What distinguishes me in the race is the fact that I have broadest leadership experience, including local government, business, the law, 17 years in clean energy and 20 years and three combat tours as a Maine Army National Guard leader.

In terms of specific proposals that differentiate me, I have offered more specific policy proposals than any other candidate running for governor, which can be found at www.coteformaine.com The central focus of my campaign is growing Maine’s economy. Two major proposals I have put forward to create growth deal with making Maine a national leader on clean energy and a $75 million-$100 million investment in a modern, flexible workforce development system.

I focus on how to finance the ideas, we may all support them but I seem to be the reality check to discussing financing them.

Of the seven of us, I’ve spent the most time coordinating community-level services, and I’m going to bring that experience to the Blaine House, leading the growth and coordination of community health services across Maine.

Several of us have a progressive vision for Maine, including single-payer health care, funding our schools and passing stronger gun safety laws. I’m the only one who can pair that progressive vision with a proven track record of progressive leadership, as a family therapist, as a legislator and as Speaker of the House.

I have the experience, track record and proven values to repair the damage from the last eight years and turn Maine around. My opponents and I largely agree on what we must do to address the challenges facing Maine — access to high-quality and affordable health care, economic development, fully funding education, investments in infrastructure and broadband, family leave and supporting a decent minimum wage, among others — but I have the know-how to get these critical policies implemented, right from Day One.

One key area where I’ve spoken out is the opioid crisis. I’ve published a detailed 10-point plan to begin to turn the tide, focusing on prevention and education, treatment and rehabilitation.

When we all do better, we all do better. Maine needs a new New Deal, one that builds a sustainable economy by investing in our workers. Whether it’s a state job guarantee program, a public option retirement system, paid sick and parental leave or a universal health care system, we must build an economy that works for everyone. And that requires a New Deal for Maine.

The No. 1 issue that makes me different from all the other candidates is that I am the only Democrat running clean, and therefore cannot be influenced by special interest money. That means my only loyalty will be to the people of Maine — never big donors, corporate PACS or wealthy lobbyists. In terms of a unique idea, I will give every Maine high school graduate two years of free college in exchange for one year of community service. This will not only help students afford higher education, but also help strengthen our communities.

The biggest challenge facing Maine is that we have an economy that lags New England and the country on job, income and economic growth — and we have a shrinking, aging population. Everything I would do as governor would be part of a strategy to reverse both of those facts and build an economy that works for all Mainers. I would create growth and jobs by focusing on three priorities: building Maine’s infrastructure, especially fiber-based broadband; investing in a new, modern, flexible workforce development system so we are not leaving any Mainers behind; and championing and supporting sectors where Maine has competitive advantages. Some of those areas include clean energy, next generation forest products, agriculture, aquaculture, biopharmaceuticals, brewing, tourism, recreation and traditional sporting.

I believe the increase in revenue through expansion of existing business and the development of new businesses will help, but also making sure that all Mainers are paying their share of the infrastructure. For example, we have many temporary Mainers who have second homes in Maine, but do not pay any income taxes in Maine. I am interested in discussing a sliding scale user fee for those individuals, based on the value of their property in Maine and have that fee included as a separate line on their tax bill — not a one-time deal, billed yearly. We need to take some financial burden off Mainers, who pay income taxes in the State of Maine.

Maine is one of the oldest states in the country, and as governor, I’ll work with communities across the state to make sure that seniors in every town and city in Maine have access to the resources they need to age at home without anxiety or fear.

Rising wealth and income inequality and the fact that the deck is stacked in favor of the corporations, wealthy and well connected.

Wages are stagnant because corporate interests have blocked or watered down efforts to raise the minimum wage.

Children are going hungry and schools are struggling to find teachers because the wealthy have pushed massive budget cuts in order to give themselves a tax break.

Maine people are suffering and dying because they can’t afford basic medical care because insurance company executives have crippled our public health options.

We can reverse all of these trends if we have a governor who is willing to stand up to the powerful interests. I have stood up for struggling people my entire life and I will do so as governor.

Over the last decade, 7,708 babies were born affected by drugs — 1,024 in 2016 alone — representing approximately 8 percent of all live births in Maine. At least one person a day dies of a drug overdose.

As attorney general, I’ve made tacking the opioid crisis one of my top priorities. That’s why I’ve repeatedly brought pharmaceutical companies to court for lying about their products’ dangers and used settlement funds to provide Narcan to law enforcement agencies across the state, a program which has saved more than 450 lives to date.

Among other policies, we should expand drug courts that provide medication-assisted treatment and counseling instead of jail, increase the number of treatment slots across Maine, put recovery coaches on call at emergency rooms and clinics, and allow families that need it to purchase Narcan over-the-counter.

Every family should have a family doctor. The lack of affordable health care is Maine’s single biggest challenge. Even people with health insurance are not going to the doctor because their insurance doesn’t cover it or they are nervous about unexpected out-of-pocket expenses. It’s time to get the profits out of our health care system and build a Medicare for all system in Maine — one that covers health, dental, vision and hearing. It’s the path out of our opioid crisis, and it’s the path forward to a better quality of life for all Mainers.

