Four of the five candidates vying to win a one-year-term representing House District 23 squared off at the Standish Town Hall Tuesday night, discussing a series of key issues facing Maine.
The state representative candidates, Democrat Lynn Olson, Republican Lester Ordway, Green Michael Wakefield, and independent Philip Pomerleau, will compete at the Nov. 3 special election to fill out the remaining year of former State Rep. Michael Shaw’s term. Chris Finley, a write-in candidate, did not attend the debate.
The debate, the first of two being held this week in Standish, revealed a consensus on the majority of issues, with the candidates promising to defend gun ownership rights, entice young people to live in Maine, create better-paying jobs, end bickering in Augusta, and remain independent decision-makers once they reach the Legislature.
Prior to the hour-and-a-half debate Tuesday night, each participating candidate provided two questions for all of the candidates to answer, and the questions were published beforehand. Town Manager Gordon Billington, acting as moderator, read the questions, and each candidate responded with a prepared answer, with little debate or back-and-forth among the contenders. Billington did not press the candidates to clarify any of their statements.
If anything, the debate revealed differences in emphasis and policy styles. When asked how they would provide assistance to struggling residents and businesses while still demanding an ethic of personal responsibility, the candidates offered a variety of answers.
Wakefield, a sales representative at Legacy Publishing who ran for the Legislature in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014, said he would require businesses that receive tax breaks to treat their workers better.
“We give a lot of tax breaks for large corporations and they brag about all the jobs they create, but these are not good-paying jobs and so while we’re fighting about the minimum wage, a lot of that’s talking about how much a company that profits in the billions is able to pay their workers,” Wakefield said. “I think it’s OK to put requirements on businesses if they are going to get public taxpayer money. That’s not anti-capitalist, just for those that are wondering, it’s kind of moral capitalism.”
Pomerleau, the owner of Maine-ly Heating Oil Co. and a former longtime Republican running as an independent, said he would increase the minimum wage.
“I really feel that we need to look at a $10 minimum wage and then move that up,” Pomerleau said. “It’s hard to keep workers in a job because they’re moving all the time. When you’re down there at the low end of the scale, it’s hard to keep qualified workers.”
Ordway, an automotive technology instructor at Central Maine Community College who was elected to the Standish Town Council in June, said he would eliminate some regulations on businesses and work to lower energy costs by contracting with Hydro Quebec and expanding natural gas capacity in Maine.
“We need less business regulations on some part, not total deregulation,” Ordway said. “One of the biggest hindrances to business in the state of Maine is high energy costs.”
Olson, the chairwoman of the Standish Town Council since June and the president of a consulting firm for nonprofits called Olson Associates, said she would work to provide a “system of basic supports” for families and individuals in crisis. Olson said she had received government support in the past.
“As a single mother, a full-time student with part-time jobs, I did struggle the same way mothers in Standish are struggling right now,” Olson said. “The help that I had during that period allowed me to get an education, a good job and become who I am today. I did not need a handout. I needed a hand-up so I could stand on my own two feet. That assistance was a lifeline to me when I needed it and I’m proud of what I have been able to accomplish.”
The candidates were also asked how they would address the student debt crisis.
Olson said she would support legislation that provides debt relief to students who stay and work in Maine, as well as some of the other ideas that are being discussed at the Legislature.
“The cost of higher ed is a significant investment that will give a significant return with a good income for years,” Olson said. “I would be very supportive of some of the potential legislative solutions that are being discussed now in Augusta, such as potentially funding the sophomore year at a public college.”
Ordway said that school districts should focus much more financial resources on vocational education.
“Kids are not going into the trades,” he said. “A friend I visited this summer, his daughter came out onto the deck, and said, ‘I haven’t seen you in a while.’ I said ‘Well, where have you been?’ [She had] just graduated from Orono. I said, ‘What did you major in and it better not be art history.’ She started crying – off she went. The $67,000 her folks paid for a degree in art history, and ladies and gentlemen, two weeks ago in Caribou she made my coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. We need to lead these kids on a better path.”
Wakefield said he would work to expand loan forgiveness for students who stay and work in Maine and try to lower the cost of public education.
“It shouldn’t be that expensive to go to a public university in your state,” he said.
Pomerleau said parents need to look at programs such as the Next Gen Maine System and the Harold Alfond College Challenge. He also encouraged businesses to help their employees pay off student loan debt.
“I really think it’s time for businesses to step up,” he said. “If you’ve got someone you’ve hired that has done a great job, you need to try to work with them on paying down their loans.”
Wakefield said that, unlike many Greens, he is a strong advocate of the right to bear arms.
“You should own guns if you want to, as long as you are legally able to own them,” he said. “I do believe in putting restrictions on people who have a history of just being violent and not being able to control their temper. I think we already have the laws in place for that.”
Ordway said he strongly opposed Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to cut income taxes and raise the sales tax.
“We do need to cut income tax, but by raising the sales tax we are going to drive people to New Hampshire,” he said. “We are going to put a burden on our seniors because seniors that are on a fixed income, that pay very little income tax, a tax cut’s not going to help them. Raising the sales tax is going to hurt them.”
Olson said she would listen to Standish residents, not the Democratic Party, when making decisions.
“What is important because I am used to working for the Standish citizens is that I will be representing all of the citizens of Standish and that will be my priority, not the various positions, platforms that particular parties profess,” she said.
But Pomerleau, a former longtime Republican who recently became an independent, said that was not a likely outcome.
“Regardless of how much we say we’re going to work across the aisles, that doesn’t really happen because this is a short term, a one-year-term,” he said. “If a Democrat or Republican gets elected they’ve really got to vote with their party, because 90 to 120 days, we’re going to be back here asking you people for money again because we have to file all our reports and be on the ballot for the primary by March 15. To think that anybody’s going to go there as a Democrat or Republican and vote outside the lines would not really work well for them if they’re planning to run in 2016.”
Democrat Lynn Olson, Republican Lester Ordway and independent Phil Pomerleau listen as Green party candidate Michael Wakefield answers a question during Tuesday night’s debate for candidates in the House District 23 race.Staff photo by Ezra Silk
Lynn Olson
Phil Pomerleau
Michael Wakefield
Lester Ordway
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