Voter Guide '08 Waldo · and established her political career with Maine's U.S. Sen. William Cohen...
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By Lynda Clancy [email protected] Susan Collins is running for a third term serving Maine as U.S. senator, and if she beats Tom Al- len, she will embark on her 13th year in Washington, D.C. Collin defines herself as a pol- itician who crosses the aisle to ac- complish goals. Bipartisanship is central to her campaign, and she relishes the job; since arriving at the U.S. Capitol, she has missed not one vote, 3,500 and counting. “I feel strongly that we should be in session right now working on these [financial and economic] issues,” said Collins, who is cam- paigning in Maine. “I voted against adjourning for August because we hadn’t resolved everything.” Collins maintains that progress is forged at the center and that she is Maine's independent voice. That independent streak sur- faced when she issued a statement about the McCain campaign's au- tomated "robo calls" to Maine cit- izens, tying presidential candidate Barack Obama to William Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground. “When I learned about the robo call I was appalled,” said Col- lins. “I told staff we should put out a statement that those calls have no place in Maine politics.” Collins grew up in Caribou, and established her political career with Maine's U.S. Sen. William Cohen during the 1980s. She then joined Maine Gov. John McKer- nan's administration as commis- sioner of professional and finan- cial regulation, was New Eng- land's regional administrator for the Small Business Administration in 1992, and in 1994 ran for gov- ernor herself. After losing that race, she worked with Husson College as executive director of the Center for Family Business but returned to politics, winning Cohen's sena- torial seat in 1996. If she wins, Collins intends to resume work on a financial regu- lation bill. “I am convinced we need to modernize financial regulation, which hasn’t been sufficient to prevent a crisis such as we now have,” she said. Investment banks must be reg- ulated like community banks, said Collins, and her bill will strength- en that regulation for safety and fi- nancial soundness, she said. Cred- it default swaps no longer fall through the regulatory cracks and mortgage origination practices will be reformed, she said. Collins said she wants Maine’s economy to be strengthened by al- ternative energy development and production, which in turn will cre- ate jobs. “Maine does have the poten- tial to be a leader in alternative energy,” she said, citing Univer- sity of Maine research under way with Maine Maritime Academy to develop an underwater test bed to evaluate tidal turbines, funding for which, she said, she shepherded through Senate appropriations. Collins also considers offshore wind power a potential resource to boost, and hopes to see Maine be a leader in manufacturing wind- mills, she said. Collins does not, however, en- vision Bath Iron Works shifting some of its labor and resources into manufacturing equipment for alternative energy, as some have suggested. “BIW is an extraordinary ship- yard, and I do believe it can expand the line of work,“ she said. That in- cludes building more ships for the U.S. Coast Guard and working with the University of Maine and Hogdon Yachts to build smaller boats for the Navy Seals. “There’s potential in that regard to partner with smaller boatyards,” said Collins. “Whether BIW wants to broaden its scope beyond ship- building, I’m not sure.” Collins voted in favor of a re- cent appropriation bill that bun- dled in a measure to reopen coastal waters to oil drilling, but she quali- fies that she belongs to the Gang of 20, 10 Republicans and 10 Demo- crats, who are now crafting a bill that sets the rules for such drilling. She favors establishing a 25- to 50-mile buffer, for coastal areas, and maintaining the drilling mora- torium on Georges Bank. Page 8 WALDO COUNTY VOTER GUIDE Oct. 30, 2008 U.S. Senate Collins rests reputation on independent voice Susan Collins By Stephen Betts [email protected] ROCKLAND — The coun- try's middle class is the engine that keeps the economy going and Congressman Tom Allen said he wants to serve in the Sen- ate to reverse eight years of ca- tering to the rich at the expense of the middle class. Allen, a Democrat from Port- land, is seeking one of Maine's two U.S. Senate seats. He is chal- lenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins on the Nov. 4 ballot. Allen said he has a basic phil- osophical difference with Collins who has served for 12 years in the Senate. “Susan Collins and George Bush believe the way to strength- en the economy is to give breaks to the super rich and that prosper- ity will trickle down," Allen said. "I believe the middle class is the engine for the economy.” He said that Collins has sup- ported President Bush's tax cuts in 2001, 2003 and 2006, has supported Vice President Dick Cheney's energy plan, and sup- ported the war in Iraq. Allen op- posed each of these actions. He noted that the 2003 tax cut will mean that a person earning nearly $1 million annually will receive a tax cut of $16,400 next year. A person earning $40,000 will receive $22. “That's not even enough to pay for a half tank of gas,” Al- len said. The veteran member of the U.S. House of Representatives said he would work in the Sen- ate on a number of programs to help the middle class. He ac- knowledged that this will be made much more difficult by the financial crisis facing the world, a problem he said is the result of the president's failed economic program, a program supported by Collins. “The level of economic anx- iety is the highest I have ever seen,” he said. The United States must focus on an energy program that pro- motes alternative, renewable en- ergy rather than an emphasis on oil, he said. The country must also work toward universal access to health care. He said his plan is similar to Democratic presiden- tial candidate Barack Obama's. People can keep