Connors stresses importance of
‘focusing on the positive’
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and an Easton native, served as guest speaker at the Chamber’s annual spring meeting held in May at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. During his visit, he said despite the economic problems facing the country and the state, it was important to focus on the positive, which will in turn help in the recovery process.
DANA CONNORS, 
president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, served as guest speaker for the annual breakfast held in May at UMPI.
Health care, energy costs and regulations have been some of the major concerns facing the state, according to Connors.
“We’re advancing the ball and making improvements. But we don’t talk enough about the good and positive things that affect consumer confidence,” said Connors. “If I could change one thing, I’d focus on the good and praise it, while we work to solve problems.”
“Other states promote the good about themselves. That’s a major part of forming our success,” he said.
With regard to needed infrastructure improvements, Connors said he “couldn’t imagine kicking the can further down the road.”
“We’re already behind on bridge issues. Transportation is the core to the state’s economy, but until it’s fixed” it will continue to be a deterrent, said Connors.
Connors told the nearly three dozen business and municipal leaders present at the breakfast that to do business, “citizens need to know what’s happening.”
He went on to accept questions and comments from those in attendance.
“We have a governor who’s playing chicken. The governor bullies others and it’s strangling the state, especially the County. Roads are deteriorating. We’ll be isolated. Aroostook needs transportation. Playing chicken is unacceptable,” said a man in the audience.
Connors said the governor’s “style is different than seen in the past” and that “he’s determined to get his arm around costs, including education, transportation and medical – the big-ticket items in the budget.”
“It’s not my place to stand up and condemn a person’s style (of management),” said Connors.
With regard to health care, Steve Buck, Caribou’s city manager, said, “It’s not responsible for government to create a program but not fund it. I’m irritated with the state and the lack of responsibility. It’s being pushed down to the local level.”
“An issue dividing urban and rural parts of the state is health care reform,” said Buck.
Connors said a big problem currently facing towns and cities across the state is the drop in revenue sharing. He questioned how municipal offices are able to put a budget together, not knowing from one year to the next if there’ll be shared revenue or not.
Buck said his community took a 33 percent hit on revenue sharing — a reduction the state didn’t itself see.
Jim Bennett, Presque Isle’s city manager, said public safety is one area affected when revenue sharing drops.
“It drives people crazy, to lay a police officer off to fund somewhere else when you starve municipalities of revenue sources,” said Bennett. “It hinders the ability to make the right decisions. When you don’t fund development, it holds us back.”
Helen Umphrey, town manager of Portage Lake, said she and others went to Augusta in support of the recent bill that would allow mining at Bald Mountain.
“Without mining, we have nothing (in Portage region). They asked us ‘why not more tourism.’ The problem is we need to be heard in smaller communities. Leaders need to attend local meetings,” said Umphrey.
Connors said the mining bill sets up the process, but the process could live or die in the next two years.
Sam Collins, of S.W. Collins Co., said he was optimistic, noting since the start of the year the economy had been “decent.”
“It’s been fairly flat, with economic pockets of good activity. In Houlton good things are happening and building is going on,” said Collins, although he said a big concern is out-migration and the ability of communities to grow and have a workforce.
Connors said work is being done to try to bring jobs back to the states from overseas. He said it was important for Mainers to think of ways to market what makes them stand out from other communities, states and countries.
“I grew up hearing there were two Maines. But I learned there are many Maines with a lot of diversity,” said Connors.
Connor said Maine was a very entrepreneurial state.
“When I look at the natural resource base, it’s not the same as when I grew up. We’re in a technology-based world now. That’s our challenge,” said Connors.
Connors closed by noting four areas he’d like to see more focus on.
“Four things if I could focus on would include per capita income, productivity — find ways to stay ahead of the game, education and to promote all possible things going on in the state,” said Connors.
