Health Insurance/Health Care/Privatization
    The health care system in this country is broken and we need to fix it. America spends more money on health care than any other industrial nation yet we are not buying superior health. We lag behind other nations in life expectancy and infant mortality, we lack adequate preventive services and we have fewer doctors and nurses than comparable countries. Additionally, since 2000, health care premiums for workers have increased four times faster than wages. Today the average family insurance policy costs $11,841 almost the entire amount that a full time minimum wage worker takes home in a year. Health care costs continue to rise and millions of Americans find themselves unable to afford health insurance. A recent report by Families USA found that a shocking one out of every three Americans were uninsured at some point during 2006-2007. This is unacceptable on both a moral and a practical level.

    I believe that the best way to solve our health crisis is to institute a single payer, universal health care system where everyone is covered and everyone contributes. The program would be funded first by combing current government health programs (Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) into a single fund. Additional funding would come from an increase in payroll tax, or an earmarked income tax. Although this would require a tax increase it should be noted that individuals will see a reduction in their premiums and health care costs and employers will no longer have to shoulder such high cost for employee health benefits.

Campaign Contributions
    Estimates suggest that when all is said and done the presidential candidates for 2008 will have raised a combined total of over $1 billion. Nationwide, candidates for the House will raise and spend, on average, over $1 million each, while candidates for the Senate will raise an average of $8 million each. Clearly the commingling of money and politics has gone too far.

    In 1996, the people of Maine approved the Clean Election Act in a statewide referendum. The system has proved to be extremely successfully with 80 percent of the candidates for state office taking advantage of Clean Election financing. This has gone a long way to not only negate the influence of wealthy individuals and special interests but to also open opportunities to more candidates.

    I would definitely support a system of public financing for congressional and presidential campaigns. As part of this reform we need to remind broadcasters that the airwaves belong to the people and as such broadcasters have an obligation to serve community needs. Broadcasters make millions of dollars in profits from political ads. This has to change.

    I am astounded and dismayed at the amount of time and energy that I have to put into raising funds for my campaign. I would rather spend my time talking to voters. Having run as a Clean candidate for the Maine Senate I have a clear basis of comparison and there is no doubt in my mind which system is better – public financing.

Global Warming/Alternative Energy
    As the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report 2007/2008 points out, climate change is not just a future worry but one that is already taking place around us. The world is witnessing an increase in extreme weather patterns, droughts, floods, and stronger, more intense storms. Scientific evidence warns that the world is fast approaching the point at which irreversible ecological catastrophe will become unavoidable. The time for action is now. Cutting carbon emissions 80% by 2050 is essential and while this will not prevent climate change it will hopefully be enough to avoid the most catastrophic effects. However, a 100% auction of credits is a vital component so that we can be sure that polluters pay for all of the chemicals they release instead of “trading” allowances.

    I would also support Senator Barack Obama’s plan to establish a 25% national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). This plan would mandate that 25% of electricity consumed in our country be derived from clean, renewable energy sources, like solar, wind and geothermal by the year 2025.

    I look to the future and see a United States with highly efficient cars, fueled by low-carbon alternative fuels, where buildings employ solar heating and cooling, and use extremely efficient appliances and air conditioning, where incandescent light bulbs have been replaced by compact fluorescents. It will not be easy to get to this future, but it can be done and it must be done. This will not be the first time this country has made such a commitment to a new future. We laid the railroad across the nation, we built an interstate highway system, and we sent a man to the moon. It is time now for Americans to take a leadership role in the global energy revolution. Government efforts must be directed towards research and development, consumer subsidies, and business incentives to develop these key environmental and energy technologies. We must utilize these technologies for the future of our environment, but we must also develop and build these technologies for the future of our economy.

    In Maine’s State Senate, I fought and won a two-year battle to pass a bill that encouraged the development of community wind power generators through incentive credits. These generators might be a single turbine on a farm or a small cluster of turbines owned by local residents, but they are all a step towards energy independence through a clean, renewable resource. Currently, I am sponsoring a bill that would phase out all incandescent light bulbs by 2010 and replace them with more efficient and longer-lasting CFLs.

