Health Insurance/Health Care/Privatization
    Universal health care must be one of Congress’s top priorities. We cannot solve the problem incrementally any longer. We need a national health care system that covers everybody. The U.S. can study the national systems in Canada and the European nations and create a uniquely American system. A single payer system that puts everybody in the same insurance pool is ideal, but regardless of which way we go, two priorities need to be met: 1) Everybody is covered; 2) It is run by a non-profit entity.

    Currently, the U.S. spends approximately 16 percent of its GDP on health care, a number that is expected to rise to 20 percent over the next ten years. Industrialized nations with national health care systems spend approximately 8 to 10 percent of their GDP on health care. Switching to a national system such as universal single payer will decrease our country’s overall health care expenses. We can also help pay for it by repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent and ending the Iraq War.

Campaign Contributions
    I strongly support public funding for U.S. Congressional campaigns similar to Maine’s Clean Election System (which has been very successful). A campaign such as this is very expensive, so I need to spend many hours a day on the phone raising funds. If public financing existed for federal races, I could spend more time asking people for their votes than asking them for money.

Global Warming/Alternative Energy
    I strongly support all four components of the Safe Climate Act, and would sign-on as a cosponsor if I was in Congress today.

    I have been concerned about climate change for a long time now. My family and I have always made sure to properly insulate our house in the wintertime, and we do what we can to reduce our energy usage as much as possible (for example, by unplugging unused appliances).

    We have to reduce our dependence on carbon-based fuels for the sake of the planet in the fight against global warming, and for the sake of our economy. The York County Courthouse installed a geothermal system, where they drilled a hole deep into the ground and use the Earth’s natural heat to heat the courthouse. Now we only need to use a small fraction of the oil we previously used to add a couple of degrees here and there to keep the courthouse warm.

    This is just one of the ways in which we can help in the fight against climate change. Ultimately, the whole nation needs to reduce its consumption of carbon-based fuels, and put money into the development of new sources of energy. If we do not act soon, the changes from global warming may be irreversible.

National Security/Military Spending
    The first thing we need to do is get out of Iraq, where we have wasted billions of dollars. Congress needs to investigate all allegations of fraud, abuse, and wasteful spending, and re-coup as many of the losses as possible.

    Second, I am deeply troubled by the increasing privatization of the military. By outsourcing military resources to for-profit industry, we feed the military-industrial complex. If elected, I hope to serve on the Armed Services Committee, and will make the fight against privatization one of my top priorities within the committee. Our military belongs in the public sector, where the public can see clearly where taxpayer dollars are being spent.

    By eliminating wasteful spending, decreasing privatization, and making smarter foreign policy decisions that keep us out of unnecessary wars, we can save money and avoid falling further into a military industrial complex.

Transportation
    My top two choices for the Greater Portland Area would be passenger rail to Brunswick and rebuilding Veteran’s Bridge. Regarding rail to Brunswick, we need to increase alternative modes of transportation such if we want to reduce our dependence on carbon-based fuels. By extending passenger rail to Brunswick, we can help reduce the traffic on I-295 by giving people a new way to get to Portland. Regarding Veteran’s Bridge, I am deeply concerned with the state of our transportation infrastructure. I believe the bridge collapse in Minnesota highlighted just how much it has been neglected. We need to update our bridges and improve the conditions of our roads.

International Relations
    Trade affects Mainers greatly, both positively and negatively. I believe that NAFTA has had a net negative effect on the state, due to the number of jobs that have been outsourced. We need to move to a fair trade model that takes labor and environmental standards into account before signing trade deals. We also need to stop rewarding companies for shipping jobs overseas and give them greater incentives to keep jobs here.

    The other way trade affects Maine is via Canada. I strongly believe that our state’s economy is closely connected to Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, and we must foster and grow that relationship.

Mortgage crisis in ME/Banking and lending
    We cannot separate the current mortgage crisis from the larger issue of debt in our society. We need to place tighter regulations on how credit is offered, from unsecured credit and predatory lending to home and car loans. This will prevent less people from entering into credit agreements that will haunt them in the future.

    One example of this in Congress is H.R. 3609, which would provide for court-supervised home loan modification. This would allow homeowners hit the hardest by the crisis to re-negotiate their mortgage rates based on property value, and help get them on their feet.

    To summarize, we need to crack down on predatory lending, reform the way that credit is offered, and give people a path out of debt. An economy with so many citizens in debt cannot be strong.

Gay Marriage
    First of all, I am a strong supporter of marriage equality. I also support federal legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, real or perceived, as well as gender identity & expression. If elected to Congress, I will fight to make sure that everyone is included in the protections of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Living Wages/Jobs in ME/poverty/homelessness
    I have mentioned this before, but we need to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent. These tax cuts have been nothing more than a wealth shift. If we repeal the tax cuts and pass universal single-payer health care, American working families can save a good amount of money. We can then take these savings, and put some of it towards a safety net that would provide affordable housing and education, as well as other services to help reduce the negative impact of poverty.

    This fight is personal for me. When my grandfather died during the Great Depression, his family was bankrupt and my mother was only 16 years old. The only thing that saved my grandmother and her family from going into poverty was the fact that social security had been created the year before. It was the safety net that kept them from falling through the cracks. Every day at the York County District Attorney’s Office I see families that are on the edge. The less we help these families, the weaker our society becomes.

College Affordability
    We need a national service program in this country. If you look at the Space Program in the 1960s you’ll find that many of the people responsible for putting a man on the moon had gone to college thanks to the G.I. Bill. We need to tell students that if they are willing to dedicate a couple of years of their life to service, through programs such as Americorps, we will pay for their education.

    Additionally, we need to provide loan forgiveness to graduates who use their education to go into public service careers such as teaching and social work. Rewarding service can go a long ways towards improving communities across the country, giving educational opportunities to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it, and improving our economy thanks to a well-educated workforce.

AIDS Awareness
    Knowledge is power. We need to provide comprehensive sexual education to young people across the country so that they know what options are available to them. That way, we can empower them to make smart decisions. Strengthening the work that organizations such as Planned Parenthood do is very important. Additionally, we need to provide the funds to conduct targeted informational campaigns in the areas that have been hit the hardest by HIV/AIDS. Internationally, we should work with the United Nations and other world leaders to provide the same programs in areas that are imperiled by HIV/AIDS.

    We also need to continue to fund research so that we can find a cure, and then distribute it around the world.

Fair Trade/Unions Rights
    I have been dismayed by Congress’s willingness to give up its constitutional powers on numerous occasions; this is one of them. Congress and the states must have a say in the negotiation of our trade agreements. If elected to Congress, I will fight to negotiate fairer trade deals that keep more jobs at home and promote greater labor and environmental standards abroad.

Iraq War/Torture
    I opposed the Iraq War from the start. Not only was it based on false premises, it fundamentally hurt us in the fight against those who attacked us on 9/11. We had nothing to gain from this war, and much to lose.

    We first need a declaration stating clearly that our war in Iraq is over. That will give our military leaders the order to plan our withdrawal. Three things in particular should be considered: 1) The withdrawal must take into account the safety of the troops; 2) No armament should be left behind to further fuel a civil war; 3) The U.S. should talk to other countries in the region, including those we do not have great relationships with, to come up with a comprehensive agreement to bring peace to Iraq. This means that the U.S. will have to step back and allow the participants to take ownership of the solution.

    Withdrawing from Iraq will give us the opportunity to rebuild our international relations and restore our reputation abroad, which will enable us to provide stronger national security and take a leadership role in the fights against international epidemics such as global warming and AIDS.

Iraq War/Torture
    I strongly support legislation that would clearly define torture and prohibit the U.S. from engaging in it, including outsourcing its use to other nations with more lax views on torture.

Presidential Power
    I strongly believe in the system of checks and balances laid out in the Constitution. I am very concerned about the way in which this administration has disregarded the Constitution, and about the precedents they are attempting to set. One example of this is the use of executive order. There are numerous instances of the Bush administration issuing executive orders as a means of thwarting the legislative process. One such order gave the Department of Treasury the ability to freeze the assets of people suspected of inhibiting the government in the fight against terror. The language was so broad that it could conceivably include those who protested the war in Iraq.

    Congress has been far too willing to concede ground to the executive branch. Far too few hearings have been held on the administration’s repeated violations of civil liberties. Congress also erred when they voted against de-funding the war in Iraq. Since their primary power is control over the purse, when they voted to continue to fund the war they gave up their leverage to end it. If I am elected to Congress, I will fight vigorously to make sure that Congress fulfills its constitutional obligation to provide oversight and curtail the expansion of executive power.

Experience that relates to youth
    Beyond having focused heavily on education while in the legislature, I am in a unique position in this race because of my current job; District Attorney for York County. I see young people every day who are in a terrible position. This is why I focused a great deal of my resources towards juvenile justice, which emphasized rehabilitation over incarceration. Our juvenile justice program has been able to get families involved and get to the root of why they committed crimes to begin with, and ultimately has been able to get many of their lives back on track.

    For many generations of Americans, the feeling existed that if you worked hard, played by the rules, and saved your money, you could provide a better future for your children. Now that feeling is rapidly disappearing. Young people leave school with mountains of debt from private loans and an increasingly harsh job market. We need to put resources into research and development and encourage a creative economy in the state so that we can thrive in the future.

Top 3 priorities
    For Maine specifically, we need to increase our federal investment in research and development, increase our investment in the green collar sector and alternative energy, and rebuild our transportation infrastructure (including increased alternative transportation such as rail).
Maine’s commercial fishing industry
    Keeping Maine’s fishing industry vibrant is an important issue for me personally; I worked as a lobsterman to help pay for my college education. The fishing and scientific communities need to work together to come up with a plan that protects the industry in the long-term by ensuring that the fishery is healthy and abundant in the years ahead. In Congress, I hope to work to bring both communities to the table and come up with a solution.
Reproductive Rights
    I strongly oppose the “global gag rule” and abstinence-only education. These conditions on aid have only hurt women at home and abroad by denying aid based on their rigid ideology. It is a gross injustice that must be changed.

Tax and Budget
    I strongly oppose extending these tax cuts and support efforts to adhere to pay as you go in an attempt to reduce our national debt.

Comments
    I would like to thank the League for all the hard work it does on behalf of young people in the Portland area and beyond. I strongly believe that leadership starts with listening; the League has given me excellent insight into the policies that affect Maine and the country.