.”
“There is still more work to be done,” said Diamond. He is looking to further reform sex offender crimes by assigning risk levels to registered offenders, in an attempt to identify more violent offenders from lesser ones, instead of having them all grouped into an ambiguous category.
Diamond’s top three issues are property tax, criminal justice, and the environment.
“There needs to be some sort of circuit breaker to the system,” said Diamond. “I’m working on a way to give middle income levels a way to qualify for tax refunds for their property taxes. I also like working with the criminal justice committee, and I believe that we need to find solutions for our existence with the natural environment that we impact. And of course, I am interested in education.”
Diamond has worked in education for the majority of his professional career, stating, “Once a teacher, always a teacher.” He says that in some ways, his motivations have remained the same, as helping others attain the things they are looking for is what drives him still.
“Another thing is some areas in law enforcement,” said Diamond. “Some of the activities take a huge amount of money for the day-to-day activities, leaving little left for other areas. There was a closet of 112 hard-drives that the state police were to go through, evidence of child pornography. There were only two positions to do the job, and each hard-drive can take hours and hours. We worked hard, and got the number of positions doubled from two to four on the last night of legislation.”
Of his running opponent, Lani Kelly, Diamond said he has met with her twice and is “sure she’s a fine lady,” adding that he knows little about her political background and policy.
Diamond said that should he be re-elected, he would continue to act as he has, working to find more reasonable solutions to growing problems.
Lani Kelly
Lani Kelly, 53, of 30 Town Farm Road, Windham, is seeking election for State Senate in District 12.
“I am fed up with the way things are going in the state,” said Kelly. “For 30 years, this state has been on a decline of economic, moral and family values.”
Kelly has a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Southern Maine; has been a paralegal secretary for more than 10 years; has taught in the Windham school system; is a former promotional director of Maine Guides (AAA Baseball team); and was a former operations manager for Youthful Aging, a Florida home health care business. She has also worked with local and national organizations focused on drug and alcohol abuse.
“I am a traditional Republican,” said Kelly.
Kelly said she is interested in reducing taxes “In every area of life.”
“TABOR is our document to help us get back on track economically. I believe it will force legislative bodies to work within an established budget. There are lots of programs that sound good, but where is the money going to come from?” said Kelly.
Kelly said her motivation is “A house cleaning. It takes a woman to do a house cleaning. I want to cut taxes and tax spending. I want to work for small businesses in a way that will help them prosper in this state. I want to try to get some sanity back into the bookkeeping.”
Kelly’s main platform issues are taxes, jobs and welfare reform.
“We need to breathe,” said Kelly of taxes. “Maine is now known as a welfare state, not just nationally but internationally. Enough is enough. Our lifestyle is unsustainable. I want to make small businesses and larger ones want to stay in the state by offering relief to small owners. I want to cause a re-evaluation of fees and the license structure. I think we have too many laws in this state. I think welfare is sometimes necessary to kick-start people, but that the Democratic government is training people to circumvent the government. I think that is just sad.”
Of her running opponent, current State Senator Bill Diamond, Kelly said, “He is on the wrong side of the issue every time.”
“Diamond supports the homosexual agenda,” said Kelly. “I am for traditional marriage, because I believe the alternative is destructive. I am pro-family right down the line.”
When it comes to the moral decline she speaks about, Kelly offers an apology, pointing a large portion of the blame on her own generation.
“It was my generation that started this whole thing,” said Kelly. “And I’m so sorry for that. Now, I’m just trying to make things right.”
When it comes to heated issues like abortion and the war in Iraq, Kelly does not hesitate to answer.
“I think life begins at the moment of conception, and I’m against murder,” said Kelly. “I’m glad we went into Iraq. I think it was necessary for the safety and security of the people.”
Kelly said that should she be elected, she would work to give voice and final say to the voters, and looks at issues such as TABOR to do so.
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