Matt Jacobson's campaign: Is it over yet?

Woodman - could you please disclose what payroll you're on?

Your post dribbles of nothingness. You base your voting decision on fundraising. Lame.

I sure hope that he hasn't abandoned his campaign. I have an interview scheduled with him for later in the month.

Did he steal your girlfriend in high school or something, Woodman?

Dear Woodman,

Pretty harsh stuff. Jacobson, whatever his fundraising shows, gives a first class stump speech that would have great appeal to independents, should he win the nomination (unlikely - but in an 8 way race, anything is possible). He's also married to an Emergency room doctor, and ran a railroad, both positives IMO.

Put it this way: If the weekend before the GOP primary the polls show it is between Jacobson and Mills, who will you be voting for?

I predict Matt will put this post up on his office wall and read it every day. And at least he's IN the newspapers.

Maybe LePage can hire him to run the new state office of Love Boat Stuff.

I heard Matt Jacobsons "stump speech" and I thought he had good ideas and ways to implement them. Which makes more sense to me than someone just saying " we need jobs" thats a "yeah no sh!t sherlock" moment....I never had any of those when I listened to what Matt Jacobson had to say.

As for business and/or politcal experience Baldacci has both ....... look where that has gotten us.

As for your comments about Jason Levesque you apparently havent met him or heard his "stump speech"...I think he has a very good chance of beating Mike Michaud as he has some things Mike Michaud will never have.....common sense, character and a back bone.

I am reminded of a conversation I had with a friend a couple of years ago about some guy named Obama...

Staff
Matthew C. Jacobson
President and CEO

Matt Jacobson is President and CEO of Maine & Company. Under Matt's leadership since 2006, Maine & Company has recruited several major companies to Maine including NotifyMD, athenahealth and Boston Financial Data Services. These companies will combine to hire over 1,500 new employees.

Prior to joining Maine & Company, Matt was most recently Assistant Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Canadian National Railways, based in Chicago. In his role at CN, Matt was responsible for International and North America Intermodal sales and marketing.

From 1996 -2000 Matt was President and Chief Operating Officer of the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, headquartered in Auburn. During his 4-year tenure, the railroad tripled its revenue and attracted 23 new businesses to its line. Matt was featured in the Wall Street Journal, and the St. Lawrence was named North America's best Shortline Railroad by Railway Age Magazine.

Matt is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and holds an MBA from Chapman University. He was a pilot in the US Air Force, serving in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Matt has over 3000 hours of flight time, primarily in command of the C-130 Hercules.
http://www.maineco.org/Staff.php

compared to Baldacci who stirred meatballs and sauce....

yup....no business experience here (major eye roll)

Woodman has now gone after Jacobsen and Otten in very harsh terms.

I think he owes it to us to tell us who he is backing.

Woodman, it seems, is really just another hatchet man.

I don't object to hatchetmen. Some might call me that.

But we should know who he is wielding the hatchet for.

I'm not a hatchet man for anyone. It just makes me mad when people on our side of the aisle accept dopes like these into leadership positions. Republicans in Maine have to have a higher standard for candidates or we're going to keep getting clobbered at the polls.

I'd be interested in having a republican governor at some point in my lifetime, and seeing people on this forum act like sheep and follow the first person who stands up is very discouraging. Anyone who is actually from Maine should be insulted by the nerve of this carpet-bagger coming here and thinking he can become governor just because he thinks he knows better than all of us. He's got no history here, he's got no understanding of the culture here, he's paid no political dues here, he's pounded no signs here or made phonecalls for GOP candidates here. He's done nothing but accept State taxpayer funds to promote himself. Matt Jacobson running for Governor of Maine is about the same as me moving to Mauritania and running for Prime Minister.

Jacobson is a terrible reflection on the state of our party. Otten is worse, he's a proud plagiarist. The fact that anyone takes either of these guys seriously in the context of a gubernatorial race is mind-boggling.

I don't have a horse in this race, so far there isn't a candidate that's worth supporting. Maybe if Josh Tardy gets in I'd think differently, I kind of like him.

Speaking of acting like sheeple, or GOPple:

He's got no history here, he's got no understanding of the culture here, he's paid no political dues here, he's pounded no signs here or made phonecalls for GOP candidates here.

A knee jerk rejection of someone because he's from away ?

Insularity as political strategy. Welcome to Maine.

Jacobson is doing just fine. When I took a gander at who donated, I was surprised. He has some influential supporters that will help long term.
Paloquin is doing well too...
Woodman, please remember that these 2 candidates have already raised almost more cash in 1 quarter than Scontras raised in 3 quarters.

