They also need a tax structure that is fair and easy to understand. Small businesses need an educated workforce, affordable fast internet, good roads, affordable energy, and assistance with loans. How will you help the entrepreneur succeed in this state? Maine’s economy relies on small and micro-businesses. I also sit on the Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Late-Deafened and on the Governor’s Climate Council. I would be interested in the Transportation Committee, as I would have both Islesboro and Lincolnville in the district, and ferry service is important to both. Also I served on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee and the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee. I have enjoyed serving on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee for six years. What legislative committees would you like to serve on and why? To offset this downside, our state and the federal government should modify tax laws to incentivize new and more energy-efficient housing. This takes property off the market for first-time home buyers and long-term renters. Individuals and large companies are buying homes essentially to use for short term rentals. Banks and towns often can’t move forward fast enough with abandoned homes to make them habitable again.Īlso, housing stock needs to be upgraded by weatherization loans so our larger, older houses can be heated affordably, adding to the growing market for multigenerational long-term rentals. The Land Bank, a bill proposed by Representative Melanie Sachs, would assist towns in turning around homes that have been foreclosed. There are several helpful approaches to our housing problem. It helps towns and municipalities increase density if they desire to do so.ĭo you have other ideas, and proposals, to help ease the housing problem? I feel that the bill dealing with housing was appropriate and necessary. Do you think this was an appropriate law to pass? Those municipalities now are analyzing this new state rule to understand how it applies to local zoning ordinances. Maine is grappling with a housing shortage, and legislation has been crafted - and passed last year - at the Maine Legislature to try and ease the situation by allowing greater density in all municipalities. Third, we need to make sure we don’t allow known toxins to be used in producing our food or used in building our homes. The second issue is to conserve our natural resources by moving forward with clean renewable energy sources, which are safer for our air and water. We in the legislature must ensure that all Mainers have a source of these basics and can afford them. The first issue is access to the essentials of modern life: health care, education, energy, housing, and the internet. What are the three most pressing issues facing Maine, as a state, today, and how would you like to see them resolved? I have been a State Representative since 2016 for District 96, which will be changed to District 40. My professional career was mostly in the Merchant Marine, where I started as an Ordinary Seaman and worked my way up to Unlimited Tonnage, All Oceans Captain. I received a BA from Dickinson College, an AA in navigation from Southern Maine Community College, and a certificate in logging procedures from Washington County Community College, and I attended grad school at the Maine Maritime Academy. Since then, I’ve been an ambulance worker, a photographic darkroom technician, a teacher, a professional logger, and a merchant mariner. Starting at age 15, I worked summer jobs - such as laying blacktop, doing factory maintenance, and working in a garage - until I finished college. My father worked very hard in various jobs, and my mother worked very hard at home. I grew up in the Northeast in a middle-class family with several siblings. Please provide a concise biography of yourself, and state why you are running for political office. Stanley Paige Zeigler, Jr., a member of the Democratic party, is seeking election to represent Maine House District 40, which includes Appleton, Islesboro, Liberty, Lincolnville, Montville, Morrill, and Searsmont. Candidates responding with their individual written answers will have their responses stored in the Pilot’s 2022 Election Resource Guide. Penobscot Bay Pilot has posed questions to each candidate running for Maine State Legislature, providing the opportunity for the public to better understand their position on issues important to the state.
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