With incumbent James Hamper reaching term limit, the State Senate District 19 seat is up for grabs between Richard Bennett (R-Oxford) and Katey (Katherine) Branch (D-Paris).

SD 19 includes the towns of Fryeburg, Brownfield, Denmark, Porter, Hiram, Bridgton, Sebago, Naples, Harrison, Otisfield, Oxford, Paris, Norway.

The News posed the following questions to the candidates; and their responses are arranged in alphabetical order:

Q. 1 — What qualities, skills and experiences do you possess that make you the best candidate for the job?

Bennett: I had the privilege of serving western Maine in the Senate from 1996-2004, and I have a track record as a uniter, who has earned respect across the aisle. When the 2000 elections left a 17-17-1 partisan tie in the Maine Senate, I crafted a power-sharing agreement that worked for everyone, and I was unanimously elected President of the Senate.

I am successful businessman, having rescued and built several Maine-based businesses including GWI, the Biddeford-based telecom company now building miles of fiber in western Maine, and Quoddy, the storied Maine moccasin and footwear maker employing 20 in Lewiston.

Branch: I am honest, dependable and I am known for my integrity. I am a good listener and have experience collaborating with a wide range of people to address community health issues. I have been actively involved in securing our food systems, protecting our environment and supporting youth empowerment and education to improve health outcomes in our communities. My allegiance is to people in the district. I am committed to finding common ground and creating policies that are inclusive and supportive.

Q. 2 — As Maine continues to contend with and bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic, what three area should state government focus on and what possible solutions would you propose?

Bennett: We need to get Maine back to work and open for business – with care and safety for our most vulnerable. The Legislature should have reconvened months ago to do their job and act as a check on power of the governor as well as a voice on how her policies were working. We should put local businesses first by aiming regulatory policies toward helping small business, not transnational corporations and big box stores. Longer term, we must build high-speed fiber networks in rural Maine to provide tele-health, remote education, and connectivity for small business entrepreneurs.

Branch: I address the budget shortfall due to the pandemic in question 5 and the need for affordable, accessible, high-quality healthcare in question 4.

Universal broadband access in Maine is critical. State government should help with technical assistance, resources and policies that make it easier to install. Broadband access will: 1.) support the distance learning our school systems have been thrown into; 2.) encourage more work from home options; and 3.) encourage more professionals and businesses to move to Maine which will improve our economy.

Childcare has become a huge issue for many Maine families. The state could provide technical support and information to providers to help them secure their businesses, as well as incentives for innovative responses like we have seen some schools and businesses do.

Q. 3 — Where do you stand on the proposed Central Maine Power proposed transmission corridor, good or bad deal and why?

Bennett: The CMP Corridor is a bad deal for our state. Foreign corporations will make billions while we will be left with crumbs. It is outrageous that Maine people have been denied the right to self-determination on a project that will affect our state for generations. In abusing the special privileges CMP has to operate in Maine, the company’s foreign owners have lost their right to the franchise.

I’ve been a leading voice in opposition to the CMP Corridor through the heart of western Maine, through op-eds, radio shows, petition-gathering and contributions.  In the Maine House in 1992, I was one of the drafters of the Constitutional Amendment requiring a 2/3 legislative vote of that was violated by CMP and the Bureau of Parks & Lands in the illicit lease of state lands.  Now, I am a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the State and CMP over this action.  I’ve also testified for legislation to prohibit foreign companies like HydroQuebec interfering in Maine elections.

Branch: I am not in favor of the CMP Corridor for many reasons but mostly because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Energy warned CMP that it has failed to provide adequate evidence that the proposed transmission corridor has climate benefits. Investing in building our renewable energy infrastructure in Maine will benefit the climate and Maine people more. I propose we move toward consumer-owned utility ownership.