their current insurance if they want to or can join a program similar to the Medicare program. Businesses will contribute to the cost and there will be assistance for in- dividuals who are unable to af- ford it and tax credits for small businesses. The United States must set a timetable for leaving Iraq, Al- len said. He said even Iraqi lead- ers want the United States to set a timetable. He said Bush may soon agree to such a schedule for withdrawing troops. “That leaves Susan Collins and John McCain as opponents to a timetable,” he said. Allen voted against the bill in 2002 to give the president autho- rization to invade Iraq. The Democratic congress- man also cited trade deals as an- other area where he and Collins are different. Allen said he has voted against trade agreements that have resulted in job losses to manufacturing companies in Maine while Collins has support- ed them. She has also backed tax packages that have given breaks to companies that export jobs to other countries. Collins has done a good job of creating an image that she is a middle-of-the-road senator but in reality she is tied at the hips with the failed policies of Bush, Allen said. Allen said he supported the economic rescue plan not to bail out Wall Street but to protect the American economy. He said he expects there will be difficult economic times ahead but ex- pects the united effort by world leaders will free up credit and help businesses. He noted that Maine's economy is tied closely to the world's, noting that lob- stermen are having difficulty selling lobsters to Canadian pro- cessors because Canadian pro- cessors have been unable to get continued financing from Icelan- dic banks. Collins frequently cites both her bipartisanship and her record of not having missed a roll call vote in her 12 years in the Sen- ate, Allen noted, but he said both have little relevance. He said many of the failed Bush policies were approved by both Republi- cans and some Democrats. “You can be bipartisan and wrong,” he said. And in terms of the 100 per- cent voting record, Allen not- ed that in school one's atten- dance is noted on rank cards but grades are determined by a person's performance. Allen said he has a 98 percent voting record and the few votes he has missed have mostly been be- cause of the death of a family member, his wife's cancer, and his daughter's wedding. “Maine and the country would have been a lot better off if Sen. Collins had missed a vote or two, or voted differently,” Al- len said. Allen says Maine needs change from Bush, Collins failed policies Tom Allen SEE COLLINS ON PAGE 12 VillageSoup.com/join the news and information that affects the community the events and ideas that unite the community the goods and services that sustain the community VillageSoup.com ® NEIGHBORS GROWING TOGETHER ® Learn Share Shop ® JOIN TODAY! Second District — Lincolnville and North U.S. House U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, a Demoncrat from East Millinocket, is seeking a fourth two-year term. Republican John Frary of Farmington is the challnger for the Congressional seat.
Transcript of Voter Guide '08 Waldo · and established her political career with Maine's U.S. Sen. William Cohen...
Page 8 WALDO COUNTY VOTER GUIDE Oct. 30, 2008
By Lynda Clancy [email protected]
Susan Collins is running for a third term serving Maine as U.S. senator, and if she beats Tom Al-len, she will embark on her 13th year in Washington, D.C.
Collin defines herself as a pol-itician who crosses the aisle to ac-complish goals. Bipartisanship is central to her campaign, and she relishes the job; since arriving at the U.S. Capitol, she has missed not one vote, 3,500 and counting.
“I feel strongly that we should be in session right now working on these [financial and economic] issues,” said Collins, who is cam-paigning in Maine. “I voted against adjourning for August because we hadn’t resolved everything.”
Collins maintains that progress is forged at the center and that she is Maine's independent voice.
That independent streak sur-faced when she issued a statement about the McCain campaign's au-tomated "robo calls" to Maine cit-izens, tying presidential candidate Barack Obama to William Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground.
“When I learned about the robo call I was appalled,” said Col-lins. “I told staff we should put out a statement that those calls have no place in Maine politics.”
Collins grew up in Caribou, and established her political career with Maine's U.S. Sen. William Cohen during the 1980s. She then joined Maine Gov. John McKer-nan's administration as commis-
sioner of professional and finan-cial regulation, was New Eng-land's regional administrator for the Small Business Administration in 1992, and in 1994 ran for gov-ernor herself.
After losing that race, she worked with Husson College as executive director of the Center for Family Business but returned to politics, winning Cohen's sena-torial seat in 1996.
If she wins, Collins intends to resume work on a financial regu-lation bill.
“I am convinced we need to modernize financial regulation, which hasn’t been sufficient to prevent a crisis such as we now have,” she said.
Investment banks must be reg-ulated like community banks, said Collins, and her bill will strength-en that regulation for safety and fi-
nancial soundness, she said. Cred-it default swaps no longer fall through the regulatory cracks and mortgage origination practices will be reformed, she said.
Collins said she wants Maine’s economy to be strengthened by al-ternative energy development and production, which in turn will cre-ate jobs.
“Maine does have the poten-tial to be a leader in alternative energy,” she said, citing Univer-sity of Maine research under way with Maine Maritime Academy to develop an underwater test bed to evaluate tidal turbines, funding for which, she said, she shepherded through Senate appropriations.
Collins also considers offshore wind power a potential resource to boost, and hopes to see Maine be a leader in manufacturing wind-mills, she said.
