By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

Incumbent Richard “Rick” Bennett (Republican from Oxford) is facing a challenge for the State Senate District 18 from Linda Miller (Democrat from Bridgton) on the Nov. 5 ballot.

State Senate District 18 includes Bridgton, Brownfield, Denmark, Fryeburg, Harrison, North Fryeburg, Sweden, and Waterford.

The News posed the following questions to the candidates — answers arranged alphabetically:

Q. How did you become interested in political office?

Bennett: At a young age, I came to realize that public office is a place where I can serve my community, be engaged in problem-solving, and help improve the lives of those I love. 

I have been privileged to earn election and reelection in western Maine. And when we had a partisan tie in the Maine Senate, I was unanimously elected to serve a term as President of the Senate.

After 16 years away from elected office when I focused on raising my family and growing Maine businesses, I ran anew in 2020 to fix our broken politics that is designed to keep us at each other’s throats rather than working together to improve our future.

Miller: I have enjoyed working and volunteering with groups of people to bring about consensus or agreement. Being a good project manager requires you to listen and validate all shareholders to deliver a successful project. Working in the legislature is about representing all constituents’ needs and working with your fellow legislators to bring about change.

Q. What characteristics do you possess that you feel will serve the best interest of your constituents?

Bennett: I listen actively, respect all people, and work to understand all points of view. This is why I have earned endorsements and high-ratings on my service, from such a wide range of groups:  the National Federation of Independent Business, the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine, Maine Conservation Voters, Maine Education Association, the Maine State Employees Association, the Maine Credit Union League, the Sierra Club among others.  I always vote on what I believe to be in the best interests of the people I serve, not a party or ideology.

Miller: Validation — I am skilled at listening with my full attention and asking discerning questions so I can provide the best solution. This requires my completely unbiased, empathetic and respectful attitude and commitment to being a fair public servant.

Research — My technical writing experience has trained me to excel at troubleshooting. I understand how to break down issues to find how they came about and the best way forward. I’m relentless about finding answers. When you fully understand the problem, possible solutions present themselves.

Effective Communicator — I’m skilled at discussing or writing about concepts and ideas. I’m not satisfied doing things the same old way; I continually research the latest information about issues, concepts, etc. I am a life-long learner. I also recognize the importance of emotional intelligence. Having a sense of humor is an important part of people skills, as well.

Q. Name three issues that concern you the most, and explain why and what can be done?

Bennett: 1.) Our politics are broken.  Dark money Super PACs funded by billionaires, corporations, and foreign governments are trying to buy our elections. We must fix this problem if we are to hope to regain our republic for the people. 

I chaired the Protect Maine Elections campaign that received 86% vote to ban foreign governments from our elections. I am submitting legislation to unmask dark money and demand full disclosure of who is behind political spending.

2.) Seniors need to be able to live with dignity and comfort in rural Maine. This means saving our failing long-term care system, providing quality healthcare services, keeping neighborhoods safe, and making property taxes affordable, among other priorities. Working with nonpartisan staff and across the aisle, I am already preparing legislation to address these issues for the next Legislature.

3.) Maine families and the small businesses that power our economy are facing serious problems, including rampant inflation, unavailable or unaffordable child care, drug addictions, and failing schools. We’ve got to look after our most vulnerable and provide taxpayer dollars to the most effective solutions to the frontline problems. I’ve led on helping people with substance use disease by funding our recovery centers, on helping working families with child care in rural Maine, on reforming our electric utilities, and on fulfilling the State’s promise to fund 55% of education costs.

Miller: Affordable Housing –What stands out to me on this issue is the age and the lack of existing housing stock. It has driven the cost of even a starter home out of reach for so many people. High rents are strangling people financially and is contributing to homelessness. We need over 84,000 housing units to meet demand.

Maine has underproduced new housing for decades. Many towns lack water and sewage that would support new housing. Building more affordable housing depends on zoning, infrastructure, financing and attitudes toward new housing developments in our towns.

I plan to hit the ground running on figuring out how to get housing projects, from concept to being shovel ready, MUCH faster. I’d like to form focus groups (current residents, town government, developers) in communities to identify what types of housing are most needed (workforce, multi-family, senior, starter homes, etc.), suitable areas for building, infrastructure needs/challenges, etc.

Ideally, I’d like legislators to take responsibility to spearhead these efforts in their own districts. I’ll continue to support existing legislation and create new legislation to increase new housing projects.

Healthcare Workforce Shortage – There’s a national healthcare workforce shortage and it’s getting especially difficult in Maine. Many people don’t have Primary Care providers or are on long waitlists. Many nurses, doctors and techs are contracted from out-of-state. There are several sub issues that have created this dilemma: 50% of our population is over 50 (lots of patients and older workers), not enough spots in state for healthcare students to fulfill an internship and there aren’t enough healthcare educators.

I will continue to support and work on new legislation to remedy this issue. I fear patients will not have ongoing health conditions monitored and it could be catastrophic. I will continue the research I have already done to identify other sub issues that have created the shortage. I will work to increase the number of healthcare students applying for training, increase the pay of healthcare educators and broaden the locations for internships in Maine don’t have to leave the state (many don’t return).

Storm Damage Resiliency — Expensive energy costs and climate-driven storm damages also burden Mainers. In the wake of the Nor’easter this past spring, it is very apparent that our power lines, roads and other infrastructure are not going to be resilient enough to weather future events. Mainers will suffer increasing catastrophic rain, wind and snow storms. This is reality.

Communities need to repair, adapt, improve homes and buildings and infrastructure for our future survival. Engineering standards for building and roads that sufficed 50 or even 5 years ago, will fail in the face of extreme weather. I will fight to make sure communities have the resources to recover, prepare for the future and thrive.

Q. We presently live in a very divided country when it comes to politics. What would be your approach to working both sides of the aisle to achieve needed change?

Bennett: The Bangor Daily News found a couple years ago that of all 186 legislators I vote most independently of my party. I have always tackled the issues – big and small – in a nonpartisan way. Through this approach, I’ve been successful in enacting important measures – from my bill creating the Maine Connective Authority that is now building universal broadband across Maine, to reining in predatory lending, to stopping the use and mitigating the damage of “forever chemicals” that have despoiled our drinking water, to converting the derelict Mountain Division rail line into a 40-mile recreational trail through western Maine, to closing the loophole that allows foreign governments’ meddling in our elections. 

I am pledged to represent all the people of my district, not a party or an ideology, and I have proven true to that promise.

Miller: Validation is the watchword, in my personal life, career and in my future role as an effective legislator. It means to acknowledge and respect that someone else’s experiences, beliefs and feelings are valued, whether you agree with them or not. Validation helps us feel understood and accepted. When you apply this commitment to finding common ground, you’ll be successful in building consensus with your fellow legislators. Much more work gets done this way!

Q. Finally, if elected, how will you remain connected with the people you serve?

Bennett: As senator, I realize that the true experts on issues are the people most affected by them. I have made it my practice to reach out to those in my communities to better understand what is important to them and how to address their concerns.

I will continue to hold regular constituent office hours throughout my district, from Fryeburg to Bridgton to the Oxford Hills to Minot. And, I will continue my biweekly newsletter e-mailed to all and to make my cell phone and personal e-mail available to all.

Miller: I would ensure that I have a direct e-mail account and phone number for people to get in touch with me. When possible, I will schedule face-to-face meetings in my office or in the community. Technology is wonderful, but you can misread a nuance or expression. Assumptions can get in the way of truly communicating. I am committed to being accessible; everyone matters to me.