Q. 4 — If elected, what items/issues would be priorities and what might be ways to address them?

Bennett: My mission is to restore “Common Sense and Common Ground” to Maine politics. My main purposes are to have an economy that puts local, small businesses first, not big trans-national corporations; to have a government that serves the people, not itself; to build infrastructure — including high speed broadband — that will allow rural Maine to flourish not fall behind; to foster health care solutions that promote healthy living and favor patients, nurses and doctors over bureaucracy, insurance companies, and Big Pharma; to deal openly without partisanship on gnawing societal problems like our opioid epidemic; and to create a political discourse on a foundation of respect and love for our fellow humans rather than rudeness and hatred.

Branch: Healthcare is a right everyone should be able to count on — not a for-profit business.  I will support a Universal Healthcare solution— MaineAllCare, or other plan, that covers everyone head to toe, cradle to grave, and is not attached to employment. The plan we arrive at should: 1.) give citizens incentive to stay healthy; 2.) incentivize providers to ramp up preventative healthcare; 3.) empower the state to negotiate the prices of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies; 4.) help the state achieve fiscal stability.  

A healthy environment is one of our most important assets. Maintaining policies protecting the environment is key. Transitioning to clean renewable energy for the State of Maine will reduce carbon emissions, create good jobs and protect Maine’s economy from fossil-fuel price volatility. Rapidly building out Maine’s renewable energy infrastructure will keep our energy dollars in Maine instead of sending them out of state.

I am committed to supporting a strong, local, sustainable economy that works for everyone. Developing more foundational jobs that are goods producing, and sustainable such as food, manufacturing, transportation/trucking, energy and construction will invite more workers to move to Maine. We should encourage processing of our raw materials (timber, seafood) so that the value added is kept within the Maine economy. We need to make sure we are offering vocational training for skilled trade workers as well as future based jobs training. 

Q. 5 — What are the three biggest challenges Maine faces in the next three years?

Bennett:Restoring our small businesses post-Covid; building reliable high-speed broadband throughout rural Maine;protecting our people from the scourge of opioids.

Branch: (Note: the candidate combines Questions 5 and 6 in her responses.) Maine is expecting a budget shortfall. We need to support increased federal funding and greater flexibility with how federal funding can be used. I will not support tax increases for low income people. I support a wealth tax, and increased estate taxes so that wealthier Maine taxpayers can help Mainers recover and rebuild. I support closing the loophole that allows businesses to hide income in offshore tax havens, to increase profits and avoid paying taxes on those profits. I will vote to eliminate this deduction and save Mainers $7 to $10 million a year. I propose, like other states, that Maine have a higher Real Estate transfer tax on multi-million dollar home builders.

Maine has a huge workforce need right now that will increase with an aging population where we expect approximately 100,000 people to retire over the next decade. We need to attract younger people by making sure we have good paying jobs. We can better advertise and expand the Educational Opportunity Tax Credit program where graduates who move to Maine can take off the money they pay towards student loans from their state taxes. We can create a jobs strategy that builds on Maine’s strengths making it easier to start and run businesses, expand and add more jobs. We should identify the companies and jobs of the future and support emerging technologies like solar equipment building, bio-plastics or bio-fuel and how Maine can compete to bring those jobs here.  

Maine is facing a critical housing shortage. Many families are struggling to find safe, accessible, affordable homes. Land-use, zoning, and building codes should encourage smaller single-family homes, adaptive reuse of existing buildings through tax incentives, mixed-use and residential-over-retail occupancies and similar smart-growth principles.

Q. 6 — …And how should state government go about addressing those challenges?

Bennett: We need to listen and respond to the needs of our small businesses, and rely on them to re-open carefully with good guidelines from the Maine CDC.  They should be given a level playing field against big box retailers and transnational corporations.

We need to marshal resources at the federal, state, and municipal levels to build the critical high-speed infrastructure. I have experience with this through GWI, where I serve as a director, who is building miles of fiber-optic lines directly to homes and businesses in western Maine.

We need to hold Big Pharma accountable for their pushing opioids into our communities, and we need to provide Maine people all services necessary to help them kick their addictions.