    During my time in the Maine Senate the environment has been one of my top priorities – and it will continue to be a top priority when I am in Congress. The following are just a few of the pro-environment and conservation bills I have voted on:

    I voted yes on LD 2071 to preserve Katahdin Lake.
    Yes on LD 2071 to preserve Maine wetlands.
    Yes on LD 1034 to provide funding to prevent lead poisoning.
    Yes on LD 1435 to increase the energy efficiency of household appliances.
    Yes on LDs 1792, 1058, and 2043 to reduce mercury waste.

    I voted no to increased traffic in the Allagash via LD 2077.
    I voted no to prohibiting the public protection of land via LD 73.
    No to letting companies determine their own environmental impacts via LD 562.
    No to gutting the Land for Maine’s Future program via LD 998.
    And no to weakening environmental laws via LD 1219.

National Security/Military Spending
    The United States accounts for almost half of all world wide military spending. There has been a renewed military build-up in this country beginning in 2001. Bush’s 2009 proposed budget includes increases in both war spending and non-war military budgets while cutting important programs for children, the elderly, and lower income households. This is a travesty. While it is important to provide for a strong defense there is certainly ample room for cuts to be made in our military spending.

    Congress needs to have the courage to take a responsible look at our military and national defense budgets. Hard questions must be asked, and answered to determine what works, what doesn’t work, and what this nation really needs. Adjusted for inflation, the Pentagon’s current budget is the highest it has been in 60 years, yet our military forces are at their lowest levels since the end of World War II. Big ticket programs are eating up unnecessary funds and need to be reexamined. We need to take a closer look at such things as questionable missile defense systems, militarily outdated fighter planes like the F22, and money thrown away on nuclear weapons.

Transportation
    My top two choices would be to extend passenger rail to Brunswick and to encourage more buses, ferries and other alternative forms of transportation. Both projects are important and warrant significant investment because they will decrease congestion and increase our public transportation system in order to cut down on our carbon emissions and provide viable alternatives to our over reliance on automobiles.

    In addition to environmental benefits, communities that invest in public transportation and other transportation alternatives also gain enhanced economic development and prosperity in the form of more jobs, revitalized business and activity centers, and a more reliable work force. Alternative transportation increases access and affordability to many services for seniors, young people, and low-income people. If Maine is serious about doing its part to end global climate change and our country’s dependence on costly foreign oil, then we have got to do more to support public transportation and put our resources behind projects that won’t increase greenhouse gases. Maine’s current public transportation system in practically non-existent.

    I would not support the widening of I-295. It is well understood by traffic engineers that widening roads leads to “induced traffic”. Widening I-295 will not reduce traffic. The Maine Department of Transportation should go back and reexamine the Maine Turnpike plans to make Portland a toll free zone by placing a barrier toll in Scarborough. This plan was put forth in the 1990s and was designed to entice traffic away from I-295 and the streets of Portland.

International Relations
    The war in Iraq continues to have a major impact on Maine, both in terms of soldiers injured and killed and also in dollars spent fighting this unnecessary war. National Priorities Project (http://www.nationalpriorities.org) has put this information in perspective. Almost 200 Maine soldiers have been killed or seriously injured in the war in Iraq. Additionally, through the year 2007, Maine taxpayers have paid $1.2 billion to help fund it. But with that same amount of money, the following could have been provided to Maine people:

    322,224 People with Health Care OR
    1,884,923 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
    32,149 Public Safety Officers OR
    21,681 Music and Arts Teachers OR
    177,669 Scholarships for University Students OR
    92 New Elementary Schools OR
    9,591 Affordable Housing Units OR
    309,119 Children with Health Care OR
    176,327 Head Start Places for Children OR
    23,644 Elementary School Teachers OR
    14,915 Port Container Inspectors

    I have been against the war since before it began and I will work to bring our troops home now. When I am elected to Congress, I will work to re-focus our budget and spending priorities on those issues that truly affect our national security. Issues like ending this country’s addiction to foreign oil, closing the ever-widening gap between the wealthiest Americans and everyone else, and ending our health care crisis by providing universal health care coverage to all people.