Jacobson's campaign is a joke. There is no substance behind the stump speech and his fundraising numbers prove this. He has recieved some very bad advice to run for Gov which must not have included help to raise money. He is a carpet bagger in every sense of the word. He moved back to Maine in 2006 to run for Gov. The D's are praying that he is the nominee so they can challenge his residency the day after the primary. They will not care if they win or lose the arguement over his residency, the fact that is goes to court will prove he is a carpet bagger which will be the D's goal.

On the R side we have 3 moderate businessmen running (Jacobson, Poliquin and Otten), all vying for the same demographic voters in a R primary - a small pool of voters to start with (75,000 +/-). I predict the nominee will not be one of these 3 because all 3 are trying to pull votes from the same pool which is only a portion of R primary voters. If you add a couple more moderates to the mix, which is likely (Mills and Raye) they have even less of a chance. The fractured moderate Maine R vote will be splintered 5 ways. If someone more conservative than the this field runs, such as Josh Tardy, he will win the nomination.

I looked at the field in my column yesterday.

I do not (yet) have a dog in the fight.

I like Josh Tardy and consider him a friend. Looking at the possible field, there is a good chance that he would be the candidate that I would end up supporting.

But it is going to be hard for him to run as the conservative champion after signing on to the budget deal this session.

Please keep in mind, there is very very little difference in the voting records of Josh Tardy and Peter Mills.

That's b.s.

This year Mills voted for gay marriage. Tardy did not.
Mills voted for the Democrats' so-called tax reform. Tardy did not.

Dan, thanks for posting your article. Very good piece.

Mills will do much worse than he did in the '06 primary for 2 reasons:
1. The 2 votes Dan cited above (it still is a primary and not a general).
2. More moderates in the race will severly cut into his support in the Portland area where he performed the best in '06.

Yeah Peter I think you're making that up. Mills and Tardy are two completely different stories.

If Jacobson stays in and these guys of similar profile all split the moderate vote, what i fear is an idiot like Dean Scontras can traipse in and win the thing with 30% of the vote. Mark my words, someone from that cabal of dunces will pop their head up in this game at some point.

Mr Billings,
You and I both know they vote the same way 99% of the time. Look at all the votes cast the past 6 years.
Dirigo, bonding, budgets, spending....etc, etc....Lock step!
The only real difference is Tardy plays to the conservative base, Mills to the moderate base.
We can cherry pick votes all day long, but at the end of the day these 2 are to the left of most conservatives in Maine.

I listed two of the five biggest votes of the year. Mills was the only Republican to vote for the Democrats' tax shift. He is one of a small number of Republicans to vote for gay marriage. Those are big votes.

Compare their MERI and NFIB ratings. You will also see a difference.

The Billings column is timely, and I for one appreciated it. It addressed some of the points I've been mulling about. As for Jacobsen, he seems a good person but I ruled him out a long time ago. Mostly because I've heard him plug subsidies for the film industry as well as already state [on Ray's show] that he would support the right bonds.

Both a complete turnoff for me. I oppose any and all subsidies for anyone---these are always at somebody else's expense and by force. As in, taken by the government by force, through the vehicle of taxation, and redistributed to increase the scope/power of government. Why should there be subsidies for this group or another? Why not less government spending and real tax relief for all?

As for bonds, we're borrowing our children into servitude.

My two cents, anyway.

Woodhead:

What's up with the rants?

Jacobson is a good guy, untarnished by too much time with the political weasels.

And speaking of weasels... Mills is speaking tomorrow in Portland at the Commies For Free Government Health Care rally at Monument Square. This, along with too many other leftie votes, puts him OFF the list.

Back to Matt Jacobson. He is a business guy who's created jobs, met a payroll and brought some good companies to Maine.

Woody, here's a theory: were you working as a janitor.. and got FIRED by Matt Jacobson for napping on the job? (It would certainly explain the tone and content of your rants!)

The eventual Republican gubernatorial nominee will have an uphill battle in 2010, no matter who it is. The Democrats simply run better campaigns and advertise more effectively. They've convinced voters that they can be all things to all people.

So here we are dumping on potential candidates 11 months before the primary. Do you see Democrats doing this in a public forum? They're probably reading this and laughing.

Wake up, Maine GOP.

