Campaigning in Maine is a great way to spend the day – meeting smart, resilient and innovative people, seeing absolutely gorgeous fall scenery, and listening to great ideas from frustrated, but hopeful, Mainers all across our state about to make the most of Maine’s competitive advantages.

• I drove up to Danforth late last month to see the Fairwinds 55 MW wind energy project on Stetson Ridge, spending a couple of hours there with Angus King III, David Wilby and Mike Cianchette from Fairwinds. Mike is one of the luckiest guys in Maine, sitting atop the Ridge, and sometimes atop the towers, looking out over God’s country. The machines are strikingly beautiful and quieter than I had expected. And the drives up and down Routes 169 and 6 on a clear fall day make campaigning a joy.
• Later that same day I stopped in Bangor to meet with Sandy Ervin (former Bangor superintendent), Dan Lee (Brewer superintendent) and Murray Schulman (Bangor system special education) to hear their ideas about how to improve performance and quality in PK-12 education in Maine. Last week I spent three hours in Portland with Bob Hasson (SAD-51 superintendent), Derek Pierce (Casco Bay High School principal) and David Silvernail (USM professor and researcher) listening to their thoughts.
• I had interesting conversations last week with George Smith of the Maine Sportsman’s Alliance and with Vaughn Stinson and Carolyn Manson, who are working hard at the Maine Tourism Association. All three are doing great things for Maine and their members.Tourism is Maine’s largest industry, and it deserves a lot more attention – creative and focused attention – than it has been getting.
• I did a half-hour taping at the Capitol Area Technical Center with Augusta Superintendent of Schools Connie Brown for her cable television show. Connie asks good questions, and it was more good discussion about how we can keep our kids in Maine. But the best part of doing the show was watching her crew – all students at the Tech Center – work like pros in the studio. Impressive! The crew changes for every show, and these young men and women are learning great skills. And I spent a great day in Biddeford listening to ideas from developers Greg Bennett and Diane Doyle and City Manager John Bubier about how to reinvigorate this great river city, which has a special Maine character and sense of place about it. The Saco-Biddeford area is going to be a gem of a growth area as we rebuild Maine’s economy.

These are Maine’s competitive advantages. When we have a vision, and when we focus our investments tightly and in a disciplined way on these assets – our natural resources, our places and our people – we can make Maine work again for all of us!