    Additionally, global trade and the so-called free markets have also had a major negative impact on Maine. It is estimated that Maine has lost over 24,000 manufacturing jobs, jobs that have been shipped overseas. We need to seriously reexamine our trade policies. We must ensure that all U.S. trade agreements raise the standard of living for all involved and truly create new markets for U.S. goods. Countries to which we extend trade agreements must have reasonable environmental regulations and guarantee basic worker rights. Our trade policies must be written to protect the interests of the American people, not large multi-national corporations.

Mortgage crisis in ME/Banking and lending
    The federal government seems to care more about hedge fund managers making millions of dollars than it cares about middle class families struggling to pay their mortgages. This is a travesty and it’s got to stop. As Maine’s next U.S. Representative, I will fight every day to shift our budget priorities and fight for working people.

    There used to be usury laws that protected consumers against unreasonably high interest rates. A 1978 Supreme Court decision drastically changed the lending market. The Court warned Congress that it needed to enact new laws to protect borrowers but instead Congress chose to protect lenders and allow for predatory practices that in the past would have been viewed as illegal and criminal. It is not only sub prime borrowers who need new and added protections but credit card borrowers as well. We need to protect the vulnerable and the innumerate from these misleading, purposely confusing and greedy lending practices. Congress needs to enact strong federal usury laws that protect the consumer.

Gay Marriage
    I would support the original, fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act as introduced by Representative Barney Frank. I would advocate for putting protections for gender identity back into this legislation. Removing gender identity and expression protections from this bill was a mistake. I would only support a bill that included everyone, not just part of the community.

    With regard to gay marriage, I believe everyone has a fundamental human right to make personal commitments with whomever they choose. Gay & lesbian couples should have all the same rights and responsibilities recognized by law that straight couples enjoy. Period.

Living Wages/Jobs in ME/poverty/homelessness
    Starting with the Regan administration and going full throttle in the Bush administration this county has pursued policies and subsidies that have served to make the rich richer. This is a drastic shift from previous government policies meant to grow the middle class, support higher education, and provide opportunity based not on status and wealth but on hard work and merit. For the past twenty-five years our government has adopted rules that favor the rich and take from the poor. The result is a gap between the rich and everyone else not seen in this country since 1929.

    As the executive director of Portland West, a non-profit agency that works with at-risk youth and families struggling to make ends meet, I see the disastrous effects these failed economic and social policies have on Maine people. The Bush administration has pushed through a series of tax cuts that disproportionately benefit upper income households.

    When I am elected to Congress, I will work to:

    • Eliminate the Bush tax cut for the richest 0.3 percent of the population (households with incomes above $1 million a year), which would provide money necessary to fund vital social programs such as Section 8 Housing.

    • Continue funding projects like the ones I run at Portland West- literacy programs, high school GED programs, and programs that create affordable housing so that more families have access to a stable home. Portland West’s mission works to eliminate poverty by building community and focusing on personal responsibility. People must feel empowered and work to gain the tools to be successful over the course of their lives to break the poverty cycle.

    • Increase high school graduation rates and provide expanded access to affordable higher education to every young person.

    • Strengthen labor laws and workers’ rights to organize.
    Federal law is supposed to provide workers with the right to unionize, but employers routinely violate the law by retaliating against workers who try and form unions. As Chair of the Labor Committee, I have advocated tirelessly for the rights of unions and workers. I believe that unions are the middle class’s last line of defense against poverty. In Congress I will fight to strengthen the labor movement in our country.