Honest question for you, Mike---and not necessarily related to Jacobsen, either: Doesn't this open type of discussion help our side weed out weaker candidates? So that hopefully we choose the strongest candidate a majority of us can support? Should there be any negatives or downsides about any of our candidates, aren't we better off airing the laundry now?

I cannot see any plusses to waiting to discuss a candidate, and any aspect of his/her candidacy, until after said person wins a primary. After that, any downsides or weakeness discussed are multiplied to the nth degree. That's when the Dems are ROTFLTAO.

Educate me.

Phoenix: Your philosophy would work if the Maine GOP was in a position of strength. It isn't. So when you try to "weed out" potential candidates 11 months before the primary, it only drains the talent pool or discourages others from taking the plunge.

Air all the grievances you want here and elsewhere, but just remember that you're not doing it in a vacuum. The Democrats are listening - and laughing.

Dan,
Nice article. Your thoughts are shared by a majority of folks that I've spoken to. The collective question seems to be "..who else is jumping in"....that is keeping people from getting on a bandwagon at this moment.

I like Matt - I've interviewed him and will be posting the video soon. He had some real answers to questions that have been getting generic responses.

Here's my two concerns:

1. Matt's main skills in the last decade have been in recruiting that turns into job creation. While that is certainly high on the list of desired attributes, those who spend time on this site are aware that the Governor's position should not be to "create jobs". It should be to foster an economic environment to help spur job creation. So ...let's say Matt gets elected - what would he do to help is successor at Maine & Co. better succeed?

2. Playing off that last sentence, my second concern is the familiarity of protocol that it takes to move anything through Augusta. Especially if there is a D & D situation in the House and Senate again. I think the amount of negotiating and back scratching is underestimated. Will that lack of "inner chamber" experience hinder his effectiveness, regardless of how good any of his ideas are?

These are not obstacles that can't be overcome and God help us if we elect someone to simply carry the dying torch through the broken hallways. We do need someone from the outside, with objective viewpoints and "real world" experience.

But even the brightest light will find those hallways to be pretty dark...I'm pulling for those who have vision, passion and experience. Maine needs that right now.

Mike Lange -

I think we can all agree "woodman" is not a candidate for the U.S. Diplomatic Corps. That aside, I disagree with your take on what's happening here with AMGer's and Republican gubernatorial candidates.

First, I have two words for any Democrat laughing at the treatment here of Republican candidates: Herb Hoffman.

Second, when did it become behavior non grata to have heated debates about candidates for governor? Especially now. People are fed up with politicians whose every idea involves dipping their hands into taxpayer's pockets. It's nuts. Take a look at the YouTube video on AMG's home page of Congressmen Mike Castle at a public meeting in Delaware.

TARP, stimulus bills, cap-and-trade, socialized health care -- we have a Congress that doesn't even read bills before passing them. A president who doesn't read/understand bills before signing them into law. Who loses? We do.

I welcome the debate. It should be respectful debate, but, respect is a two-way street. I'm not going to lose sleep over anyone telling it like it is to any politician who has been taken his/her constituents for chumps.

skf

The thing many of you don't understand is that Matt Jacobson is currently an ambassador of Baldacci's economic plan. Maine and Company is subsidized by the State of Maine, and its board consists of a veritable who's-who of Democrat faithful.

Matt Jacobson has been given a taxpayer-funded position to be the PR wing of the Baldacci Economic and Community Development Department. His claimed 'victories' are the same ones the Baldacci administration claims. To say Matt Jacobson will bring something new or better to Maine is ridiculous; the simple truth is that the only difference between electing Matt Jacobson and John Richardson is that Richardson has legislative experience. Otherwise they both push for and work toward the exact same goals, using the infrastructure they have co-created. This infrastructure, we all know, has failed.

Here is a partial list of the board members of Maine and Company:
Harold Pachios
John Richardson
Jack Cashman
Dana Connors
Peter Vigue

If you want to learn more about Baldacci's Maine & Company, I urge you to visit http://www2.guidestar.org/ and do a search for their nonprofit filings.

For those of you who take it for granted that Matt Jacobson knows something about improving Maine's economy, I think you should think about what he actually does for a job, who he has teamed up with, and then ask if it's working. This guy might as well be a Baldacci cabinet member.

Woodman,
Early you voiced tepid support for Mr Tardy, yet he is partners with Dana Conors and has supported many of the failed policies that have put Maine in such poor fiscal condition. Why such a problem with Matt and not the other potential candidates who are directly responsible for the states dire condition?

I beg to differ. Although it would be nice if that were the case, I firmly believe he understands EXACTLY what he's signing.