Collins does not, however, en-vision Bath Iron Works shifting some of its labor and resources into manufacturing equipment for alternative energy, as some have suggested.
“BIW is an extraordinary ship-yard, and I do believe it can expand the line of work,“ she said. That in-cludes building more ships for the U.S. Coast Guard and working with the University of Maine and Hogdon Yachts to build smaller boats for the Navy Seals.
“There’s potential in that regard to partner with smaller boatyards,” said Collins. “Whether BIW wants to broaden its scope beyond ship-building, I’m not sure.”
Collins voted in favor of a re-cent appropriation bill that bun-dled in a measure to reopen coastal waters to oil drilling, but she quali-fies that she belongs to the Gang of 20, 10 Republicans and 10 Demo-crats, who are now crafting a bill that sets the rules for such drilling.
She favors establishing a 25- to 50-mile buffer, for coastal areas, and maintaining the drilling mora-torium on Georges Bank.
Page 8 WALDO COUNTY VOTER GUIDE Oct. 30, 2008
U.S. SenateCollins rests reputationon independent voice
Susan Collins
By Stephen Betts [email protected]
ROCKLAND — The coun-try's middle class is the engine that keeps the economy going and Congressman Tom Allen said he wants to serve in the Sen-ate to reverse eight years of ca-tering to the rich at the expense of the middle class.
Allen, a Democrat from Port-land, is seeking one of Maine's two U.S. Senate seats. He is chal-lenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Allen said he has a basic phil-osophical difference with Collins who has served for 12 years in the Senate.
“Susan Collins and George Bush believe the way to strength-en the economy is to give breaks to the super rich and that prosper-ity will trickle down," Allen said. "I believe the middle class is the engine for the economy.”
He said that Collins has sup-ported President Bush's tax cuts in 2001, 2003 and 2006, has supported Vice President Dick Cheney's energy plan, and sup-ported the war in Iraq. Allen op-posed each of these actions.
He noted that the 2003 tax cut will mean that a person earning nearly $1 million annually will receive a tax cut of $16,400 next year. A person earning $40,000 will receive $22.
“That's not even enough to pay for a half tank of gas,” Al-len said.
The veteran member of the U.S. House of Representatives said he would work in the Sen-ate on a number of programs to help the middle class. He ac-knowledged that this will be made much more difficult by the financial crisis facing the world, a problem he said is the result of the president's failed economic program, a program supported by Collins.
“The level of economic anx-iety is the highest I have ever seen,” he said.
The United States must focus on an energy program that pro-motes alternative, renewable en-ergy rather than an emphasis on oil, he said.
The country must also work toward universal access to health care. He said his plan is similar to Democratic presiden-tial candidate Barack Obama's. People can keep their current insurance if they want to or can join a program similar to the Medicare program. Businesses will contribute to the cost and there will be assistance for in-dividuals who are unable to af-ford it and tax credits for small businesses.
The United States must set a timetable for leaving Iraq, Al-len said. He said even Iraqi lead-ers want the United States to set a timetable. He said Bush may soon agree to such a schedule for withdrawing troops.
“That leaves Susan Collins and John McCain as opponents to a timetable,” he said.
Allen voted against the bill in 2002 to give the president autho-rization to invade Iraq.
The Democratic congress-man also cited trade deals as an-other area where he and Collins are different. Allen said he has voted against trade agreements that have resulted in job losses
to manufacturing companies in Maine while Collins has support-ed them. She has also backed tax packages that have given breaks to companies that export jobs to other countries.
Collins has done a good job of creating an image that she is a middle-of-the-road senator but in reality she is tied at the hips with the failed policies of Bush, Allen said.
Allen said he supported the economic rescue plan not to bail out Wall Street but to protect the American economy. He said he expects there will be difficult economic times ahead but ex-pects the united effort by world leaders will free up credit and help businesses. He noted that Maine's economy is tied closely to the world's, noting that lob-stermen are having difficulty selling lobsters to Canadian pro-cessors because Canadian pro-cessors have been unable to get continued financing from Icelan-dic banks.
Collins frequently cites both her bipartisanship and her record of not having missed a roll call vote in her 12 years in the Sen-ate, Allen noted, but he said both have little relevance. He said many of the failed Bush policies were approved by both Republi-cans and some Democrats.
“You can be bipartisan and wrong,” he said.
And in terms of the 100 per-cent voting record, Allen not-ed that in school one's atten-dance is noted on rank cards but grades are determined by a person's performance. Allen said he has a 98 percent voting record and the few votes he has missed have mostly been be-cause of the death of a family member, his wife's cancer, and his daughter's wedding.
“Maine and the country would have been a lot better off if Sen. Collins had missed a vote or two, or voted differently,” Al-len said.
Allen says Maine needs change from Bush, Collins failed policies
Tom Allen
SEE COLLINS ON PAGE 12
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Second District — Lincolnville and North
U.S. HouseU.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, a Demoncrat from East Millinocket,
is seeking a fourth two-year term.
Republican John Frary of Farmington is the challnger for the Congressional seat.