Our biggest challenge is health care costs. I would implement a single-payer system to ensure every Mainer has high-quality health care, no matter what their income level is and no matter where they live.

For the past seven-plus years Maine’s economy has lagged New England and the country on job, income and economic growth. The data also show that is it Maine’s rural communities — like Sanford, the former mill town I grew up in — that have been hit the hardest. That is not a record we want to continue. We need change. Raising the minimum wage was one important step in the right direction. My detailed workforce plan, “Leave No Mainer Behind: The Maine Human Capital Investment Fund,” is another important step to connect Maine workers to the skills they need to enter higher-wage careers. There are hundreds of Maine businesses that could expand and grow if they could find workers with the right skills — and thousands of Mainers are looking for ways to get the skills they need to get those higher-paying jobs. My plan addresses that directly. My clean energy plan would also help create tens of thousands of good jobs across Maine. Just one example: There are 15,000 plumbers, electricians, installers, designers and more installing solar systems for residents and businesses in Massachusetts. Yet in Maine, where we have even more sun and energy potential, there are less than 400 jobs. My third proposal has to do with helping innovative small- and medium-size businesses get started and grow in across Maine. Finally, across all these initiatives, I will be a governor who champions an inclusive, positive vision of Maine as a place where the best and brightest people, entrepreneurs and businesses are invited and welcomed to live, work and enjoy our incredible quality of life, no matter where they are from, how they worship, what color they are or who they love.

The low 3 percent unemployment rate does not reflect the needs of existing businesses to hire more people. We need to be keeping our youth from leaving the state but also must develop training for the new workforce. This will allow businesses to grow and bring in additional revenue and pay their employees higher wages.

Currently Maine as a state minimum wage is $10, when in fact each city could establish a minimum wage above that. For example, the City of Portland has an ordinance and their minimum wage is $10.68 for everyone that works in Portland. Massachusetts has a minimum wage of $11.00, Vermont $10.50, and I would like to work on a competitive wage scale that would begin with $12 and look at increases of approximately 75 cents each July starting in 2019. By July 2023, Maine could have a minimum wage of $15. We need to work with business to help them grow and be in a financial position to increase the minimum wage, but for them to also increase their older employees’ wages to reflect the direction Maine would be going to have livable household incomes.

Maine voters overwhelmingly support raising our minimum wage, and as governor, I’ll go to bat for Maine workers to make sure that every employer in Maine treats their workers with the decency and respect that every human being deserves.

The low unemployment rate is a fig leaf for an economy that has left too many Mainers behind. Wages are stagnant while poverty rates and childhood hunger have ballooned under Paul LePage and Mary Mayhew.

The obvious first step is to continue to implement and work to expand the increase in the minimum wage that voters passed in 2016. Since the wage increases went into effect, despite the wild claims of Republican leaders, wages and employment are both up. It’s now time for a $15 minimum wage in Maine and across the country.

Next we need to get more Mainers into higher-paying jobs. I will bring together public education and the private sector, region by region, to identify workforce needs in each area and align vocational, community college and four-year degree programs with those regional needs.

We must make Maine community colleges and public universities tuition-free for every Maine student so that young people don’t have to choose between lacking the skills they need and decades of debt.

We can also increase workers’ take home pay by reducing the crippling costs of health care. I would allow Mainers to buy into a public health care option so that competition will drive down premium costs. Further I would stand up to the big pharmaceutical companies that make it harder for families to access affordable generic medications.

First, we have to ensure a livable minimum wage.

Second, we have to defend workers’ right to collective bargaining, as I’ve been proud to do as AG.

Third, we have to look at the cost of living. One effect of the LePage tax cuts has been skyrocketing property taxes, as financial burdens are shifted to towns and cities, which disproportionately hurts seniors and working- and middle-class Mainers. I support restoring revenue sharing and fully funding the state's education obligations, which would lessen the burden on homeowners.

Fourth, wages are only part of the story. We need to ensure that workers can take paid leave to care for family members, and that child care is safe, reliable and affordable, starting with accepting federal child care funds the current administration has turned down or left unused.

Five and finally, we have to create the type of good jobs that pay more, from clean energy to technology. That means investing in education, research and development, and modern infrastructure including broadband to every part of the state.

Again, we need a New Deal for Maine, one that increases wages to at least $15 per hour and ensures affordable health care for all. We also need to create a public option retirement system to supplement Social Security so that seniors can retire in dignity — even seniors who worked in lower-wage jobs most of their life. Finally, if we are serious about catalyzing our economy, we must create a state public bank like the Bank of North Dakota. By investing our treasury locally, instead of the Wall Street banks, we can have a greater return on our investments.

First, we need to implement a $15-an-hour minimum wage statewide. Bringing up the wages of our lowest earners will help all of our state and communities. The next piece is our state must invest in higher education. As governor, I would make this investment a priority.