    • Increase the federal minimum wage. In 2001, a $1 increase in the minimum wage alone would have lifted an estimated 900,000 people out of poverty. As chair of the Labor Committee in the Maine State Senate, I led the fight for our most recent minimum wage increase of 50 cents, and I am currently the sponsor of a bill that would lift the minimum wage by $1.70.

    • Enact better trade policies. Any new trade agreements must include strong labor and environmental standards. I would also work to reform our international tax code to remove incentives for companies to move their plans overseas.

    • Preserve the Estate Tax.

College Affordability
    Our nation’s global competitiveness depends on a well-educated workforce. The cost of a college education has skyrocketed. In 2005 the average cost (tuition, room, board) of a four-year public college was almost $13,000 a year, for private colleges the cost was over $30,000. These costs represent extraordinary financial barriers for low and moderate-income families.

    In order to make economic prosperity sustainable, America must invest more in higher education, training programs and student aid. Each year over a million bachelor’s degrees are lost among college-qualified high school graduates who cannot afford to attend college. We need to undo the budget cuts to Pell Grants and grow this important program. We also need to address student loan institutions. We should not give government subsidies to lenders who are allowed to charge high-risk rates on loans that cannot be discharged even in bankruptcy. By not doing all in our power to make higher education accessible and affordable to all we are putting our nation’s economic future at risk.

    The Opportunity Maine initiative, of which I was an early and vocal supporter, is an important step that we took here in Maine to encourage an educated work force ready to take on the challenges that Maine’s businesses face. Any Maine resident who earns an associate’s or bachelor’s degree at a Maine college or community college, and has a financial aid package that includes loans, can participate. The participating graduate who continues to live and work in Maine can claim a tax credit equal to the amount of any educational loan payments. In fact, The Drum Major Institute named Opportunity Maine one of the Top Ten Best Policies of 2007. Kudos to The League for its role in making it happen.

    I would like to see programs like Opportunity Maine expanded nationally. Every high school graduate should have access to a quality, affordable college education.

AIDS Awareness
    The answer, put simply, is more education. More funding for education, prevention, research and treatment. We need to support both awareness and prevention, you can’t have one without the other.

    Specifically, I will work to end the global gag rule, a policy reinstated by President Bush on his first day of office in January 2001. The gag rule mandates that no U.S. family planning assistance can be provided to countries that use funding to perform abortions except in cases where the life of the woman is at risk. What this misguided policy ends up doing is barring access to contraceptives in developing countries that need access and education the most because incidences of AIDs are running rampant. Young people and minorities are especially susceptible. If people at home and around the world are not given all of the facts about family planning and contraceptives, or are given abstinence-only education, then they don’t get the tools that they need to make smart and safe health care decisions about sexual activity.

    In essence, our elected leaders must support education, prevention, research and treatment programs that foster a world in which there is no shame or stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, and where all people affected by and/or at risk for HIV/AIDS receive the treatment, support, and services they need.

Fair Trade/Unions Rights
    The Trade Promotion Authority was a mistake. Congress needs to be more involved in setting trade policy. Our current trade policies are deeply flawed and need to be revisited. Hidden in the recent free trade agreements (NAFTA and CAFTA) is the stipulation that if private corporations believe they are being harmed by regulations they may sue for damages in special tribunal courts, not normal judicial proceedings. If successful, they receive direct compensation from the federal government. Environmental, health and safety regulations have all been attacked using this provision and over $13 billion worth of lawsuits have been filed. One such lawsuit led to the Canadian government repealing their ban on the fuel additive MMT. Trade agreements must be amended to provide stronger protection for the environment, labor, and public health. I will support a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs.

Iraq War/Torture
    The war in Iraq will go down in history as one of this nation’s greatest military blunders. It didn’t have to be this way. In February of 2003, six weeks before the first bombs fell on Iraq, I introduced a resolution to the Maine Senate calling for a halt to the impending attack and urging President Bush to pursue a diplomatic, not a military, solution in Iraq. The Maine Senate endorsed this resolution and became the first state legislative body in the nation to take a stance against war in Iraq.

