There are two candidates running for the seat in Maine Senate District 20 (Auburn, Durham, New Gloucester and Poland), Republican Eric Brakey and Democrat Bettyann Sheats. Here are their profiles, in alphabetical order.
ERIC BRAKEY
Occupation: Communications
Education: BFA – Theatre
Community organizations/ service: United New Auburn Association, Maine Taxpayers United, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine
Personal information (hobbies, etc.): I enjoy hiking Mount Apatite, kayaking Upper Range Pond, and performing on stage at the L/A Community Little Theatre.
Family status: Married
Social media accounts: https://www.facebook.com/SenatorBrakey
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Why are you seeking elective office?
To restore the freedoms and paychecks of Maine people.
The single most pressing issue facing our district is ______________ and this is what I intend to do about it.
Inflation. To reduce the impact of inflation on our economy, I will work to (1) lower the cost of living by cutting taxes, especially on life necessities like heating oil, (2) increase our productive capacity by enacting welfare reforms to alleviate the workforce shortage, and (3) build cooperation with state legislatures across America to demand accountability from currency manipulators in Washington, D.C., beginning with a full audit of the Federal Reserve Bank.
What are the critical differences between you and the other candidate seeking this office?
We have different philosophies of government, and our voting records reflect that. While I worked to lower taxes, my opponent voted to raise the gas tax and establish local sales taxes. While I worked to pass welfare reform, my opponent voted to eliminate work requirements on welfare for able-bodied adults without children. While I worked to restore 2nd Amendment rights for law-abiding Maine people with Constitutional Carry, my opponent voted to support gun confiscation measures. (This is why Gun Owners of Maine has rated my candidacy with an A+ and my opponent’s with an F).
Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.
We need healthcare that is affordable, accessible, and accountable. Sadly, government policies have built a bureaucracy-driven healthcare system instead of one driven by direct relationships between patients and doctors. Today, bureaucracy accounts for over one-third of the price of healthcare. We are paying for the privilege of being bossed around. Should I return to my work on the Health and Human Services Committee, I will lead on efforts to (1) break-up artificial healthcare monopolies that strangle competition and (2) taking financial and decision-making powers away from bureaucrats and giving them back to patients.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence of that you can be effective in this job?
During my first term of office, I was called “Rookie of the Year” in the Portland Press Herald for my successful efforts building bipartisan coalitions in a time of divided government: reforming welfare, restoring 2nd Amendment rights, enacting Right to Try legislation, and overhauling outdated medical cannabis laws. By leading on principle, not partisanship, I work to unite people in areas of common ground and have demonstrated the ability to make policy advances during times of partisan gridlock.
The best advice ever shared with me was:
John F. Kennedy advised America: “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.” I carry this advice with me during every moment of service, seeking to follow my principles, not the demands of lobbyists or party leaders. That’s why I look for common ground with anyone willing to collaborate on solutions to the problems we face. Additionally, seeking to do right (and not just what is popular), I am just as ready to stand alone for the Maine people when others are voting away our freedoms or giving corporate welfare to special interests.
What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
My family has lived in New Gloucester for five generations. I am blessed to know many in our community with diverse backgrounds and ways of thinking. No matter how the forces of national politics seek to divide us, I believe we should remember we are all neighbors with more in common with each other than with any of the Washington DC power brokers. So long as we are pitted against each other — Mainer against Mainer — we are powerless to defend our state against the special interests. I promise to fight to defend the freedoms and paychecks of all Maine people.
_____________________________________________________________________________
BETTYANN SHEATS
Occupation: Small Business Owner: Finishing Touches Shower Doors
Education: BS in Aeronautical Engineering from the US Military Academy at West Point
Community organizations/ service: Current member Maine Military Community Network, Member American Legion Post 31, Board Member Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery Association, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Member, former Vestry member ( board ) and Warden (chair), Former Board Member of the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), Former Chair of the Auburn Lewiston Airport Board and Interim Airport Manager
Personal information (hobbies, etc.): Spending time with family gardening (I plant they harvest), hiking, skiing, traveling. Alone: Sudoku and puzzles
Family status: Married 34 years with two adult children
Social media accounts: web:http://sheatsforsenate.com/
Fb: https://www.facebook.com/BettyannforMaineSenate/
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Why are you seeking elective office?
To keep Maine a wonderful place to live, work and play for my family and yours.
The single most pressing issue facing our district is ______________ and this is what I intend to do about it.
Division. We need to rebuild trust in our leadership and each other. I have used my work on veterans issues to do this. Being a veteran myself and having worked on many veteran issues, I have been able to build relationships and have good conversations on both sides of the aisle, because everyone supports veterans. Then when we worked on issues where we were politically divided, we were still able to have civil conversations. We were able to focus on the issue, not our party, and find shared values, common ground, and work toward common sense solutions.
What are the critical differences between you and the other candidate seeking this office?
My motto is Listen : Learn : Lead. My small construction business takes me into peoples’ homes around the state. I listen to landlords, to homeowners putting in a handicapped accessible showers, to homeowners installing luxury spas. I listen to other tradesmen, suppliers, and workers about labor issues and distribution problems. I learn from all of them their ideas and suggestions as well as their frustrations. My real world business experience as well as my experience on the Board of the Finance Authority of Maine gives me credibility to lead. Experience is the difference. Listening makes a difference.
Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.
Protecting our environment and preparing for our changing climate. My son (and many other voters I have talked with) reminds me that Social Security and the National Debt are a lower priority than knowing he and my potential grandchildren will have a safe world to live in with clean air and water.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence of that you can be effective in this job?
I was one of the early females to graduate from West Point. I was an Army Helicopter Pilot. I raised two happy and successful children. I served two terms in the Maine Legislature. In other words: I work hard, do my homework, I play well with others.
The best advice ever shared with me was:
Love the Lord with all your heart. And love your neighbor as yourself. I have found that advice applicable in almost every situation I have faced: in the Army, as a parent, volunteering in my community, as a business owner, and as a legislator. It strengthens me, reassures me, challenges me.
What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
Years ago, I learned that the charms my daughter and I used to make bracelets contained lead. I got involved and helped pass the Kids Safe Products Act, to protect my daughter and other children across Maine from toxins found in our everyday products.. I realized doing that, that I liked talking with my neighbors about issues effecting us, and I enjoyed going to Augusta to fight for common sense solutions. That is why I ran for and was a State Representative for two terms. That is why I am running for State Senate now.
