Senate District 20: Windsor, Washington, Jefferson, Whitefield, Hibberts Gore, Somerville, Friendship, Alna, Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta, Edgecomb, Monhegan Island, Newcastle, Nobleboro, South Bristol, Southport, Waldoboro, Westport Island, Wiscasset.

Name: Peter Rines

Age: 46

Political Party: Democrat

Residence: Wiscasset

Employment: Southern Maine Community College

Education: associate degree in fire science

Political experience: eight years in the Maine House of Representatives; 10 years Wiscasset Board of Appeals

Name: David Trahan

Age: 45

Political Party: Republican

Residence: Waldoboro

Employment: self-employed logger 25 years

Education: Lawrence High School

Political experience: eight years in the Maine House of Representatives

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

Rines: Refer people to available resources. Support legislation offering additional financial assistance. I am also working with the Lincoln County Democrats.

Trahan: The first and most immediate thing we can do is increase funding for the low-income heat assistance program. The second is restructure Maine's Circuit Breaker (a tax relief program) and heat assistance programs to incorporate an energy conservation element.

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

Trahan: I like to get involved in problems, research their root cause and then analyze the data to create a solution. The legislative process is not always the answer. Sometimes solutions are local, and I would first work to resolve issues locally.

Rines: Meet with the local authorities and people in the community, identify concerns, and then seek solutions through building partnerships with surrounding communities and state and federal government.

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

Rines: Continue to work on the reduction of electrical energy costs. They are a deterrent in attracting new business to Maine and they discourage growth of existing business.

Trahan: The Department of Labor predicts that by 2014, Maine will need over 10,000 new well-trained health professionals. Lincoln County is the oldest county, in the oldest state in the nation. I will submit legislation to establish a community college site to train health workers.

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

Trahan: I will wholeheartedly support its repeal. It was passed late in the night, without public input on April 15th, a slap in the face to Maine taxpayers. Such action undermines public trust in government and needs to be repealed.

Rines: It is an opportunity to gauge the public's perception about how or if we should continue to fund or expand programs offering health care to Maine citizens.

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

Rines: I have in the past and will again support legislation to restructure the income and sales tax laws.

Trahan: Recently, Governor Baldacci called for a cut in the income tax, yet offered no way to pay for it. This type of posturing looks good politically, but does nothing to lower taxes. I will not support a broad expansion in the sales tax or an increase in the sales tax rate.

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

Trahan: Poverty. Nearly 22% of Mainers qualify for MaineCare, while one in eight receive food stamps. This economic crisis is further aggravated by the recent spike in energy prices. Without a dramatic increase in personal income, Maine people will face an economic crisis unmatched since the Great Depression.

Rines: The high cost of energy, in all its forms.