CUTLER PRAISES LEGISLATION TO INCREASE ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT OF TAX EXPENDITURE PROGRAMS
PORTLAND, Maine – Independent candidate for Governor Eliot Cutler today praised a bill currently before the Maine Legislature that would bring greater accountability to, and assess the impact of, Maine’s tax expenditure programs. Tax expenditures are revenue losses as a result of tax law provisions that allow special exclusions or deductions or that provide a special credit, preferential tax rate, or deferral of tax liability.
“Tax expenditures cost Maine taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year, but these expenditures are essentially ‘off the books’ as they are paid out directly from revenue without the benefit of public hearing or discussion in the legislature,” Cutler said. “This bill would bring some long overdue accountability to tax expenditure programs in Maine.”
LD 1694, Resolve, To Increase Transparency and Accountability and Assess the Impact of Tax Expenditure Programs, forces some oversight by requiring a plan for evaluation to be brought forward by the outgoing Baldacci administration. The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Emily Cain (D-Orono), House chair of the Legislature’s Appropriations committee.
“Rep. Cain deserves high praise from Maine taxpayers for attempting to bring some accountability to the tax expenditure programs,” Cutler said. “I commend her for taking on this very complex and challenging issue.”
“If this legislation passes, the next Governor is going to be able to have a significant impact on these programs that do not appear in the budget and are not subject to the normal appropriations process,” Cutler said. “I welcome that opportunity.”
The Morning Sentinel posted a review of the gubernatorial forum held at the Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport on March 5th, 2010. One of Eliot’s comments was included in the story:
Independent Eliot Cutler said he has experience negotiating with businesses in Asia and China that he would use to help the fishing industry.
“The community and harbors on the Maine coast are the heart and soul of the state of Maine,” he said. “As governor, I will help you create and strengthen the Maine brand. I have done it before.”
The Bangor Daily News covered the gubernatorial forum at the Fishermen’s Forum on March 5th, 2010 in Rockport. Below is an excerpt from the article which mentions Eliot:
Independent candidate Eliot Cutler, meanwhile, described Maine’s lobster industry as one of the best-managed fisheries in the world yet is still struggling due to factors beyond the control of fishermen. Cutler said that while there are ample ideas, it will take sustained leadership to “take back the Gulf of Maine.”
“You need to decide who has the independence, the strength, the experience and the skills to stay on the job and keep focused,” Cutler said.
Derek Viger from blog Augusta Insider recently asked for Eliot to comment on the $99.2 million “jobs bond package” proposed by Maine’s Democratic leaders. Below is Eliot’s response:
Borrowed money isn’t free.
We need to pay it back, and we need to pay interest on the debt. That is why I believe that every cent we invest in roads, rail, and other infrastructure projects – whether from tax revenues, from Federal funds or from the proceeds of bond issues — should reflect decisions made in the context of a capital budget that sets priorities and that seeks to leverage Maine’s competitive advantages. That is the way to maximize job creation and economic development. And that is the kind of disciplined stewardship of their tax dollars that Maine people need and want.
Sen. [Libby] Mitchell and the Democrats haven’t told us very much about the projects that they want to fund with this bond issue. I know as well as anyone that many of Maine’s roads and bridges need repair, and the threatened loss of rail service in northern Maine is a grave concern for all of us. Yet, many Maine cities and towns have projects in mind that they would nominate for consideration in a special bond issue, but I suspect that they have not be included in this process. That’s the problem, and that’s a real issue.
There may well be elements of this proposal that deserve support, but I would want to be assured that they have been carefully considered in terms of priorities and impact. I don’t see any rational, disciplined process behind this proposal. Frankly, I wish that the Democratic leaders would also put a real effort into making Maine a more affordable and inviting place to do business. That would really create lasting jobs.
I also want to be assured that this new proposal is fully aligned with the bond package approved by the Legislature last June, the first installment of which was approved by the voters in November, and not simply added on top of that package for short-term political gain.
INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR ELIOT CUTLER URGES DEFEAT OF SO-CALLED “INNOVATIVE” SCHOOLS BILL
PORTLAND, Maine – Independent candidate Eliot Cutler has sent a letter to the chairs of the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee urging them to defeat LD 1810, An Act To Promote the Establishment of Innovative Schools. The legislation is scheduled for a public hearing today.
“LD 1801 does absolutely nothing to promote innovation and autonomy in education,” Cutler said in his letter to Sen. Justin Alfond (D-Cumberland) and Rep. Patricia Sutherland, (D- Chapman). “In fact, this bill would promote the creation of schools that, while labeled “innovative,” in fact would be strapped in the same political and bureaucratic straightjacket that today stifles our existing public schools. Maine children, parents and taxpayers deserve much better than this.”
