FOR CAMPAIGN UPDATES
Watch Eliot’s latest TV ad “Independent. Just Like Maine.” Then become a fan on Facebook!
The Bangor Daily News reports that independent Eliot Cutler’s poll numbers are “jumping” at the expense of the party candidates.
The Portland Press Herald notes that polls show a “surge” for independent Eliot Cutler and declines for the two major-party candidates.
Eliot appeared on Inside Maine Business as part of their Gubernatorial Interview series. In this interview, Eliot outlines what he’ll do to dramatically improve Maine’s business climate and spur job creation:
1. “LIKE” ELIOT. Go to www.Facebook.com/EliotCutler and “like” Eliot’s page. If you’re already a “Fan,” simply “like” our updates. Both help.
2. SUGGEST THAT YOUR FRIENDS “LIKE” ELIOT. Let your friends know about Eliot’s campaign.
3. WRITE ON ELIOT’S WALL. Every time you write on our wall or “like” one of our posts, it’s helpful. Your friends see your support of Eliot and it grows our campaign.
4. UPLOAD A PICTURE. You can take a photo with a Cutler2010 button, Bumper Sticker, or even our Website and (1) upload it to Eliot’s Fan Page or (2) send it to jon@cutler2010.com with a short description and I’ll post it.
I believe in equal rights and equal opportunity for all Maine citizens. I strongly support Maine’s anti-discrimination laws, and I voted to uphold Maine’s marriage equality law in 2009. I believe that government has no business making rules for religion, and religion has no business making rules for government.
Eliot received the below question from Bruce Bourgoine via the campaign website. Please see the question and answer below:
THE QUESTION
Looking at conservation of both land and energy, how do you envision prioritizing the promotion and any funding support of non-motorized outdoor pursuits and motorized outdoor activities?
ELIOT’S ANSWER
Bruce,
I believe that the key is responsible use, not the distinction between motorized and non-motorized use. We have to have mixed use overall.
Both forms of recreation are important and have long traditions for many people in Maine. There are places where snowmobiles and ATVs are key recreational pursuits, and, particularly in the case of snowmobiles, major tourist attractions. Under the Land for Maine’s Future program, we have rails to trails, which include some ATV trails on former railroad beds.
We also should have — and do have — plenty of locations where motorized vehicles are prohibited. The same is true for bodies of water: some have outright prohibitions on all motorized watercraft; others have limits on horsepower; while still others prohibit personal watercraft.
(As far as energy conservation is concerned, when we succeed with my objective of making electricity more plentiful and considerably less expensive in Maine (see http://www.cutler2010.com/issues/energy), then perhaps we will have electric-powered snowmobies and ATV vehicles. Then we’ll have solved the entire dilemma — or at least most of it!)
Maine’s great outdoors and largely unspoiled natural environment are a major competitive advantage for Maine. The most important thing is to hold people accountable for responsible use, and to spread what funding there is as equitably as possible, while protecting what is special about Maine.
Best regards,
Eliot
Maine’s population increased during the last decade by 44,000 people, but we added only 56 new jobs over that period of time! Economic activity in Maine is at a standstill. We are attracting too little investment, and we aren’t growing. And the reason that we’re not growing is that it costs too much to live and do business in Maine.
During the course of my campaign, I have spoken with scores of owners of large and small Maine businesses all across our state. I have asked each of them, what do we need to do in Maine to increase economic activity? What is keeping you from expanding your business? Not one of them has pointed to taxes as Maine’s biggest problem. Every one of them, on the other hand, has said that the costs of energy and health care and the cost, quality and attitude of state services are the big problems. And other recent surveys confirm that.
The single biggest challenge that we face today is how to lower those costs of living and doing business in Maine, and here is My Plan to do that. That is the only way we are going to get companies to invest here and to create the jobs, incomes and opportunities that we so desperately need.
As we grapple with chronic budget shortfalls, push to lower our costs and strive to make needed investments in Maine’s competitive advantages, we invariably will encounter tax-related issues that demand a responsible answer.
For example, what if we raised the gas tax by a few pennies a gallon so that we could fix our roads and bridges, but at the same time we eliminated the requirement for annual vehicle safety inspections? Drivers’ savings from not having to pay for inspections and fewer car repairs (because our roads would be in better shape) would dwarf the cost of a slight increase in the gasoline tax.
Or what if we added a penny to the meals and lodging tax and dedicated all the increased revenue to promoting and supporting tourism, which is Maine’s largest industry. We know that every dollar spent on promotion generates many times that for Maine businesses and increased tax revenue for the state.
Once we put in place a strategy to lower our costs, and once we get Maine growing and moving forward again, we will need to take a close look at opportunities for tax reform and change. We will need to determine whether our estate and capital gains taxes are driving people and their assets out of Maine. We will need to decide whether the local property tax is the right funding source for supporting K-12 education, or whether we need to examine alternatives. And we will need to figure out ways to maximize the percentage of their incomes that Maine people can keep for themselves.
I will not make promises that I am not certain that I can keep, and so I am not going to sign any blanket pledge about taxes. The job of governing Maine is more complex than that and demands honest leadership.
I oppose the expansion of gambling in Maine, including the construction of casinos and additional racinos, for two important reasons:
Economic development needs to be about identifying our core competitive advantages and pursuing a focused strategy to invest in those advantages in order to create jobs, incomes and opportunities for Maine people – like the one that I have put forward here: “Rebuilding Maine: Investing in Our Competitive Advantages.” Casinos enrich a few at the expense of many. They are a sign that we are giving up on ourselves and our state, and I will not do that.
I support the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, and I respect Maine’s longstanding tradition of responsible gun ownership and use. I also support the current law requiring background checks on firearms purchases from licensed dealers.
I would support extending the requirement for background checks to private sales (except between family members) and sales at gun shows if the State of Maine were to provide a system for checks that would eliminate unnecessary delays and unreasonable costs and burdens on sellers and buyers. For example, the state could provide a toll-free number that sellers could call to obtain an immediate background check on a buyer over the phone prior to consummating the sale.
I am pro-choice. I respect those whose religious and personal beliefs lead them to conclude that abortion is morally wrong, but I come down on the side of a woman’s right to choose based on her beliefs and the advice of her physician. Abortion is one of the most difficult and divisive moral issues of our time, and I hope that we all can find common ground in working together to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first instance.
Eliot Cutler, Independent candidate for Maine Governor, recently sat down with Derek Viger from Augusta Insider to discuss the State of Education in Maine. The complete conversation is listed below in 4 parts:
