Democratic House District 110 Rep. Henry E. Murphy Beck, of Waterville, faces Oakland Republican Mark Richard Andre in a rematch of the 2012 election.

District 110, which was formerly House District 76, covers part of Waterville and Oakland.

Beck, 28, of Waterville, has held the seat for six years. He earned a law degree this year from University of Maine School of Law and is an attorney at Jabar LaLiberty in Waterville.

Andre, 44, of Oakland, owns and operates Thornridge Farms Nursery LLC in Fairfield Center.

Beck says his family came to the community nearly a century ago to put down roots and start a business. He grew up and graduated from college in Waterville, and he has made his life in the city.

“Thus, I know personally that Maine people deserve an economy that is strong and fair,” Beck said. “I authored three successful bipartisan laws to support small business and other bills to improve health care and our community. I have one of the best local records for successfully passing bipartisan laws.”

Andre says he is running for the seat because he wants to reduce wasteful spending programs in Augusta and lower the resulting tax burden on Waterville and Oakland residents through a three-step program.

The plan provides for restructuring the state’s program of sharing revenue with municipalities, legalizing marijuana and using the resulting excise tax revenue to fully fund the state’s pledge to contribute 55 percent of the cost of essential education programs, and passing legislation aimed at eliminating ethanol mandates in Maine to reduce the impact of inflation on prices for food and fuel.

“Passage of these three items will help all residents and businesses in our community, especially our seniors who have been hardest hit by inflation and high property taxes,” he said.

Beck sees the major campaign issues in his district as working to improve the economy, expanding access to health care, supporting “great public schools” and addressing crime and addiction.

“I have already gotten things done for our district in these three areas,” he said. “I authored three laws to help specific small businesses in this district and voted to upgrade our energy infrastructure and invest in workforce training. I voted to reverse cuts to early childhood education and stood for drug treatment and effective law enforcement. I am also proud of my record voting for cleaner lakes and chemical safety. No elected official can solve our problems, but voters should know I will continue to stand up for them.”

Andre says that by restructuring revenue sharing, additional money would be directed to municipalities provided that they maintain their current budgets, adjusted for inflation.

“The purpose of revenue sharing is to return surplus state revenues to property taxpayers,” he said. “It is not intended to be a bonus check to towns that is wastefully spent on new government buildings as we have seen in Waterville and elsewhere in Maine.”

Andre says a proposed bill to address food and fuel inflation by eliminating ethanol mandates would have a kick-out clause requiring adoption by 25 other states before it goes into effect.

“Reducing food costs will reduce costs for Maine’s food assistance programs (with) the savings directed to property tax relief through municipal revenue sharing,” he said.

Asked how they would vote on the referendum to ban bear baiting, Beck said he voted to conserve lands for hunting and fishing and respects the state’s wildlife biologists who urge voting no.

“There are well-intentioned people on both sides of this referendum,” he said. “This issue will be decided by voters.”

Andre said that, as a former charter fishing guide and candidate endorsed by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, he supports the rights of sportsmen to engage in traditional forms of hunting that have been passed down for generations.

“I will be voting no on No. 1,” he said.

As to whether the state should provide more funding for local communities through an extension of the state sales tax or by requiring full funding of municipal revenue sharing, Beck says when support for local communities was proposed to be eliminated in the state budget, he voted instead to restore $165 million in revenue sharing for cities and towns.

“I personally authored a floor amendment to further provide property tax relief,” he said. “People who own homes and businesses can not be the only ones who bear the burden of paying for municipal services. I also support raising the maximum for seniors in the new property tax credit.”

Asked their positions on Medicaid expansion to allow MaineCare to extend health coverage to additional low-income residents, Andre said health care delivery in Maine and around the country is not affordable, the Affordable Care Act does little to address costs and instead makes the problem worse by increasing administrative costs of providing health care.

“Attempts to subsidize unaffordable health care can only lead to unaffordable taxation,” he said. “We must first control costs and then look to expand health care to all Maine residents, which is the goal we are all seeking.”

Beck said he voted yes on the issue.

“We should join other states in accepting federal funds so 70,000 Mainers can have access to a doctor,” he said. “Thousands of people are uninsured here in Kennebec County, and no one should be bankrupt by mounting medical bills. Nearly one in five jobs in Kennebec County are in the health care field, and by accepting these funds we will see a $1 million per day boost in economic activity statewide.”

As for their stands on Gov. Paul LePage’s call for denying state reimbursement to local communities for welfare payments made to undocumented immigrants, Andre said he finds it ironic that business owners are prosecuted and imprisoned for providing gainful employment to undocumented people while municipalities are rewarded for spending tax dollars on welfare payments to the same people.

“Municipalities should have the same obligation to report undocumented immigrants as the private sector, so yes, I support the governor’s policy,” Andre said.

Beck says money should not be used for people who have not followed the legal process.

“The federal, state and local government must work together on this issue, and it can not be a distraction to improving our economy,” he said.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @AmyCalder17

Copy the Story Link