Augusta has lacked strong leadership on gun safety for far too long. This is an area where Janet Mills and I disagree. I think she was wrong to be one of only four Democrats who joined with Republicans to defeat a 2006 measure the NRA opposed to allow victims of domestic violence who had been granted a “protection from abuse order” by a judge to be notified if their abuser tried to purchase a gun. The bill lost by five votes. (House Roll-call #537, LD 1938, April 27, 2006)

I am proud to have the support of Moms Demand Action and to have earned their “Gun Sense Candidate” distinction. I know more about weapons than anyone else running for governor, as someone who grew up hunting in Maine and served three combat tours with the Maine Army National Guard. I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, but I will bring all stakeholders together and provide the leadership required to take effective action. Specifically, I support:

• Banning high-capacity magazines that turn any gun into what most people think of as assault weapons. There is no need for people to be carrying the same firepower I carried in combat in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan on our streets here in Maine.
• Effective background checks: Anyone who wants to buy a gun needs to show they are not a danger to themselves or others, which means effective background checks, and anyone who wants to carry a gun needs to demonstrate they know how to use it safely and responsibly. As a leader, I will make sure rural Mainers and sportsmen and women are part of the design of this law so that it can win the support it needs to become law.
• Ban bump stocks: These devices turn a rifle into a machine gun. As most people across the spectrum understand, they have no place and must be banned.
• Red flag law: I support my primary opponent Mark Dion’s legislation to create a temporary way that law enforcement or concerned individuals could petition a court to remove guns from individuals who present a danger to themselves or others.
• Comprehensive approach: We also need to stop gutting our health care system, provide funding to make our schools and students safe, make sure parents and guardians know what resources are available for young people or anyone in crisis, and whether our culture is desensitizing young people to violence and what we can do about that.

I believe a key to a strong gun control policy is to include individuals who are currently involved with guns and the general public and establish a mutual goal of addressing what we all can do to increase safety for the public. From that goal, develop adequate policies and implementation processes to minimize the number of occurrences and the number of people and families devastated by the improper use of guns. Some suggestions include proper training in the use of guns and the cause and effect of illegal possession of guns. With my limited experience pertaining to guns, I do feel we should respect individuals’ 2nd Amendment rights, but respect the individuals’ rights to feel safe; terminate the manufacturers’ ability to sell assault weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines to the general public; work at establishing a buyback program that can be implemented over a number of years to buy back the assault weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines currently circulating in public; and establish an extensive background check, which should involve the utilization of a database that has been developed by the accumulation of information from all State and Federal Agencies. That database should possibly include information on individuals convicted of abuse; include individuals’ mental health challenges, which may create safety concerns to public or self; and include data pertaining to individuals being released from prison with existing records of use of weapons in criminal offenses. One area I do want to acknowledge — the NRA is highlighted as the bad guy, with enough money in politics to sway the regulations. That could be very true, but there is a second part to that organization, which provides very strong rules and regulations in the proper use of guns. We need to bring them to the table along with organizations such as Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and Maine Registered Guides. I believe we all have a common good for safety in our state; we need to establish a goal and implementation of that goal.

Step one, we have to reach out to responsible gun owners and bring them into that effort. Step two, we must make sure that we have a Community Protection Order system in place, like the one I’ve been leading in the State House, to ensure that we have a straightforward way to disarm people who pose a threat to themselves or those around them.

For too long, the gun manufacturers’ lobby has scared political leaders into silence on this issue. That time is past. I am not afraid to stand up the NRA lobbyists. I did it for years as Speaker of the House.

I’m proud of my career “D” rating from the NRA. I earned it by pushing for universal background checks, licenses for concealed handguns and stiffer penalties for illegal gun purchases.

We need a background check on every gun purchase in Maine. Now. We need red flag laws so that we can get guns out of the hands of dangerous people before they act. Now. We need to ban high capacity magazines, bump stocks, and assault weapons. Now.

Just last month, I worked with senator and fellow candidate Mark Dion to craft and pass a "red flag" bill that would allow courts to remove guns from people found to pose a danger to themselves or their communities. And long before this this year, I was fighting to end the scourge of domestic violence homicides — by far the most common form of gun violence in our state — including co-founding the Maine Women's Lobby and passing a bill to ensure survivors of domestic violence were notified if an individual with a restraining order against them tried to obtain a firearm. Most importantly, I helped enact a law to allow judges to remove guns from domestic abusers — a critical law that has saved hundreds of lives.

We won’t get work done on this crucial issue with bluster or empty promises. Instead, progress will require an experienced leader that can bring law enforcement officials, sportswomen and sportsmen, reformers and community leaders to the table to chart a collective path. As governor, I will be committed to that task, and to bringing the people of our state together to keep Maine safe for generations to come.

I credit Gov. Paul LePage and Emily Cain with working together to reduce access to guns to people who commit family violence, but we need to do more to prevent guns from getting into the hands of violent people. Responsible gun owners have a code of honor that is deeply grounded in safety and respect for the weapon. They do not want their reputation sullied by violent people any more than parents want to send their kids to school wondering if their school will be the next Columbine or Parkland. We must restrict bump stocks, high-capacity magazines and weapons of war. I was taught at an early age that you don’t go hunting with trigger-happy people. So why would we put guns in the hands of violent people?

