Troy Haines
Hometown: Mapleton
Other Offices Held: Senior Class president of both Presque Isle high School and the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
Career Background: Worked for the towns of Mapleton, Castle Hill and Chapman from 1995-2008, worked in Grassroots advocacy and Federal Policy Initiatives from 2008-2010, owner and operator of SPW Meat Cutting in Mapleton since 2001.
What made you decide to run for office: After spending two years working in politics, I decided that it was about time we had legislators represent the people of their districts, instead of their own self-interests. What I saw as a startling lack of common sense in some legislation also motivated me to try to bring a common sense approach to politics.
Most important issue: Although there are so many issues facing our community right now, people are simply struggling with rapidly increasing property tax bills. We need to get taxes under control. In order to do this, and in order to fix so many other issues, we need to get real jobs back in northern Maine. Good quality, decent-paying jobs have been missing from The County for a long time, and if we are going to maintain our way of life we need incentives — job creation by encouraging small business to set up shop or expand their current operations here.
Primary goal if elected: Being a strong voice and advocate for our northern Maine way of life, and the needs of the people here in Rural Maine. Aroostook County has nearly 7,000 square miles of land and nine representatives. Portland has only 22 square miles of land and eight representatives. With this being the case, we need to have real leaders and strong voices in Augusta to keep us from being marginalized.
Why should people vote for me? Like everyone else in northern Maine, I have earned what I have through hard work, honesty and a strong work ethic. I have been endorsed by the Maine Education Association, The Maine League of conservation voters, I have tried to bring these things to my campaign. I have been endorsed by the Maine Education Association, The Maine League of conservation voters, The Professional Firefighters of Maine, The Maine Peoples Alliance, The Maine State Employees Association, The Maine AFL-CIO and I received a grade of “A” from the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. I think people in Aroostook county are some of the hardest working, most frugal, honest and sensible people you will ever meet and we need one of our own representing us. I will be a strong voice for rural Maine in Augusta and will work to not only fix the problems we have as a state, but to lead us in the right direction.
Alexander R. Willette
Age: 21
Hometown: Mapleton
What other political offices have you held? If none, what other offices, honors or titles have you earned? Eagle Scout, past chairman of the Maine College Republicans, past Aroostook County Republican Committee chairman.
What is your career background? Realtor at Big Bear Real Estate as well as working as an accounting associate at the Presque Isle WalMart.
What made you decide to run for this office? After coming home from college at the University of Maine Farmington, I heard too many of my classmates from high school say that they wanted to stay in Aroostook but were forced to leave because of the poor business climate. After leaving The County to go to college, it became very apparent how lucky I was to have grown up in this area. Unfortunately, the business climate has been killed by state government in the last 30 plus years, preventing good jobs from staying or being created here and, further, causing our young families to have to leave home to find a place to prosper. This problem can be turned around with a focus on common sense solutions.
Secondly, in the first regular season of the 124th Legislature, they passed LD 1495 a “Tax Reform” that in reality added over 100 new items to the sales tax. During that summer I collected almost 1,500 signatures to stop these tax increases that would have also included a new tax on car repair. It was during this experience that I realized that the way Augusta operates needs to change.
And lastly, I am tired of watching representatives that get elected, and when they get to Augusta, they forget about the people who put them there in the first place. I will take the responsibilities of being a representative very seriously, and I will always be available for my constituents.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the community you will serve? Here in Aroostook County we have abundant natural resources, as well as the hardest working workforce seen anywhere in the United States. Unfortunately, we are also straddled with title of being the worst state for business in the current Forbes rankings. Our regulatory environment as well as energy costs need to be addressed to help bring us out of the last-spot ranking. Maine can do this by partnering with the private sector to reform rules that just don’t work. More big government is not the solution to this problem. Instead we need to peel away some of the burdensome regulations so business can get back to doing what they do best, putting people to work so families and the community can prosper again.
What do you see as your primary goal, if elected? We need to change how Maine looks at economic development. We need policies that let the private sector create jobs, putting county citizens back to work. We need to reform welfare so that people who need a hand up are not being pushed out of the way because “out of staters” are coming here to take advantage of the benefits Maine has. Finally, we need to find a way to curb energy costs. Aroostook has been held hostage by high energy costs by not being directly connected to the rest of the state. If we connect Aroostook to the rest of New England, we will be heading in a direction that will start to lower energy costs for Aroostook’s rate payers.
Why should people vote for you? I have always been an advocate for northern Maine and, if elected, I will make sure your voice is heard. Having worked in Augusta, I have seen representatives forget who sent them there and I promise I will remain accountable to you as a voter. I will always be available to hear your concerns and will not cast any vote lightly. On Nov. 2, I would ask that you give me your vote so that together we can turn our state around.
