Hamper and Whitley square off in Senate District 13

Photo:

James Hamper

Photo:

Dennise Whitley

OXFORD HILLS — James Hamper (R-Oxford) and Dennise Whitley (D-Norway) are squaring off for an open state senate seat in District 13, which includes Norway, Paris, Oxford, Otisfield and Harrison. 

Hamper has served four terms representing District 100 – Oxford, Mechanic Falls and Otisfield –  in the state house and wants to continue serving his constituents in the senate.

Hamper served as co-chair of the Environment and Natural Resources committee and a member of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee in Augusta.

Hamper is a carpenter by trade and earned an Associate's degree in Liberal Studies from University of Maine at Augusta in 2001. Prior to state office, he served on the Oxford Budget Committee and Oxford Planning Board.

Whitley says she has always wanted to run for senate.  For the past 12 years she was Maine Government Relations Director for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and worked on health care legislation.

She previously served on the Maine Human Rights Commission and chaired the Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine.

Whitley earned a Bachelor's degree in science and a Master's degree in health management and policy from the University of New Hampshire.

With only a few weeks until the election, we asked these candidates what they would do to work on issues important to voters in District 13.

Economy

Both candidates agree the regulatory and tax environment needs be addressed to help small business owners.

Whitley says she promotes tax incentives for small businesses, but also encourages creative ways to utilize existing natural resources, like timber, to create new industries.

She also promotes additional training to create a skilled workforce in the area.

Hamper says businesses want a stable regulatory environment – he believes changes made to health care, unemployment insurance and workers comp. by the legislature in the past few years will improve the economic climate and intends to continue that trend.

Social programs

Whitley thinks the government should take a strategic approach to the administration and organization of social programs and improve efficiency and effectiveness over the long term.

Overall strategic planning for the state might yield more results than a "knee jerk" reaction at every budget cycle, she says.

Hamper says the state should continue to go after waste and fraud in its social programs, but still needs to provide for the most needy in the state. 

He argues that both social programs and education rely on the economy –  boosting economic growth and creating jobs will provide the tax dollars to fund improvements.

Education

Hamper says he often hears about the burden placed on towns by the government, particularly the promise to fund 55 percent of school budgets, which he compares to "a rabbit that's always going to be chased, but never caught."

He iterates that economic and job growth will provide the money to help pay for schools. 

On the level of higher education, Whitley says she would improve the coordination of the state's university and community college system.

She thinks that improving the state's local school system needs a strategic plan –  she agrees that the state's failure to fund schools up to 55 percent had placed a burden on local communities.