Hi, I’m Bruce. You may remember me from when I previously served in the Maine Legislature or maybe are just learning about me. Let me tell you a little more.
I am a lifelong Mainer. I grew up in Canton as one of ten kids, raised my daughters in Dixfield, and now I live in Rumford. I can’t think of any place better to live than Oxford County. My priorities have always been to support policies for Maine’s working families, improve access and affordability of health care, strengthen our children’s education, and always being a strong voice and advocate for western Maine.
I worked at the Rumford Paper Mill for 40 years and served as President of Local 900 for four years, while also serving three terms in the Maine House of Representatives. Then, voters elected me to four terms in the Maine Senate where I served until I was termed out in 2010.
I believe that Economic Development is the vehicle that allow us to pay for education, healthcare and all our other needs. If the voters send me back to the Maine Senate, I will continue to advocate for our region. Just as I have done in the past, when I secured over $1.5 million for the River Valley Growth Council, River Valley Technology Center and the ongoing management of the Precision Metal Incubator, Community Dental and the Fractionation Development idea now housed within the University of Maine.
As we develop strategies to increase economic development to the area, I would like to see the diversification of products in the mill. One reason we insisted to keep the old bag mill is that it sits on top of the ground wood mill with lots of cellulose; many products can be made with cellulose – not just paper. Just saying!
A Little History
When I was elected to the Senate in 2002, I sought to serve on the two committees that would benefit our area - Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry. With my prior House experience, I was able to secure the chairmanship of both committees.
As Senate Chair of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, I worked to preserve our hunting and fishing heritage. We did a lot of great things:
Changed the number of people able to hunt together from one to three so it would be legal to go hunting with members of your family! My Dad always like to sit on a stump somewhere.
Created a plan to rebuild our Fish Hatchery System with a $10 million dollar bond that voters passed.
Created the Sportsmen License Plate that creates money for boat launches, hatcheries, biologists and seed money to help get federal grant money.
As Senate Chair of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry:
As a member of the Dairy Task force, I sponsored legislation that created a $5 million dollar fund that created a floor for the pricing of milk to help our dairy farmers.
Sponsored Lands for Maine’s Future Bond and protecting special places like Buck’s Ledge in Woodstock, and lands along the Rapid River and preservation of Katahdin Lake.
Sponsored legislation to stop liquidation harvesting and timber theft.
Much has been done, but there is more to do. Recent strong storms and severe flooding underscore the need to improve our infrastructure, and have plans in place before the next storms hit. We learned a lot from the flood in Canton and I would like to work with other towns to implement mitigation plans and improvements.
If elected again to the Maine Senate, I will be an experienced, strong voice for the people in Oxford and Franklin Counties.