    Our involvement in Iraq has stained this nation’s reputation worldwide, a blow to its international standing from which it will take years, perhaps decades, to recover. In our own country, the war has led to warrantless domestic surveillance and illegal wiretaps, the torture of war criminals, the leaking of classified information for partisan political purposes, and the suspension of habeas corpus allowing suspects to be held indefinitely without being charged and without a court hearing – things we thought could never happen in America.

    We cannot continue to sacrifice the lives of American troops and innocent Iraqi civilians. It is time to begin the total withdrawal of our troops from Iraq in a safe and orderly manner.

    I have fought against this war from its inception and I will continue to do so. We need to pursue a diplomatic solution, one that will not cause the people of Iraq to suffer even more. We need to work to regain America’s prestige and standing in the world, to once again become the beacon of hope, opportunity and democracy. And we need to bring our sons and our daughters home, now.

Iraq War/Torture
    From its very inception this country has eschewed the use of torture. Our Founding Fathers, including General George Washington, were determined that the War of Independence be conducted with respect for all prisoners of war, even though the British had a policy of degradation and extreme mistreatment of Continental prisoners. Over the years the United States has been known for its humane treatment of prisoners of war.

    It is a disgrace that the Bush administration has not only turned its back on the Geneva Convention but admits to using techniques that can fully be defined as torture. Torture is not an effective technique. People will lie or say whatever is necessary to make the torture stop. I would fully support legislation that prohibits the U.S. from engaging in torture.

Presidential Power
    I believe strongly that executive power should be limited to that which is clearly defined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution. In fact, the brilliance of the Constitution is in its separation of powers and the system of checks and balances that it creates. The Constitution limits and defines Presidential power in the following way- The President will serve as the military’s Commander in Chief, will veto bills, will sign treaties with advice and consent of the Senate, and will appoint judges, ambassadors and cabinet officials. This is in sharp contrast to the Bush Administration’s theory of the “unitary executive”. This view of Constitutional interpretation suggests that the President reserves the right to do what s/he must do to run the country and that the courts can figure out the legality later. In essence, the President can act unilaterally and unchecked. I believe that this President has misused his executive power.

    President Bush’s extreme abuses of executive power were allowed to grow during the first six years of his administration when there was a conspicuous lack of executive branch oversight by Congress. Bush’s administration engaged in warrantless wiretapping of civilians, broke international treaties by authorizing torture, and misused Presidential signing statements to re-interpret the law. All while Congress watched! Congress’s neglect of oversight was shameful and dangerous and has put our country and our Republic at risk.

    This past spring, I submitted a bill to the legislature on behalf of the Maine impeachment movement- a group of over 15,000 people who signed the petition calling for impeachment proceedings against the President and Vice-President. I believed then, as I do now, that a full impeachment investigation is the only way the legislative branch can uncover the extent of this Administration’s criminality and ensure that both Bush and Cheney’s flagrant and repeated violations of the Constitution don’t set a dangerous precedent for future presidents and vice-presidents. It’s impossible to know to what extent the corruption of this administration goes without a full airing of the facts.

Experience that relates to youth
    The most important way that I can represent young people in Maine is by listening to them. It may sound simplistic, but I’ve found that too often young people don’t have a voice and are not taken seriously. We could all learn a lot by closing our mouths and listening to what young people have to say.

    I think this became loud and clear to me through the enormous role The League played in passing Opportunity Maine. In all my time in the statehouse, I have never seen a more coordinated effort on behalf of young people. Together, you wrote a law, collected signatures, lobbied people like me, and ultimately passed a law. And, that’s not the only one. You were also instrumental in passing LD 2074, “An Act Regarding Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Properties” and are doing great work around Fusion voting.