Cutler, who has made education reform a major focus of his campaign, said the legislation was introduced in an effort to increase Maine’s chances of receiving funds under President Obama’s Race to the Top education initiative. Race to the Top awards points for “innovative autonomous public schools,” but schools created under LD 1801 would be neither, he said.
“Slapping the ‘innovative’ label on LD 1801 is nothing more than window dressing,” Cutler said in his letter, in which he cited several areas where the legislation doesn’t measure up to Race to the Top standards:
LD 1801 schools would be required to meet virtually all existing statutory and regulatory requirements, ensuring that they will be bound up in the same red tape that too often diverts a school’s energy and resources away from educational excellence. It also means these schools won’t be able to reduce costs, one of the hallmark accomplishments of charter schools nationwide.
LD 1801 adopts the national teachers’ union policy on charter schools – which means that these schools will be subject to the same labor relations statutes and collective bargaining requirements as traditional schools.
LD 1801 would permit only local school boards to authorize these schools, denying parents the innovative and autonomous charter school options presented in most states by other sponsors, such as the State Board of Education, colleges and universities and local non-profit organizations.
LD 1801 schools could experiment with unconventional staffing and scheduling – but only so long as they don’t interfere with existing state laws. Schools would not be allowed to develop alternative compensation arrangements, such as basing teacher compensation on growth in student performance.
“The bill before your committee won’t do any of those things,” Cutler wrote the chairs. “It doesn’t respond to the Race to the Top challenge, doesn’t make possible innovative and autonomous schools and doesn’t promote reform. Sadly, LD 1801 simply proffers more of the same for Maine students and their parents . . . and for the state’s economic future.”
In closing, Cutler said that if the committee is unwilling to kill the legislation, at the very least it should change the title so that the Legislature doesn’t make empty promises to Maine citizens and our children.
Independent candidate for governor Eliot Cutler is being joined by the son of former Maine Governor, U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie for three days of campaigning around the state, beginning Wednesday, March 3. Edmund S. “Ned” Muskie, Jr. is campaigning with Cutler, a former legislative aide to the elder Muskie at stops in Waterville, Portland and Rockport.
“I have known Eliot Cutler all of my life,” says Ned Muskie. “Whether as an aide to my father working on environmental legislation or through his service as chairman and a member of the board of visitors of the Muskie School of Public Service, Eliot brings a deep understanding of issues of critical importance to Maine and a commitment to make Maine a better place. I look forward to traveling the state with Eliot as he campaigns to be Maine’s next Governor.”
Ned Muskie, a resident of suburban Washington, D.C., is the youngest child of the late senator and his wife Jane.
You can read the original article in its entirety here.
Independent candidate for governor Eliot Cutler is being joined by the son of former Maine Governor, U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie for three days of campaigning around the state, beginning Wednesday, March 3. Edmund S. “Ned” Muskie, Jr. is campaigning with Cutler, a former legislative aide to the elder Muskie at stops in Waterville, Portland and Rockport.
You can read the original article in its entirety here.
EDMUND S. MUSKIE, JR. IN MAINE TO CAMPAIGN WITH INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR ELIOT CUTLER
PORTLAND, Maine – Independent candidate for governor Eliot Cutler will be joined by the son of former Maine Governor, U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie for three days of campaigning around the state, beginning Wednesday, March 3rd. Edmund S. “Ned” Muskie, Jr. will accompany Cutler, a former key legislative aide to the elder Muskie at campaign stops in Waterville, greater Portland and Rockport.
“I am delighted that the son of my mentor—one of the most prolific and influential legislators of the 20th Century—will join me for a few days on the campaign trail,” said Cutler. “In addition to his extraordinary political legacy in Maine and nationally, Ed Muskie had a profound impact on my professional life and my approach to public policy. Whether he was leading the effort to enact landmark environmental legislation or trying to bring fiscal discipline to government spending, Ed Muskie at his core was a reformer and that is what motivates me to run for governor.”
“I have known Eliot Cutler all of my life,” said Ned Muskie. “Whether as an aide to my father working on environmental legislation or through his service as chairman and a member of the board of visitors of the Muskie School of Public Service, Eliot brings a deep understanding of issues of critical importance to Maine and a commitment to make Maine a better place. I look forward to traveling the state with Eliot as he campaigns to be Maine’s next Governor.”
Ned Muskie, a resident of suburban Washington, D.C., is the youngest child of the late Senator and his wife, Jane.
Eliot recently sat down with Drive Time Bangor — UMaine radio station WMEB 91.9 FM — for a second time to discuss his Independent run for Maine Governor in ‘10.
To listen to the full interview, please click on the link below:
