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10/21/2008

Name: Patrick Flood

Age: 56

Political Party: Republican

Residence: Winthrop

Employment: legislator, retired business manager

Education: B.S. Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Political experience: two-term legislator; served on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, the Joint Select Committee on Property Tax Reform, and the Joint Select Committee on Business, Innovation, and the Economy. Currently serving on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.

Name: Priscilla Jenkins

Age: 64

Political Party: Democratic

Residence: Winthrop

Employment: retired corporate computer development manager; substitute teacher

Education: bachelor's degree, Vassar College

Political experience: first-term town councilor; grassroots volunteer for election campaigns

Question 1. What can you, as a state legislator, to help people struggling this year with the high cost of gas and oil?

Flood: We need to find ways to free up funds for the winter. At the state level, that means making the application process for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds simpler. That process is burdensome for the $415-$500 most people can receive. I plan to draft emergency language for the Legislature to make the change. Already community leaders like banks and credit unions have developed short-term, low-interest loan programs.

Jenkins: As an incoming state legislator, I would look at programs the governor is proposing now and extending them. If things get difficult, the state's Rainy Day Fund is an appropriate place to find funding. Some businesses are already stepping up to the plate. (Winthrop Councilor) Patty Engdahl and I are working on a plan to keep warm in Winthrop. We need to set up emergency shelters and link with our emergency preparedness office. A hundred years ago, most of us didn't have central heating and we gathered around the fireplace. I see our family doing that.

Question 2. How would you handle the biggest issues facing the towns in your district?

Jenkins: The biggest issues are economic development and the tax assessments. We do need a fundamental change. I perceive income tax as a progressive tax, as opposed to sales taxes which are often regressive. I want to see changes so middle- and lower-income classes are not pressured as they have been. Businesses have to be assessed fairly and allowed to grow.

Flood: Residents fully expect me to try to control state and local taxes. I hear that loud and clear. I believe in trying to control government spending at all levels and have worked on legislative committees that initiated spending caps for the state and for communities. I also see a need to try to educate residents about the dangers of one of our state's most depressing issues -- underage drinking.

3. Do you have any plans that would result in more jobs for Maine?

Flood: We cannot fix the Maine economy simply by controlling costs; we need to simultaneously grow the entire economy, and that is best done by encouraging small businesses, making funding resources available for innovation. We should continue to pass business development bond bills and send them out to the public for their approval.

Jenkins: I'm pursuing an idea with an regional economic development committee to see if we can manufacture wood stoves in Maine. We are producing pellets; now we need to manufacture the equipment to use those pellets. In agriculture, we could look at doing some microdairies and similar operations.

4. What do you think of the beverage-tax repeal on the November ballot?

Jenkins: I don't want it repealed. It's a support for our health insurance program. I firmly support developing Dirigo, fixing the problems and making it work. I am a Dirigo Health subscriber. It probably saved my life. I was diagnosed with cancer in early January. I'm a survivor. The Dirigo program paid for the tests and treatment.

Flood: I am sad that it even has to appear there in the first place. I would rather that the beverage tax never got passed in the last session. I will vote for the repeal of the beverage tax because Dirigo will still be funded regardless of whether there's a beverage tax or not.

5. Would you support legislation to change the income tax or sales tax?

Flood: Yes, provided that such a plan also incorporates a simultaneous reduction in state spending; otherwise, we really haven't accomplished anything. I'd encourage our leaders to shoot for a modest reduction of either tax, in the neighborhood of $50 million, because it might have a chance without damaging key programs.

Jenkins: We do need tax reform. I would probably support legislation to change both.

6. What's the biggest social issue facing the state in the next two years?

Jenkins: Economic injustice -- that is, unequal access to health care in general, to daycare, and to jobs for people who can't afford a car.

Flood: We are not prepared to handle our aging population, and I will continue to focus energy on this evolving topic, a topic that is often overshadowed by other pressing issues. We need to focus on this sector and build portions of our economy around them.

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