    You have my ear, you have always had my ear, and you will continue to have my ear. But, it’s not just the legislature that we have in common. I strongly support the same brand of progressive change that the League has focused on all at levels of government. I recognize that there has been a tide shift in Portland, and I am proud of The League and the work you have done to help candidates get elected who share our progressive values including- affordable housing, transportation alternatives, the environment, and transparency.

    As you well know, getting people elected isn't enough. The League holds the feet of their elected leaders to the fire ... that's the type of microscope I WANT to be under. To be effective, I want to be challenged and continue an open dialogue about how I can help the League affect change in Portland and in Maine by working for the same progressive issues in Washington - affordable housing, alternative transportation and the environment.

    Now that I am running for Congress I get asked a lot about what my biggest motivation is in the work that I do. Many issues cross my mind- The war in Iraq, our country’s lack of affordable health care, social and economic injustice, the environment and climate change. All of these issues are vitally important to me and to our future. But what really makes me get out of bed every morning and go to work when I am exhausted or when I have not seen my wife in days or weeks, is thinking about young people in this country and the mess that they will inherit under current leadership: devastating debt, a broken health care system, the end of Social Security, and global warming. I won’t let the ideas and the passion of young people fall through the cracks — they need to always be considered and, more importantly, at the table when policy is considered.

    I have always tried to be a person who brings people of all ages, creeds, religions, races, and sexual orientations together to find common ground and good. Young people’s voices have struck a chord with me. When I first started college at UMaine, I worked on a student aspirations project, visiting schools across Maine trying to democratize the decision-making process by including more student voices. When I graduated, I moved to Boston to work with at-risk kids in lower income communities to help them try and find their way out of the cycle of poverty and violence.

    In 2004, I founded A Rising Tide, a civic leadership-training institute for Maine young people aged 16 to 35. ART’s mission is to engage, inspire and motivate young people to get involved in politics whether as volunteers or as elected officials. We have graduated almost 200 young people so far from the program- many of which are currently serving on city councils, school committees, or in the state legislature. Others are running campaigns here in Maine or across the country for candidates and causes that they care about. It is one of the greatest honors that I have ever known to see our graduates learn to realize their potential, to find their voices, and to witness their own personal power to make positive change in their communities.

    I see this same excitement and self-realization with The League. I have been a supporter and member of The League since the organization first began in 2004 and I have been proud to participate and watch you take off here in Maine. I have enjoyed attending League meetings and community events, and I believe I have been a supportive partner in your work and mission- whether that work has been the Opportunity Maine campaign, raising the minimum wage, fighting for civil rights for all people, working to defeat Palesky and TABOR initiatives, supporting environmental initiatives like Rent GREEN or advocating for ways to improve housing and transportation and a more sustainable environment for all Mainers.

    I would be honored to earn The League’s endorsement. My promise to you is to always listen and fight to ensure that your voices are always at the table.

Top 3 priorities
    In Congress I will work to end the senseless war in Iraq. The war is costing our nation billions and billions of dollars and unnecessarily putting our young women and men in the armed services in harm’s way.

    I will work to close the widening gap between the very rich and the rest of us. We need to get rid of the corporate tax breaks that average Maine families are paying for. We need to undo the special tax cuts for the super-rich. We’ve got an administration that has given six tax cuts in six years to the wealthiest Americans, while during that same period in Maine, the number of children in poverty has risen more than 60%. This growing gulf between the uberwealthy and the rest of us is creating inequities that threaten the very foundation of our government. In Congress I will fight for a government that puts working families first.

    And finally, I believe it is time to end our country’s dangerous addiction to costly foreign oil. This is no longer just an environmental issue, but an issue of critical national security. This country needs a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to the energy crisis that includes energy conservation, promotion of low emission and fuel-efficient cars, the end of tax subsides for the oil industry, improving our mass transit system, and developing alternative energy sources.

Maine’s commercial fishing industry
    I support legislation such as the Magnuson-Stevens Management Act that oversees the management of marine fisheries and strengthens protection from depletion of dwindling stocks, and the work of the Regional Fisheries Management Councils to establish catch limits based on scientific recommendations.

