The candidate traveled from one end of the state to the other to announce his intentions. McGowan’s first appearance took place at the Swamp Buck Restaurant in Fort Kent. From there, he traveled to Bangor, then concluded his day with a stop in Portland. While visiting each community, McGowan discussed his plans for Maine’s future and talked with local supporters, officials and members of the media at each location.
“I have watched this race unfold and I have listened to my neighbors discuss the problems our state is facing,” McGowan said. “I have yet to see a candidate put forward a vision for Maine that truly addresses their needs, hears their concerns or deals directly with the many challenges we currently face.”
McGowan said unfortunately, for too many Mainers, those challenges are all too real.
“We are in the middle of a severe recession, and even before the downturn our economy was struggling to keep up in a changing world. Many Maine families have lost their jobs and many more Mainers stand at risk. That, to me, is unacceptable,” he said.
McGowan made his first announcement in Fort Kent to a crowd of supporters, media and local officials, making him the first candidate in recent memory to formally launch a campaign for governor in the St. John Valley. Similar announcements were made in Bangor and Portland. At each announcement, McGowan talked about challenges that are facing the state, his past experience in the public and private sectors, and how he can harness that experience to move Maine forward.
“I have owned four small businesses in central Maine, served in the Maine State Legislature, and I was appointed by a president to help grow the regional economy,” McGowan said. “I know how to help Maine small businesses grow in a difficult economy, which will in turn help our economy grow as well.”
Born in Bangor and raised in Somerset County, McGowan’s work and political experience has taken him statewide.
“I’ve worked in the private sector as a former small business owner and in the public sector as a state representative, regional director of the Small Business Administration and commissioner of the Department of Conservation,” McGowan said.
During his tenure with the DOC, he has overseen the conservation of more than a million acres of Maine land, including the Katahdin Lake project, which completed Governor Percival Baxter’s original plan for the state park.
“Maine’s natural resources are a treasure,” he said. “I have spent the last seven years as commissioner of the DOC, helping the natural resource economy and putting more and in permanent conservation that at any time in our state’s history. I understand the value of our forests, rivers, lakes, parks and lands, and am firmly committed to preserving that value.”
An avid outdoorsman, McGowan is a hiker, fisherman and pilot. McGowan said that he has seen every corner of the state and especially takes pride in “paddling the Allagash Wilderness Waterway annually,” and spending a considerable amount of time in “each of Maine’s cherished state parks.”
“I was born in this state and have spent my entire life working and serving the people of Maine,” McGowan said. “It is time for me to take this experience, the experience of a Mainer, from the core of Maine, to help lead this state into the future. I see Maine’s future as bright, with a wide range of opportunities that area ready to blossom. I look forward to presenting those opportunities to the people of Maine in the months to come.”
McGowan, 53, of Hallowell, will run as a Clean Elections candidate. More information can be found on McGowan’s campaign Web site: www.mcgowanformaine.com.
