I believe we were given two ears and only one mouth for a reason. I’m continually struck by the power of genuine, focused communication between people who know how to listen, compared to the empty exchanges between those simply waiting for their turn to speak.
Lately, I hear a consistent message from nearly everyone I meet: Mainers are seeking real progress from their elected officials. They’re understandably frustrated by the theatrics and hyper-partisanship that seem to dominate Augusta. At the start of this journey, I made a commitment to be both passionate and professional. Despite the venom some choose to spit at every opportunity—whether legislators or constituents—I remain unwavering in my promise to be responsive, not reactive; humble, not arrogant; and transparent in the rationale behind every decision I make on behalf of the people I serve.
In the interest of transparency, I’m offering another avenue for people to gain further insight into the legislative process. You can read the testimonies presented for any bill that interests you. Every testimony, whether in support or opposition, is uploaded and archived on the State legislative website, typically the day of the public hearing or shortly thereafter.
Because submissions like this one are often limited by word count in print, I’ll share a few excerpts from the testimony I recently provided in support of LD 1521. The full testimony is available on the website, but I believe these snippets illustrate my commitment to being both passionate and professional:
“I am not a macroeconomics scholar. I am not a Wall Street analyst. I am not an oracle of fiscal matters. I am just a son whose mother, while she was alive, paid my salary and funded my missions in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Secret Service through her taxes. Fast forward to today: I have been elected to serve not just the taxpayers of District 18, but all the people of Maine. I do not take this responsibility lightly.
I submit to you that we—emphasizing ‘we’—are not being good stewards of the State’s finances because we have failed to subject our budget formulation methods to proper scrutiny. We’ve allowed ourselves to take the easy route. The model of ‘last budget plus X percent’ is not only irresponsible, it is lazy. The people of Maine deserve better.
Today’s discussion is not about partisan politics. It is not about finger-pointing. Frankly, I am not interested in engaging in the vitriolic ‘blame game’ or ‘gotcha’ tactics. We must be honest brokers. As we march forward together toward a stronger future, we must periodically pause, reset, and shed ourselves of the burdens that result from the weak argument of ‘We’ve always done it this way.’”
I encourage everyone to stay engaged and informed.