Citizen Legislators Must Listen, Learn, and Lead

As I knock on doors in New Gloucester and other rural areas of District 20, I am increasingly aware of the importance transportation plays in people’s lives: for work, medical appointments, access to food, finances and recreation.

As a State Representative, I was assigned to the Transportation Committee and was also the Legislative Representative to the Maine Public Transit Advisory Council whose membership represented Maine’s seniors, health care services, social workers, and transportation providers among others. Our rural communities are in need of transportation solutions and I look forward to working with the towns in my district on these issues. New Gloucester, for example, has a dedicated “livability group “ and is working towards becoming an Age Friendly Community. 

From my work on transportation I brought back ideas to my district that I felt would help my constituents such as micro bus routes, employer van co-ops and volunteer networks. Volunteer networks is one example of a transportation solution that would assist our senior citizens.  Volunteers, screened and trained, are reimbursed for their costs driving residents where they need to go. I introduced a bill, LD 1258, An Act To Increase Access to Transportation for workforce and Other Essential Transportation needs. This bill would have provided $500,000 each year to expand those volunteer services that have been effective in addressing the needs of families in rural areas, especially seniors. While the bill passed the committee, the House, and the Senate, it was not funded and did not make it to the governor’s desk.

This issue alone has an impact on other issues such as access to childcare, jobs and healthcare. Public transportation solutions are the best, and for some the only way, to fill these needs. Transportation may not create exciting political talking points during a campaign, but for me it is an example of how I view the job of a citizen legislator.  

If elected as your state Senator, I promise to listen to you, learn about the needs in your community and lead in the legislature to find solutions.