Yes. We need to implement universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, a waiting period and a limit on magazines' size. As the only clean election candidate in the race, I am uniquely able to stand up to the NRA and the gun lobby.

I am in favor of a tax code that supports job creation, Maine’s economic competitiveness and helps all Mainers succeed, whether than means helping existing Maine businesses succeed and grow or attracting new businesses to the state. While not a tax code proposal per se, my workforce proposal, "The Maine Human Capital Investment Fund," will be a major benefit for Maine businesses. It will create a system where businesses can develop the skilled workers they need to expand and compete in a fast, flexible, nonbureaucratic way. That might include helping workers borrow on their own to get the needed skills, helping incentivize in-house company apprenticeship programs or other paths that connect more Maine workers to good jobs.

I have toured upwards of 40 businesses across Maine and many of them, like a boatbuilding company I visited recently, have similar stories. This company’s leaders told me they could easily expand and grow their business by 30 percent right now if they could find the workers to increase production. If you multiply that story times 500 or 1,000 in manufacturers across the state, that is a massive, important growth opportunity for Maine’s GDP.

I want any business tax incentives to have tangible, reportable metrics that tie back to more jobs and more opportunity for Maine people. I am not excited about just throwing money at out of state investors who are not invested in the success of Maine or Maine communities.

Everything we do should be considered a step up, and not a way a business should operate for years and years. We have tax incremental financing, pine tree zones and we do have tax relief to many organizations that have existed for many years. I want the full system to be evaluated and measure its successes. How long has each business been supported by the state, what was the increase of employees and why are they not self-sufficient after 5 years? We need to determine the best use of state financial supports so other businesses that already exist in Maine can expand. Most of those businesses are rooted in Maine and have proven their strength and desire to grow but mostly to stay in Maine.

Maine has always been a small-business state. While we must do what we can to attract employers of all sizes, we must also vastly improve the quality of our state’s roads, broadband infrastructure, health care services and educational systems if we truly want to spur that growth.

Carefully targeted, closely monitored and time-limited tax incentives can play a role in our overall economic policy agenda. For the last eight years, they have been used to further shift our tax code toward the wealthy and powerful and away from struggling Mainers.

Maine currently gives away in tax incentives — so called “tax expenditures” — more than the entire state budget. As governor, I will review these legacy incentives to ensure that they are producing well-paying jobs with good benefits and high standards of worker safety. If they are not, I will hold the corporations accountable.

Going forward, I will push legislation that will limit incentives to only those that produce measurable increases in high-quality employment. I will monitor the businesses closely to ensure they produce promised results and, if not, I will institute clawback provisions so that businesses cannot benefit from underperformance.

I believe we must ensure any form of incentives to locate or grow businesses in Maine come with strong provisions to claw back funds if the promised jobs or investments don’t materialize. Far too often, tax breaks are handed out, companies fail to hold up their end of the bargain, and the taxpayer is left holding the bag.

I believe investments in infrastructure, a reliable energy grid, and a great education system are the best way to create long-term economic growth and attract new companies, not tax giveaways. While some carefully targeted programs have been successful, especially when closely tied to performance and good jobs with benefits, we need far better accountability for such projects.

Maine needs to think beyond tax credits for economic growth and to attract businesses. First, if we had universal health care, businesses would see that as one less cost to their bottom line, and this would be a great place to set up shop. Second, a state public bank would allow us to use some of our treasury to invest in infrastructure — roads, bridges, transportation and broadband deployment — student loans and small-business loans. By focusing on those key investments, we can ensure we have attractive infrastructure, increase the college attainment rate of our workforce and provide a rational means to startup or growth capital. Finally, we need to let OPEGA do its work in analyzing tax expenditures and providing data to the Legislature that can help better determine the usefulness of individual tax breaks.

No. There is no accountability in the corporate welfare — yes, that is what I call it — we give away and these subsidies have taken money from much more effective ways to grow our economy. I will make it a top priority of my administration to get rid of corporate welfare.

I think anyone who can work needs to work. Like every person in Maine, I am against any kind of fraud. The point that needs to finally be made here, and the one I have been waiting to hear anyone in Augusta say, is this: Beating up on poor people is not an economic growth strategy. Because we have not had effective economic leadership for the past seven-plus years, Maine has lagged New England and the country on job, income and economic growth. When I am governor, we will rebuild Maine’s health infrastructure from the awful mismanagement of the past seven years. We will work aggressively to make sure no child and no senior citizen in Maine is hungry, since food insecurity has increased in Maine under the current administration. Most importantly we will lead and shift the conversation from scapegoating poor people and immigrants to working hard together on rebuilding Maine’s infrastructure, especially broadband; on creating an innovative, modern workforce development system; and on growing Maine’s jobs and businesses where Maine has competitive advantages in areas like clean energy, next-generation forest products, agriculture, aquaculture, biopharmaceuticals, brewing, boatbuilding and others.

