I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent the citizens of Dresden. I’ve been meeting voters at their doors, the swap shop, and community events since February, and voters are telling me about their concerns. There are many of them but I’m going to list 4:

Voters want us to: (1) Keep young people in Maine and attract new people; (2) pay attention to (and fix) our infrastructure; (3) do something about climate change; and (4) work with the other side. The challenges span the generations but so do the solutions. In fact, when we work on 1, 2, and 3, we improve the economy and the quality of life of all Mainers. This is why I am running for state representative.

First, we can keep and attract young people to Maine when we pursue policies to expand renewable energy, including solar. These policies not only create good-paying jobs, they also sustain our jobs on the water and in the woods. Better attention to infrastructure – roads, bridges, and broadband – helps support those jobs as well as other entrepreneurial projects. A stronger and more mixed economy age-wise stabilizes our tax base, making it easier for our aging neighbors on fixed incomes.

Number 4 is how we can get there. Voters want representatives who talk to the other side. I couldn’t agree more. I have a track record of doing exactly this for the last 6 1/2 years. And that is why I am running for the state legislature.

On the Woolwich selectboard, we work together, even if we don’t always agree. I have also turned two town adversaries into allies. One recent example of that has been a successful school painting project in the pedestrian tunnel in Woolwich under Route 1. In the process, I’ve worked with MDOT more than once to work on positive solutions.

I’ve also testified to make sure the state meets its responsibility to towns and schools. If the state funds them properly, property taxes can be controlled, making it more affordable for seniors, but also more reasonable for young families.

And we have moved our corner of the state forward on renewable energy. In Woolwich, we recently installed solar panels to pay for its municipal electric bill, and I am proud to have been part of that process. We need someone in Augusta who shares those values.

And as a college teacher, I am doing my part to keep my students here and get jobs they love – and even run for public office.

In conclusion, 2018 is a different year from 2016 – in so many ways. Spirits are high, people are energized and have been for 2 years, and I have a plan to bring it home in November. Thank you for the great opportunity to serve you.

I’ve lived in Woolwich for 35 years, and am serving in my third term on the Woolwich Selectboard. I currently teach history at the University of Maine at Farmington, but I’ve also worked as a printer, a retail store and office coordinator, a magazine production assistant, and a steelworker. I am also part owner of my husband’s wooden boat building and repair business in Small Point, Phippsburg.

I am a volunteer with the Woolwich Historical Society, the Patten Free Library in Bath, Maine’s First Ship, and the newly formed Bath Area Age-Friendly and Livability group.

I am proud to live in a state with a genuine citizen legislature. I’m running as a Clean Election candidate because I believe that anyone with a passion and a commitment to hard work should be able to run for state office. It’s a big responsibility to be relying on campaign funds that come from Maine taxpayers but it’s one I adopt wholeheartedly, and it is a commitment I make to campaign responsibly and ethically, not only with Mainers but especially with voters in my district, who are the only people who can donate to my campaign. If you live in Dresden, please consider making a $5 contribution on my behalf, which you can do online on my website or at this link: http://www.maine.gov/ethics/mcea/.