I’m running for re-election because we need to continue to invest in Mainer and her people. This means that everyone deserves access to the best this great state of Maine has to offer – whether it’s my students who want to stay in Maine and raise a family, get a good job, and contribute to their community, or the lobstermen I’ve met who want to continue working in an industry that’s been challenged by environmental changes, or the elderly man who wants to stay in his home but is one car repair away from losing his home. These hardworking men and women trust those in government to make fair decisions. As a legislator, I’ve been an energetic and passionate advocate for constituents. Because of them, I am running for re-election so I can continue to be their voice.

We need to support:

Greater access to health care: I am incredibly lucky that I have a job that I love and it also offers great health insurance. But it’s not fair that other people don’t have the same access just because they don’t have the same job as I do. They certainly deserve it as much as I do. I spoke with a small business owner recently who pointed out that the lack of affordable health insurance has undoubtedly stifled entrepreneurial efforts because people who would otherwise love to start their own business can’t afford to leave jobs that have health insurance.

Immediate attention to climate change: I’m proud that Woolwich took the future-oriented step of voting for solar panels to power the Town’s electricity. I’m also proud to have helped maintain the Town’s historic alewife harvest. Preserving that resource helps improves the waters where so many of our residents work. These are the kinds of results that make this area great.

Investment in infrastructure to attract new Mainers, keep young families in the state, and keep seniors in their homes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we switched from in-class learning to online. As we worked to finish up the semester, it became crystal clear to me that unreliable internet service created inequities among my students, and this is true across the state. We need to do better. If we want a state that is attractive to new businesses and new populations, we need a stronger investment in infrastructure built for tomorrow.

Property tax relief: As a member of the Woolwich selectboard, I deeply understand the impact of property taxes on our residents, and have worked hard to provide tax relief for municipalities without while balancing the needs of the State.

Economic opportunity: One major accomplishment was working to reinstate a tax credit to help businesses offset significant research and development costs that expand and create good paying jobs for Mainers. I worked with businesses, unions, colleagues across the aisle, and the Chamber of Commerce, and passed this bill unanimously. It now awaits final approval.

I grew up in a middle-class family in suburban Philadelphia, and was able to go to college at a public university in the state where I lived. I was able to graduate debt-free. I grew up in a blended family. I had two biological siblings, and after my mother died, my father married a woman with two kids of her own. She was a great stepmother and also what seems to have been a great second wife to my father. There has been alcoholism in my family so I have had a complicated relationship to potentially addictive substances. There has also been depression in my family – one sibling committed suicide by gun – so I have a complicated relationship to guns. That said, both of my surviving brothers are avid hunters.

I’ve worked in many different jobs – publishing, printing, house building, and now teaching. My husband and I moved to Maine in 1983 because we wanted to build a house and he wanted to learn wooden boatbuilding. I worked at a housebuilding school, we built a house, he worked as a boatbuilder, and then I fell in love with history. I was lucky to have a short stint in graduate school (Temple University), and then worked part-time at the University of Maine at Farmington while I finished my degree. I’ve been working there full-time since 1996. While my residence is a ways from Farmington, I tell people that I love my job and I love where I live. My first husband was killed in a workplace accident in 1997. My current husband is also a wooden boatbuilder and his boatshop is in Phippsburg.

I am proud to be running as a Clean Elections Candidate. This makes it possible for anyone who wants to run for public office. Since the donations can only come from people in my district, I can spend my time focused on constituents in our community and not on outside interests. Thanks to the commitment of people in my district, I have collected all the Clean Elections funds I am permitted to have.