The system is meant to be a helping hand, not a lifestyle. Some individuals need assistance due to age or physical disabilities, but individuals should be required to work for any support they receive — and they should only receive a set amount per week or per month, not to exceed the minimum wage level. Those that currently hurt the system are abusers, but the system needs to make sure that Maine is not providing an easy out to not working. Those able to work should be lower funded than an individual would receive in an entry-level position.

It’s not too generous. What’s been missing, however, is a serious public investment in Maine’s neighborhood-level services and institutions. When our neighborhoods are strong, it improves the lives of all of us.

Paul LePage and Mary Mayhew have done everything they can to demonize struggling Mainers and make them suffer as much as possible. In today’s society, what family you are born into matters a lot more to your success than your ability, effort or intentions. That’s not the kind of society I want to live in.

I want a society where every Mainer, whether they were born in a mansion, a trailer park or a refugee camp, has access to basic human needs — food, housing, health care, an education. Without these basics, no one can get a job, raise a family or live their version of the American Dream.

Medicaid, food stamps, TANF and general assistance make these basic needs attainable for thousands of Mainers. The LePage-Mayhew cuts do not.

Let’s start with one particularly egregious example where we’re falling short as a state — food security. Today, Maine ranks third in the nation for "very low food security" — that is, hunger.

Food insecurity is a complex phenomenon, but at least one factor is clear. The LePage administration has remained committed to an ideological crusade against people living in poverty, purging tens of thousands of Maine families from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, even as more and more Mainers go hungry each year. Teachers, especially in rural areas, report that their classes are full of children too distracted by empty stomachs to focus. Food pantries can’t keep their shelves stocked.

There is no reason that Maine children should go hungry, and as governor, I’m committed to reversing this trend. I’d start by:

• Repealing the asset test that penalizes families for saving.
• Taking advantage of the USDA policy allowing states to apply for broader aid in places that have experienced high unemployment, largely in western and northern Maine.
• Growing the local food economy — small farms, processors and distributors — by supporting programs like Maine Harvest Bucks, which allow SNAP receipts to get doubles their money's worth of fresh, local produce at farmers’ markets, retail stores, co-ops, and farm stands.
• Bringing advocates, public health experts, educators, and affected communities to the table to develop policies that ensure no Maine person is forced to go without food.

We have gutted the social safety net to such a degree that we are now seeing the devastating consequences through the unnecessary and predictable opioid crisis and the tragic deaths of children who were let down by the system. We must strategically invest in areas that will help lift people out of poverty and protect our kids. However, we must also address the “cliff” whereby a family can lose nearly all their benefits immediately simply by earning a dollar too much. We must allow people to step off of public services, lest we incentivize people to work less.

It is not too generous. LePage has systematically cut it back and made it harder for people to survive. I would lift time limits and give people more job training.

I support expanding health care coverage to 70,000 Mainers. I support honoring the will of Maine people who have voted for Medicaid expansion. I support the obvious economic benefits for Maine of adding over $500 million per year to support rural hospitals, doctors, nurses, CNA’s, etc. This question is based on years of flawed logic and blind, partisan ideology from the current administration. There are 38 states in the country, including 19 with Republican governors, who have expanded Medicaid because they know it is the right thing to do for their people and their economy. In every one of those states, data show they get back between $1.35 and $1.85 for every dollar spent. The other absurd point about this argument is this: Before the Affordable Care Act, the state only received about 70 cents on the dollar from the federal government for care under Medicaid. Under the ACA, the state gets 100 percent reimbursement, dropping eventually to 90 percent — still far better than in the past. For all these reasons, I will expand Medicaid on my first day in the Blaine House, and then turn to the job of expanding access to quality, affordable health care to every Mainer.

I would first want to audit the Medicaid fund. There are a number of other programs in which the state receives 6 percent of the total funds paid out in a user fee that goes into the Medicaid account. I want to evaluate how those funds are utilized. The funding will never be higher than 10 percent of the full cost — currently the state would be paying 6 percent and in 2020 it would be frozen at 10 percent.

There’s $500 million on the table in D.C. There’s money in Augusta in our surplus that would enable us to access that initial investment, and I think we should go get it. Maine’s politicians need to step up and serve the needs, and the will, of the people of Maine.

I absolutely support Medicaid expansion; during my two terms as Speaker, we passed it five times. If LePage hasn’t followed the law by Jan. 2019, expanding Medicaid would be my first act as governor.

As for funding, the governor has lied through his teeth to well-meaning legislators and made them believe that we need extra money before we can fund expansion. It’s not true. The Medicaid Trust Fund has enough money to expand Medicaid now without any additional revenue.

We do need a long-term solution to pay the state’s very small share of the cost of expansion. Tapping one-time tobacco settlement money would be only a temporary fix and those funds could be better spent on life-saving prevention and treatment programs for opioid addiction and improving our public health infrastructure.

We do need additional revenue and I believe it’s time the wealthiest started paying their fair share again. We need to make our state income tax more progressive, close corporate tax loopholes and broaden our sales tax base.

