BY MEGHAN V. MALLOY

Staff Writer

Charles Jacques, a first-time candidate running for House District 79, said he is promoting a platform that "advocates liberty and freedom," including disbanding county government and legalizing marijuana.

Incumbent Rep. Sharon Anglin Treat, a Democrat from Hallowell who has served in the House and Senate including a term as Senate majority leader, said voters ought to be concerned about "mainstream issues," including access to affordable heat this winter and investing in "traditional Maine businesses" such as shipbuilding and farming.

The race offers a classic case of upstart vs. incumbent.

Jacques, a West Gardiner Republican, said his goals are to ensure juries are informed about nullification, which means making a law void by a jury decision; privatization of the Maine Turnpike Authority; and taking steps toward legalizing marijuana.

If elected, Jacques said, he would introduce a bill to legalize the growth, sale and use of marijuana in Maine. An agency would be asked to regulate the substance, as it does tobacco and alcohol, and implement an age to legally use it.

It could also be new cash crop for the state, he added.

"This is not about letting some kid get stoned," Jacques said. "This is about trying to help our state's economy and farmers. The war on drugs in Maine has accomplished absolutely nothing."

Jacques also seeks to reform the courts by requiring that judges inform jury members that nullification -- the act where a defendant admits they broke the law but says they should be acquitted of wrongdoing because the law itself is wrong -- is valid.

Nullification is already valid according to law, though the law also states prosecutors and judges do not have to tell jurors nullification exists.

Jacques is also calling for the complete privatization of the Maine Turnpike Authority, adding the agency is building a new West Gardiner toll plaza on land taken by eminent domain.

"I am outraged at any use of eminent domain," Jacques said, referring to the governmental right to seize private property with compensation, but without the owner's consent.

Maine Turnpike Authority spokesman Dan Paradee acknowledged one property involved in the West Gardiner plaza construction was taken by eminent domain, but only after the property owner had been given a fair market value offer.

Treat, Jacques' opponent, believes voters need to pay attention to issues being examined not only in Maine, but across the country.

If re-elected, she said she would make strides toward making affordable heat and electricity accessible to Mainers this winter.

"Bottom line is, we're going to need a short-term and long-term strategy" on energy, she said.

A short-term solution, she said, would be to take funding out of the state's "rainy day" fund to bolster the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

"I'd say this problem qualifies as a rainy day," Treat said. "We have to keep people safe and warm this winter."

Long-term, Treat said she would like to take steps toward helping Mainers winterize their homes. Ideally, money from the "rainy day" fund would be put toward grants to help people winterize their homes and go toward training energy auditors.

Treat would also resurrect a bill that would implement thorough oversight of health insurance costs.

"We need better transparency," she said of oversight.

Treat said she tried to pass a bill that would make such transparency possible last year. It passed in the House, but not the Senate.

She said she would offer different amendments to the bill in hopes of passing it this year.

"Right now, you can't tell between Company A or Company B what the better deal (on health insurance is), because of the price and what one package may offer compared to another," she said. "My amendment will make that more clear."

Finally, Treat said if re-elected, she would like to put state money into "traditional" Maine businesses, such as farming and shipbuilding.

"I think we need to invest in industries where we have a niche," she said, using shipbuilding as an example. "We need to market such a product to the rest of the country and world as something consumers cannot get anywhere else."

The contest between Jacques and Treat -- the winner will represent Hallowell, Farmingdale and West Gardiner -- will be decided Nov. 4.

Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811 Ext. 431

mmalloy@centralmaine.com