North of Bangor

Michelle Anderson: North of Bangor

Gubernatorial Candidate Donna Dion
I met with Donna Dion, a Democrat candidate who wishes to be governor for the State of Maine. In this, the first half of the interview, she explained why she decided to run, what she plans to do for the state, and her thoughts about jobs, education, and Tabor.

"[Students] would come in and say, "Well, I'd like this commuter class...They chose what they wanted, which was not necessarily what was needed. So let's be more stringent with our money and allocate it to people who can be trained into jobs that we know businesses will have."

On Monday, October 26, my daughter was deployed to Iraq.

On Friday, October 9, I realized that I didn't know what the mission was in Iraq. In an effort to find out, I called my senator, Susan Collins, but they couldn't tell me. I called another of her offices, and then another. When I got no real answer there, I called Senator Olympia Snowe's offices, and then my congressman, Mike Michaud.

It was then that I decided that no one would ever believe some of the responses I was getting, and at that point, I decided to record my odyssey. This podcast is the result of those recordings. Please forgive the frustration in my voice, but by the time we got to this point, frustrated is exactly what I was.

Michelle Anderson: North of Bangor

Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Samme Bailey

Last week, I met with Samme Bailey, Independent candidate for governor, in Bangor, at Governor's Restaurant, to discuss his view of the situation Maine finds itself in, and how he believes he can help to change that situation if he is elected Governor.

We discussed the economic state of affairs in Aroostook County, what we need to do about the outflow of our "best and brightest," and economic recovery.

"We have, for the past 50 to 100 years, let large companies come in...but we don't require their management to be there. It's always out of state management. So when...the company gets ready to go under, you don't have any management expertise that can continue it. And that culture needs to change."

Michelle Anderson: North of Bangor

Michelle Anderson Interviews Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Jacobson Pt 1

I had the opportunity to sit down at Starbucks Coffee in Bangor to talk to candidate Matt Jacobson about Plum Creek, LURC, local control, and opportunity in Maine.

"LURC, it seems to me that there's a faction of people who want to use LURC and turn northern Maine into a national park and forbid any kind of opportunity.

"I think that this is one of those cases where local control is really important. The people in northern Maine ought to decide the development and the plans for northern Maine, not bureaucrats out of Augusta..."



Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Jacobson Pt. 2

"In Maine right now, 25% of our kids drop out of high school. Within ten years of starting high school, only 25% have a one-, two-, or four-year degree. So that means that within ten years of high school, half the kids -- their highest attainment is high school. That's not good enough...I recruit companies every day, and not one of them has ever asked me for an ignorant workforce."

(There is a small repetition of the last part of the first half of the interview for continuity's sake.)

Michelle Anderson Interviews Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Bruce Poliquin, 9/28 Michelle Anderson: North of Bangor

Bruce Poliquin Interview Part 1

Earlier this month, I met with Bruce Poliquin at the Woodlands Country Club in Falmouth.

Over our coffee, we discussed his thoughts about taxes, Dirigo, MaineCare, and LURC.

"We haven't reduced taxes at all. We've just changed the way we collect the same amount of money."



Michelle Anderson: North of Bangor

Bruce Poliquin Interview Part 2

In the second half of our interview with Bruce Poliquin, he discussed his thoughts on a county form of government, use taxes, infrastructure, and education.

"We need to not only...reduce our taxes. We need to be dead serious about controlling our costs because if we can get our costs under control and live within our means, then that will support tax reductions. And then we will have the assets that we need to focus on our high energy costs, to focus on a better educational service and experience for our citizens."

Michelle Anderson Interviews Lynne Williams, 9/1/09 Michelle Anderson: North of Bangor

Lynne Williams Interview Part 2

I recently had coffee with Lynne Williams, the Green candidate for governor. We sat down in Border's Bookstore's cafe and discussed why northern Mainers would want to vote for Lynne Williams.

Lynne, a lawyer who holds a doctorate in psychology, explained her stance on windpower, clean coal, and nuclear power, as well as other issues which affect those of us who are North of Bangor.

"The Green Party has officially come out against the recent tax bill...and we're collecting signatures for that repeal. The reason we did that is that we have always believed -- and I believe this too -- that sales tax are a regressive tax. They are not progressive. So we're increasing it, and it is not just tourists who are going to be paying these sales taxes. Haircuts? My son's barber said to me, 'So people are going to be paying this sales tax, and they're going to be giving me less of a tip.' It is wrong. It is harmful to working people. That's why we're not supporting it.



Lynne Williams Interview Part 1