The evidence is overwhelming that states that take advantage of the Medicaid expansion have seen lower health care costs, healthier citizens, more stable hospital systems and stronger economic growth. Approximately 70,000 Maine people will gain access to health insurance. Increased access to addiction treatment and counseling will be critical as we confront the opioid epidemic across our state. And the federal government will pick up 90 percent of the tab, bringing hundreds of millions of dollars into Maine.

It’s important to be clear that Medicaid expansion is the law of the state right now. There is absolutely no excuse for further delay by Gov. Paul LePage. What’s more, my office has secured over $35 million in new funds for Maine by holding Big Tobacco accountable — more than enough to cover the first year of startup costs even if LePage’s excuses were true.

Lastly, I believe we need to audit the Medicaid account to see how much money is there already, and fully fund expansion from those funds and general revenue, which are more than adequate.

Yes, I support Medicaid expansion and there is plenty of money already in the Medicaid account to fund it. The fact is that we can’t afford not to do it.

I 100 percent support Medicaid expansion and would pay for it through a surcharge on our wealthiest residents. Although, fully expanding Medicare will actually end up saving the state money.

There are so many ways a good leader can help the State of Maine and improve the lives of Mainers beyond bill signings — which certainly are important. I have the broadest leadership experience in the race including local government experience, business, law and clean energy experience and 20 years and three combat tours with the Maine Army National Guard. Here are five important ways I would lead as governor:

1. Positive, inclusive leadership: I will spend my time highlighting the positive stories of Mainers who are building and growing our state, not doing dog-whistle politics that continuously scapegoats poor people and new Mainers. Everyone from the first Mainers — Maine’s Native American tribes — to new Mainers will be welcome and have their voices heard.
2. Working together in Augusta: We need a reset and a turn away from the poison politics of the past seven years. I can offer that because I do not have baggage and will come in as a fresh leader. This governor has also failed to build relationships with legislators and he has even refused to allow his own commissioners to testify before the Legislature on issues. That is ridiculous. I and the team I bring in will be constructive, serious people who want to move the state forward.
3. Keep rural Mainers voices involved: An awful lot of people in rural Maine communities feel like they have been left behind or are not heard in Augusta. I come from a rural community. I share some of those feelings and will be sure to both spend time in rural Maine listening to people as governor and to make sure rural Maine voices are heard in Augusta.
4. Championing Maine workers and businesses: I almost never see this governor actively involved in promoting, bragging about or traveling the country and world to help Maine workers and businesses succeed. I would do that every month, week and day I serve in the Blaine House. Whether it is going to trade shows or investing more in promoting our industries, I see that role — championing and promoting the Maine brand and story to the rest of the country — as a key component of our governor’s role in growing Maine’s economy and growing our population.
5. Bring leaders together, leveraging strategic investments: One of Maine’s fundamental challenges is finding the money for smart investments because we are a relatively small economy, and lagging others in terms of growth. A key role for our next governor is to bring public, private and not-for-profit leaders together and work to coordinate efforts and investments more effectively. I would also make sure we had an aggressive approach to finding and securing federal dollars to support Maine’s economic development priorities.

As the former mayor of Biddeford for 6 years, you quickly realize that the chief administrator is responsible for the entire operations of the state. You need to be accountable for setting the direction of each department, addressing crisis and determining the position the State of Maine wants to take. The governor is responsible for current uses of state revenue and making recommendations for more efficient use of funds. The governor is also the national and international networker to market our state and its products. The governor must also keep a working relationship with the state’s representatives in Washington. The governor cannot be focused just on signing bills, which is important, but the larger picture of where Maine needs to go in the future in all aspects — education, training and development of new workforce, environmental issues — to maintain a quality of life that lures out-of-staters to Maine to spend their vacation and improve our economy. This just touches the tip of what the governor must do daily.

The governor has to be a moral leader, and I’ll champion right action and condemn wrongdoing wherever it exists in our state. The people of Maine work hard to be positive role models for their families, and they deserve nothing less from their leader.

First and foremost, by using the bully pulpit of the Blaine House to tell the real story of how Mainers are struggling and how powerful interests have profited off of their hardships. For eight years, we’ve had a governor who spent every day trying to blame immigrants, minorities and poor people for everything that’s wrong with our state, while cutting taxes for the wealthy and services for needy families.

It’s time we had a governor who will shed a little light on the stranglehold that the wealthy and powerful have on our government and that it is greed at the top that stands in the way of a state and economy that work for everyone.

Appointments to boards and state positions are perhaps the most critical and most frequently overlooked role of the governor. We need a Public Utilities Commission that stands up for ratepayers and supports renewable energy, a Department of Environmental Protection that puts our clean air and water first, a DHHS commissioner whose mission is to serve vulnerable Mainers, and a Department of Education commissioner who understands the challenges students and teachers face.

Beyond that, for the last eight years, the governor has denigrated the citizens of Maine and our beautiful state at every turn. He’s said our teachers are "a dime a dozen," claimed our kids were looked down upon when they went to college, and called Western Maine "mosquitoland" in front of Congress. Enough is enough. I want to tell the world what an incredible state we have here, with a tremendous work ethic, huge opportunities and a unique quality of life.

