Building care infrastructure and economic equity
What do you see as the biggest barriers and challenges facing the care work industry (child care, elder care and health care) and systemically undervalued and underpaid care workers, 80% of whom are women?
“The biggest challenges we have is pay, and retention, attracting people, training, those are the challenges. I think we need to continue to raise the pay, we need to continue to offer some more training to people, and try to attract more people to this profession, but we really can't unless we're paying them a decent wage and decent benefits. So, I have been a consistent supporter of those issues and making sure that we have more direct care workers.”
Highlights from our conversation on April 16, 2026
“Try to attract more people to this profession, but we really can't unless we're paying them a decent wage and decent benefits.”
Ensuring reproductive and gender-specific healthcare
What do you see as the key policy interventions to protect access to family planning and reproductive health care given recent federal Title X funding cuts?
“Well, I would want to expand rural healthcare and rural access. I have a record of voting in the legislature for expanded family planning services at several levels because of the Title X cuts. And supporting wherever we can at the state level to backfill those cuts because of how important they are. That would be part and parcel of an effort to increase rural healthcare access, and having more medical providers broadly.”
“That would be part and parcel of an effort to increase rural healthcare access, and having more medical providers broadly.”
Ending gender-based and carceral violence
What do you see as the key policy interventions to support sexual assault and domestic violence survivors and protect access to services given recent federal VOCA funding cuts?
“We need to better integrate the domestic violence efforts with our court system. I know that we have victim witness advocates, but I think we need to do a better job of integrating the voices of domestic violence victims in the court process. I'm not sure that we're doing enough on that, but I supported funding for domestic violence prevention programs. I would continue to do that. I consider it a high priority in terms of helping protect women. I voted a few days ago to retain the red flag law. And I also voted a few days ago to try to prevent an expansion of gun rights to some felons. I think we need to do a lot more at the federal and state level to take guns out of the hands of felons.”
“I think we need to do a better job of integrating the voices of domestic violence victims in the court process.”
Developing equitable & accessible government systems
While the federal Equal Rights Amendment has technically been ratified, disputes over a congressional deadline have prevented it from being recognized as the 28th Amendment. How would you see your role in Congress with regard to the ERA?
“I voted repeatedly at the state level to add the ERA to our state constitution. I don't mean to be flippant, but this is pretty much a no-brainer. Well, it should be a no-brainer for most people. I can't imagine a world where we don't recognize that. So I would support a federal ERA, I would support the enforcement of gender equity standards in all federal programs. I think that in terms of economic justice, I think expansion of healthcare will be extremely important, as well as raising wages. We haven't raised the minimum wage in this country for decades. The minimum wage needs to be raised significantly, nationwide. To help women and men, but as you said, many of these lower-paying jobs are held by women, and the people that will benefit from these kind of increases will be mostly women.”
What policies or approaches would you support to ensure all eligible voters can participate in elections, and that people who want to run for office are able to do so?
“One of the things that I would be interested in supporting at the federal level is strengthening the Voting Rights Act in general, nationally. I think the Supreme Court and state legislatures have been allowed to, basically disregard that important legislation. Legislation was essential to moving civil rights forward in the 70s and 80s, and it's been weakened since then, so I'd want to support and strengthen that act. Obviously, I voted against the voter ID. Anything that we're doing to set up barriers to people voting, I'm against.”
“I don't mean to be flippant, but [the ERA] is pretty much a no-brainer. Well, it should be a no-brainer for most people. I can't imagine a world where we don't recognize that.”
One of the things that I would be interested in supporting at the federal level is strengthening the Voting Rights Act in general, nationally.
Other notable quotes
“I would support, first of all, some adjustments to the Social Security formula to recognize the unpaid work. To more equalize the benefits, because Social Security is a primary source of income for so many people over the age of 65, so I would be looking at some of those adjustments, in order to better equalize the situation. In terms of the workforce, I supported paid family medical leave…I would introduce legislation to do that at the federal level, or support legislation that would do that at the federal level.”
“I support the programs we have to attract more doctors and more nurses, but a lot of those individuals end up south of Augusta and are concentrated in the in that area. We have a significant need, throughout the 2nd District, for those services in the Bangor, Lewiston and Augusta areas. So, I would really want to work on rural healthcare, and improve and expand opportunities for doctors and nurses and support staff to come to this region, because we need their help as much as possible. That would be a huge boon if we could bring more of those professionals here. We have a shortage of 2,800 nurses in this state, so it makes it very difficult for us to be able to provide quality care to people.”
“Particularly being from Maine and being from this part of Maine, one of the things I've been really sensitive to is the shortage of access for rural healthcare. We need to provide better services in each of our counties, and we need to provide better support and medical services in general. I have worked with the University of Maine and Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph’s Hospital about a medical school. I strongly feel that a medical school at the University of Maine, in conjunction with the hospitals, could be a teaching hospital, and could provide outreach to a lot of these rural communities.”
“Well, that's… that's an easy one, because I love Maine. I've lived in 2nd District all my life. And I have a small business, even though I won't be… I wouldn't be practicing law, I still have a lot of people here that I… that I care about and want to see, so I would be coming back as often… I think it's important that I go around the entire district, at least a couple times a year. And have staff that's trying to meet with constituents regularly. Sometimes, and I've had to do this in the legislature, is take heat for people who didn't agree with me, but… as long as the whole thing is civil, and we're not out of each other's throats, I'm willing to listen. And I don't have to necessarily agree with that person, but I do think the ability to listen is really important to doing a good job.”
Each profile features direct quotes pulled from candidate’s answers to our questions. Full transcripts of each conversation can be found by clicking here.