    Additionally, I recognize that Maine’s fishing heritage is strong and must be preserved. Many coastal Maine communities depend on commercial fishing for their livelihoods, as they have for generations. It is imperative that scientists and fishermen work together to build a strong, healthy, and lasting marine ecosystem. It is in the best interest of commercial fisherman to serve as good stewards of their ocean resources so that they can fish for years to come.

    I believe strongly that Maine’s fishing industry can once again thrive. One successful example is our lobster industry. Where some commercial fishing industries have failed, the Maine lobster industry has worked hard to become a sustainable fishery by preserving lobster brood stocks- with minimum and maximum size limits, tail notching/breeder throw-backs, apprenticeship programs, trap limits, and sustainable harvest methods. Maine lobstermen have worked to create a well-managed livelihood that will last for future generations. The lobster industry has set the bar for other Maine fisheries. I would like to work with other fisheries to encourage this same brand of sustainability across the board.

    As Maine’s next U.S. Representative, I will work hard to bring all parties together to find the best ways to keep our fishing heritage, resources, and ocean ecosystem healthy and thriving for this generation as well as the next.

Reproductive Rights
    I am 100% pro-choice without exception. I am firmly committed to the issues of increased family planning funding, affordable health care, access to contraceptives and safe, legal abortion. As I stated in my answer to Question 11 on AIDS awareness, I am opposed to the global gag rule both for its restrictions on access to complete and honest family planning education, and for its role in the proliferation of the AIDS epidemic in developing countries. If people at home and around the world are not given all of the facts about family planning and contraceptives, or are given abstinence-only education, then they don’t get the tools that they need to make smart and safe health care decisions. I think it is immoral for our government to place these restrictions on funding in America and abroad. It is just another way to keep poor people poor and uneducated.

    I am proud that Maine stood among the first states to appropriate state funding for family planning services, even before Title X was adopted at the federal level. In addition, Maine lead the way among states to codify Roe in 1993 by passing our state’s Reproductive Privacy Act in the wake of the Casey decision, by approving a state EPICC law in 1997, and by rejecting, first in the state legislature and later by public referendum, an abortion procedure ban. I take seriously the responsibility as a leader in a pro-choice state to step forward and continue the fight to expand reproductive options for all women, regardless of economic status.

Tax and Budget
    I support the provisions of PAYGO and support balancing the federal budget. If Congress wants new tax cuts or new entitlement spending they need to find a way to pay for them. PAYGO requires tax cuts be offset with either spending cuts or tax increases. The federal deficit was allowed to explode when the system of PAYGO was abandoned in 2002. We must keep the estate tax. Eliminating the estate tax will create a permanent upper class. Such a permanent upper class is profoundly anti-Democratic, prohibits opportunity and class movement and violates the fundamental American ideal of equal opportunity for all.
Comments
    Every day as the executive director of Portland West, a not-for-profit agency that works with at-risk youth and families struggling to make ends meet, I see the disastrous effects of Washington’s failed economic and social policies, policies that have caught Maine people between rising costs and higher taxes, and falling wages and lower home values.

    That’s why in the Maine Legislature, I have worked to close the widening gap between the very rich and the rest of us by working to cut property taxes for homeowners, reduce our dependence on costly foreign oil, and get rid of corporate tax breaks that average Maine families are paying for.

    In Congress, I will be part of a new Democratic coalition that will get results – undo the special interest tax breaks for big business, restore the hard-working middle-class and find alternative energy solutions to lower home heating bills and end our dependence on foreign oil.

    I would be very honored to earn The League's endorsement. I believe strongly that your inclusive, community-based, grassroots philosophy matches my own- It mirrors the kind of campaign that my team and I are trying to run in this campaign to represent Maine's 1st Congressional District. I believe that we would be even stronger together. I sincerely hope that we can come together and make progressive change happen here at home and nationally.

    Let's do it.

    Ethan Strimling