We can start by not making national headlines for saying terrible things. As a lifelong Mainer whose roots can be traced back to the 1600s, I am tired of being embarrassed. That’s just a baseline, though. A governor should be the cheerleader of the state, setting a tone of welcome and support so that we can foster a real sense of shared identity and commitment to persevere and build something greater. The greatest and most dangerous gift is that of hope. It can tear down walls and build bridges. It can start revolutions and end wars. As governor, I’d like to bring hope back to my home state.

Other than implementing important policy and following up on constituent issues, the governor must set a tone of the importance of taking care of each other. We have to rebuild the social fabric of a state that has always looked out for one another, and that tone starts at the top.

One of the great failures of “politics as usual” at both the state and national level has been our inability to maintain our existing infrastructure or invest in new, competitive infrastructure like high-speed broadband and smart grid technology.

While the American Society of Civil Engineers has given Maine a "C-" on its 2016 report card and noted that literally billions of dollars are needed to shore up drinking water, wastewater, roads and bridges, the current administration has done very little to take advantage of what have been historically low interest rates to propose any kind of bold vision for building Maine’s competitive infrastructure. For anyone with any business sense, this is just an awful missed opportunity for our state and our people. In fact, according to the most recent U.S. Census data, Maine ranks 46th in the country in terms of per capita public investment in infrastructure.

I have made rebuilding Maine’s infrastructure a top priority. I would bond aggressively, work to get every possible federal dollar available and look for innovative ways to attract smart investments that leverage public dollars and make them “build more.” There is a lot of innovative work going on in the country to try to accelerate investments in infrastructure and I would make it a priority that Maine be a leading innovator.

As I discuss on my website and in my clean energy plan, the idea of natural infrastructure and resilience will be central to all infrastructure planning across Maine state government under my administration. We have to understand our changing climate is an important factor in what we build and how we build it. One example: smart land conservation policies over the next 10-20 years could prevent the need for ratepayers to get charged for building a $75 million-$100 million water filtration plant in southern Maine.

I am a very conservative Democrat and can relate to the recent 2016 ranking of Mainers. Mainers ranked No. 2 in terms of lowest percentages of unbanked household income, No. 3 in lowest percentages of people who spend more than they earn. We must not injure the State of Maine, we must improve it. Any financial structure must always be in a position that short-term assets exceed short-term liabilities to stay ahead and not be in a deficit. The State of Maine is currently approximately 6 percent ahead on revenue, but we need to evaluate what we gave up to get to that point. We also need to evaluate and discuss the cost of not repairing our infrastructure and the value of the dollar down the road. We need to establish capital budgets that project and prioritize the needs of the infrastructure and what it would take to upgrade. Additional revenue could come from utilizing a user fee for non-Maine residents who do not pay any income taxes to Maine. Determine the annual user fee they pay to help pay for the infrastructure and possibly decrease the transportation bond needed. It is not black and white — we would need to evaluate all projects, prioritize them and determine the most cost-effective way to upgrade the degrading infrastructure.

No, it’s not sustainable. What we need to do is increase the gas tax and reattach indexing to it. That way it would self-adjust depending on inflation. We should also assess a fee on hybrid and electric vehicles, so their owners will pay their fair share as well.

It’s not sustainable. Though it has its flaws, there is bipartisan agreement that we need to raise the gas tax in order to pay for road maintenance. The worst thing the governor did for transportation was remove indexing of the gas tax.

We also need to move Maine toward more sustainable transportation models. In our state, more greenhouse gases come from transportation than any other sector. We should invest in passenger rail in order to stimulate economic growth and give Mainers and visitors alike cleaner and more affordable transportation options. We should also invest in electric vehicle infrastructure across Maine.

Infrastructure investments are critical to grow Maine’s economy and protect our natural resources. In a time of historically low interest rates, I believe we should be doing much more to invest in a modern, competitive infrastructure backbone for our state. Among other things, that means a statewide plan to bring high-speed broadband to every community — starting with a "dig once" policy that calls for new road construction or major road repairs to lay fiber-optic cables simultaneously, creating huge cost savings. Especially given these low interest rates, bonding and taking advantage of federal matching dollars is a responsible way to fund long-term investments in capital projects, which will pay economic dividends.

Bipartisan solutions are available, but the chief executive has used his authority to stop those proposals from moving forward. Part of being a good leader is getting barriers out of the way of great people and great ideas, especially if that barrier is yourself. I would support those efforts to get our infrastructure fixed while also restoring the indexing of the gas tax to restore consistent revenues.

Borrowing is absolutely appropriate for infrastructure, especially with interest rates so low. In fact, it is the best path. As governor, I will make bonding a cornerstone of rebuilding our great state.

Maine’s three greatest assets are its people, its natural environment and quality of life, and its ability to become a national- and world-leading clean energy producer. I have the most detailed workforce development, conservation and clean energy proposals of anyone in the race, all with the goal of creating bold, progressive economic growth.

