Vision
Maine Can Work
My vision for Maine is a place . . .
Where we have lowered our costs of living and doing business and have invested in our competitive advantages in such a focused and strategic way that Maine families have better jobs and growing incomes, and our children find real opportunity here at home!
Where our state government and our other public institutions are so innovative and so efficient that Maine people who need assistance receive it at a cost that we can afford, and businesses large and small are able to prosper and to invest in our common future!
Where Maine workers are so well trained, so well-educated and so healthy that every employer wants to be here!
Where our schools, colleges and universities are so good that no kid in Maine wants or needs to leave the state for a good education, so good that every student graduates with a degree, with skills, and with confidence and with self-esteem!
Maine people always have been able to face the facts honestly and to get the job done through ingenuity, hard work and perseverance. With strong, independent leadership, we can do that again. We can fix our economy and fix our government. We can make Maine work again – for all of us.
Maine is where I was born and raised and where I learned the values that have guided me all of my life. It is where my grandfather arrived alone as a 12 year-old immigrant, began his life as a peddler and built opportunities for his children and grandchildren that were far beyond any he could have dreamed of for himself. Growing up in Bangor was the foundation for my life and for my success.
But today, for too many among us, Maine is about dreams that are broken, opportunities that have slipped out of reach, and a state government that seems too big, too remote, antagonistic, broken and leaderless. For too many, Maine just doesn’t work anymore. There aren’t enough jobs, and too many of those that we have don’t pay enough to put food on the table and gas in the car, to heat our homes and to provide real opportunity for our children. Families are struggling and worried about what tomorrow will bring.
Together we can change that. Maine deserves from its next Governor a clear vision and a smart and focused strategy. I know that we can generate jobs and incomes and position Maine for an era of sustained and sustainable prosperity – if we make tough choices, if we invest in our competitive advantages, and if we think and act as One Maine with a new spirit of community and one agenda for everyone, everywhere in Maine.
As I travel this state, talking and listening to people from all walks of life, I hear the same concern repeated over and over and again: The same partisan politics that got us into this mess will never get us out of it. I am convinced that real change and a strong new economic foundation for Maine will only come if we move beyond those tired rivalries that have left our major parties beholden to narrow interest groups and starved for new ideas.
That’s why I am running for governor as an Independent, and it’s why I want to put my experience, my skills and my values to work for all the people of Maine.
When I hear people despair about all the challenges facing Maine today, I say it doesn’t have to be this way. Together, we can do better. We can be one Maine again. We can create jobs and opportunities. We can educate our kids, and keep our young people here. We can fix our government. Together, Maine Can Work for all of us.
This is my vision. This is why I want to be your governor.
