Election has statewide significance

Some see Dill-Maietta race as referendum on LePage, while others see only two solid candidates.

   published in the Current    
 

When voters in State Senate District 7 enter the polls May 10 to replace Democrat Larry Bliss, who’s taken a job in another state, the featured bout will be Cynthia Dill, D–Cape Elizabeth, vs. Louis Maietta Jr., R–South Portland. 

But the ballot may not tell the true tale. Since the Dill and Maietta entered the race, a debate has surfaced over whether it is between two strong candidates, both with State House experience, running on their own merits, or, as some liberal activists contend, an early indication of how Mainers feel about Gov. Paul LePage.

“This (election) will be a pretty clear indication of how people are feeling about the first few months of the LePage administration,” said Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant.

However, conservative radio commentator Ray Richardson of Westbrook calls the notion of this special election speaking to statewide politics "a media creation."

"The governor's ability to impact things is by passing his budget," says Richardson. "That hasn't happened yet, and even if it had, it wouldn't go into effect until July 1. For this to be seen as a referendum on Gov. LePage is an absolute joke. It's a farce."

Rockland architect Gerald Weinand, who runs the popular liberal blog DirigoBlue.com, said the stakes are high in a business where perception often leads reality. The race matters, Weinand said, for the same reason Dill says she wants a promotion to the upper chamber in the middle of her House term — a senator simply represents a lot more people.

“Unlike the special election held on March 1 for House District 11, this race between Rep. Dill and former Rep. Maietti will be a referendum, in part, on the LePage administration's first few months in office,” said Weinand. “Rep. Dill has made no secret of her feelings towards Gov. LePage, and she is strong advocate for liberal issues.”

Dill attempted to get the ball rolling on the creation of a recall process, based on what she says were “hundreds” of calls telling her LePage has got to go, barely 100 days into his first term.  The attempt failed, though it didn’t hurt Dill’s liberal credentials, and she reportedly assured caucus voters that she would not focus her campaign on ousting the governor. 

That, said Weinand, coupled with the fact that Bliss retained his seat by a slim 85 votes in the Republican wave that washed LePage into office last fall, means a Dill victory would speak volumes about the governor’s job performance.

“I think Gov. LePage’s behavior during his first months in office can only help Democrats,” agrees Jamie Wager, chairman of the Cape Elizabeth Democratic Committee.

But another prominent Cape resident sees it differently. Eliot Cutler, who, as an independent candidate, ran runner-up to LePage, doesn’t think the race holds any larger political significance.

“It’s very early to have a referendum on the governor first of all,” said Cutler. “Secondly, it’s hard to have a referendum on the governor when he’s not on the ballot. I think this is an election between two able people, both of whom have experience in the House.”

Dill, 46, a civil rights attorney, is now in her third term, having won election to House District 121 in 2006, soon after moving to Cape Elizabeth with her husband and two children following 10 years in South Portland. 

“It was in 2004, when President Bush was re-elected that I became very concerned,” said Dill. “I figured, well, I better stop complaining from the sidelines and get involved.”

A run at the Cape Elizabeth Town Council came up six votes short. The next year bore better fruit, leading the successful legislative run the next year.

Dill’s profile has grown in the last year, as she has become a loud critic of LePage, a blogger on the national left-leaning site Huffington Post, and a quotable source for news organizations looking for a liberal point of view.

Miaetta, 54, is a lifelong resident of South Portland who grew up in the family construction business, serving many years as vice president. A longtime firefighter and dispatcher who holds an associate degree in fire safety from Southern Maine Technical College, Maietta has more recently run a wireless store with his wife and a banquet facility with his three daughters. Currently, he focuses his time on managing two buildings he owns on Broadway in South Portland.

His political career began on the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals, leading to a term on the City Council in 1999 and election to the state Legislature in 2002.

He chose not to run for a second term in order to focus on the banquet facility with his children. However, twin tumults of a faltering economy and a bout with prostate cancer (ultimately successful) led to the sale of the business.

Maietta says his priority, if elected, would be on job creation.

“I’ve knocked on hundreds of doors in the sort amount of time in this campaign, and the number one thing I’m hearing is that people want their children to be able to stay in this state,” he said. “This district is starved for jobs.”

However, although he has made appearances with U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, campaign aid from the governor has been neither solicited nor offered.

“I’m going in as my own person. I’m not going in there as Gov. LePage’s hand-picked guy,” said Maietta. “I’m my own guy.  I’m not a puppet on a string. I’m not going up there (to Augusta) to support the governor’s wish list. I’m going to represent the wish list of my district.“

  

That’s one way of looking at it. Here’s another, courtesy of Weinand: “That Mr. Maietta has not asked Gov. LePage to campaign for him is indicative of how much a political liability the governor has become.”

Regardless of who’s wishlist is being served, Maietta said the best way to secure jobs is to light a fire under state regulators. 

“They absolutely need to wake up,” he said, citing a Western Avenue development built by his brother, Vinnie, allegedly held up by regulatory review at a cost of “40 months and $350,000.” 

“He stuck it out and eventually put 250 people to work there,” said Maietta. “But that coming right at the very worst part of the economy, that could have cost him his business.”

“They (DEP workers) need to do their job – and I totally support the job that they do, being conscious of the environment – but they should be diligently working with developers to put people to work,” said Maietta.

“There’s no doubt that bureaucracy has been creeping at the state and local level,” said Dill. “I’m a firm believer in streamlining government and making it more efficient.”

However, Dill is dubious of Republican efforts to ease the path to development.

“I believe government plays an important role in reasonably regulating corporate greed,” she said. “Clearly people with legitimate concerns should have their concerns addressed. I’m open to that. Regulatory red tape should be cut at every chance, but at the same time, I think it’s foolish, as in the governor’s initiative, to roll back environmental laws and basically do the bidding of huge corporations.

“I don’t support so many of the measures he (LePage) has suggested,” continued Dill. “They do not reflect what people in this community want. They reflect what people from out-of-state manufacturing companies want.”

For his part, Maietta declined to address any specific regulatory proposals made by the governor, saying he could not do so, “until it crosses my desk.”

Instead, he falls back on his family history, saying he knows development issues “start to finish.”

Dill, on the other hand, touts her legislative experience, including her proudest accomplishment, creation of a broadband advisory council.

“I take very seriously my role in representing people,” she said. “And when I say people, I don’t just mean wealthy, special interests. I mean older people, I mean children, I mean school districts.”

In the end, however, despite what appear to be clear delineations in party and philosophy, at least one observer sees this as a toss-up between two strong candidates.

“I’ve met with both Cynthia and Louie and I like them both,” said Cutler. “I think they are both well-intentioned and I think South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and that little section of Scarborough in District 7 would be well represented by either one of them.”