Maine people: I visited a Maine boat builder recently and when I asked what their competitive advantage was in a national and global market, I was told without hesitation “our people.” They employed all variety of skilled tradesmen and women and said the pride and passion Maine workers put into the boats they build made their boats more attractive than those built with cheaper labor in other parts of the world. Unfortunately, we have not had a smart economic growth strategy for the past seven years, and as a result, we do not have a dynamic, growing economy with lots of high-wage job opportunities. My “Leave No Mainer Behind: The Maine Human Capital Investment Fund” proposal would invest $75 million-$100 million in a flexible, modern, nonbureaucratic workforce development system.

Maine’s natural environment and quality of life: Maine is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and we have relatively low cost of living, low crime rates and high quality of life. We need to have a governor who tirelessly promotes Maine as an exceptional place to live and work, and who actively, personally tries to recruit quality people and businesses to move here. That is what I would do and, as described in my clean energy plan, I would also work in a comprehensive way to ensure we maintain and improve Maine’s environment.

Maine’s clean energy leadership potential: I have 17 years as a clean energy businessperson and attorney and was recognized by President Barack Obama in 2013 as a “Champion of Change” for my work “as a veteran working to advance clean energy and climate security.” I know Maine can become a national and global leader, producing not just enough clean energy to meet 100 percent of our own needs, but also to become a regional clean power generator. The Gulf of Maine alone has 156 gigawatts of wind energy. For comparison purposes, the State of Maine uses 2.4 gigawatts per year. Maine also has more solar energy potential than Germany, which is currently a world leader in solar. We also know, as I noted in a recent op-ed, that leading in clean energy could mean tens of thousands of good Maine jobs.

Air, Water, People.

Air: Marketing our state for the clean air and its positive impact on our health, forest, wildlife and the many bodies of water that all attract tourism and recreational visitors, which is now a year-round thriving business. We need to be monitoring the air pollutants emitted into the air through smoke stacks of various businesses throughout the state.

Water: Fresh water and pollutants and the restoration of species of fish that diminished during the high levels of mercury. In many rivers and ponds an active effort has been made to clean them up and restoring those to recreational areas, expanding the tourism income.

People: The heart and soul of all businesses. Maine citizens' commitment to their work, their support of a business' mission and vision through citizens' high values and ethics does establish a working atmosphere of respect, accountability and, in turn, assist in the success of any business, small or large. The constant battle for equality of people and the elimination of ongoing inequalities and biases can only result in strengthen our workforce. In marketing our business we want to be noted for the best working environment, livable wages, equitable compensation packages and opportunities for growth within our businesses by providing on-the-job training, open communications of employees who can be empowered in speaking up and taking part in changes in the businesses they are part of. Quality people providing quality products and services — a great brand for Maine’s image.

Our quality of life, our natural resources and our people. People don’t move here to pay less taxes, they move here because they genuinely want to live in Maine. Maine people have a good reputation the world over. We deserves a government that believes in us and is willing to do the hard work ahead to make Maine the best that it can be.

The ingenuity of our people, the stunning beauty of our natural resources and the quality of life that makes Maine appealing to so many.

First, it’s a simple fact that people want to live in Maine. Whether it’s for our natural beauty, our safety or just our way of life, Maine is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the nation. If we can provide great schools and modern infrastructure, that’s a tremendous advantage as we work to attract new Mainers and new employers.

Second, there’s nowhere that can compete with Maine’s natural resources. Sustainable ecotourism is already reviving parts of Maine where the economy has been depressed for far too long — we can do much more to expand on that progress if we reject the false idea that ecological protection and economic growth are incompatible. Similarly, with the right investments and leadership, we have the natural assets to make us a worldwide leader in clean energy, from solar to floating offshore wind — creating thousands of good jobs.

Third, we must do more to encourage the growth of some of our unique industries. Over the last few years, the number of craft breweries and small farms has exploded — our ports, unmatched reputation for authentic, locally-produced food and farming and fishing heritage makes Maine a natural leader in agriculture and aquaculture. We also are home to a burgeoning research-and-development and biopharmaceutical sector, with the potential to create thousands more good-paying jobs. We should support the development of these industries with investments in infrastructure and education, and partner with local governments and small businesses to ensure we fully realize the incredible potential of these fields.

Our quality of place — critical to our way of life and to our future as a destination location. We must again invest in the Land for Maine’s Future program so we can continue to preserve great lands for future generations. We also need to think through with people in Washington County how to plan for sustainable, rational development of the last unspoiled coastline on the East Coast.

Our people — world renowned for being unique, and we must be able to preserve our unique culture and heritage. But we also must invest in our people so that our economy flourishes again.

Our Yankee ingenuity — second to none. There are more backwoods inventors in this state who figure out how to jury-rig contraptions to fix just about any problem. We need to think through how to harness that ingenuity and help turn that “redneck chrome” into new businesses.

The compassion of our people, the work ethic of our people and the independence of our people. I will leverage those assets by nurturing them, encouraging them and getting out of the way. As governor, my job will be to let Maine people get the job done, provide the seeds for growth and inspire.