The campaign season is in full swing! This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Maine State Democratic Convention in Lewiston. All four Democratic gubernatorial candidates shared their visions for the state of Maine, and delegates from across the state met to vote on and accept the party platform. I also had time to explore the downtown area of Lewiston, and was excited by all of the developments happening within the city.

Community Event
Last Tuesday, May 18th, I went to the East Bayside Neighborhood Association meeting. Did you know that when people talk about Kennedy Park, they are actually talking about only a few buildings near Kennedy Park? The East Bayside neighborhood is bounded on the west by Franklin Arterial, the east by Washington Avenue, the north by Marginal Way, and the south by Congress Street. Thus, when people talk about Kennedy Park they are actually referring to East Bayside.
At their annual meeting, I learned about East Bayside’s new adopt-an-area program to continue improving the quality of life in the neighborhood. Additionally, we heard a great guest speaker talk about the new Lead Safe Housing Federal regulations. Learn more about the new regulations here.

School Observations
Hundreds of people testified before the Education Committee during the legislative session. One of the most memorable speakers we had was Kevin Grover, Maine’s Teacher of the Year. After 45 minutes of testimony and answering questions, he ended with these words: “No matter what we talk about here, no matter what policies you come up with, nothing can replace the experience of observing the interactions between students and teachers.”

This resonated with me, and I decided to visit Portland schools to see first-hand what is going on in our schools. I began my observation tour by visiting King Middle School, East End Elementary School, Riverton School, and Hall Middle School.

* Students are thirsty for knowledge! Teachers are working strategically to meet their needs by adapting to our growing diversity.
* Every school has its own culture and learning methods, but truly the district would benefit from having common standards and schedules.
* The budget cuts will hurt Portland schools: classes sizes will increase and teachers will lose most of their supporting staff.
* We must strengthen our community/public school partnership in order to improve our system.

Question 4 – Economic Development Bond
This is the third in a series covering each bond question that will be on the ballot this June. This week, I explain Question 4, a bond concerning economic development in Maine.

Question 4 reads, “Do you favor a $23,750,000 bond issue to provide capital investment to stimulate economic development and job creation by making investments under the Communities for Maine’s Future Program and in historic properties; providing funding for research and development investments awarded through a competitive process; providing funds for disbursements to qualifying small businesses; and providing grants for food processing for fishing, agricultural, dairy and lumbering businesses within the State and redevelopment projects at the Brunswick Naval Air Station that will make the State eligible for over $39,000,000 in federal and other matching funds?”

From this bond, $1,250,000 would be placed in a new Historic Preservation Revolving Fund. The fund would be used to help qualified nonprofit historic preservation organizations purchase historic properties and then re-sell them at fair market value to new owners with a pledge to preserve, and rehabilitate or restore the properties.

$3,500,000 would be placed in the Communities for Maine’s Future Fund which would provide matching grants to revitalize or rehabilitate downtown areas in cities that need them the most. The Maine Technology Institute would administer $3,000,000 of this bond to provide competitive matching grants for research and development across the State.

$8,000,000 of the bond would be used for redevelopment projects at the Brunswick Naval Air Station. These funds will be used to bring the site up to American Disabilities Act standards and convert it into an economic development center. It is anticipated that the money will leverage $32,500,000 in federal funds. Finally, the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) would administer $8,000,000 of the bond to provide grants and loans to small businesses to preserve and create jobs here in Maine.

This bond provides crucial support to businesses in Maine when we need it most. While Questions 2 and 3 provide investment in infrastructure that create jobs now, this bond is an investment in our future, and will pay dividends for years to come.

Closing
What do you think of the bonds? Are these sounds investments? I’d love to hear what you think, so please reply to this email and let me know!

-Justin