August 21, 2006
Studied to death | A discussion of the big hopes but dim results for the governor's Washington County Economic Task Force with member Sen. Kevin Raye
By Taylor Smith
Whether helping run Raye's Mustard, his family's 106-year-old business in Eastport, or working on legislation in Augusta, Sen. Kevin Raye is a busy guy. But when he was named to Gov. John Baldacci's Washington County Economic Development Task Force last year, Raye was more than happy to add another slate of meetings to his schedule.
Despite the fact the task force was met with consternation from some Washington County residents ˆ many of whom, according to Raye, were convinced that it would amount to yet another dead-end study ˆ he saw it as an opportunity to shed much-needed light on the region's economic woes. The county is perennially among Maine's lowest for per capita income and highest for unemployment. Still, Raye figured the task force would be able to take advantage of the advance work of David Flanagan, Baldacci's Washington County envoy who spent months last year compiling a set of recommendations to boost the county's economic fortunes.
The task force was launched with fanfare last August, but then a curious thing happened, according to Raye: What started with a bang ended with a whimper. Raye, a Republican running for re-election to the state senate, says the recommendations coming from the task force ˆ including a package of bills that sought funding for the Downeast Heritage Museum in Calais, the county's Incubator Without Walls entrepreneur training program and the Sunrise County Economic Council in Machias ˆ made little headway on the floor of the Legislature.
Mainebiz spoke with Raye about the net result of the task force and the overall economic climate in Washington County. The following is an edited transcript.
Mainebiz: We didn't hear much about the Washington County Economic Development Task Force after the initial announcement that it had been formed. What was the process like? Was it a fairly collaborative effort or were people at each other's throats?
Raye: It was actually a very collaborative effort. Everybody just rolled up their sleeves around the table and we sorted through David Flanagan's recommendations. We tried to hone those down to ones we thought we'd be able to accomplish in the short term to try to jumpstart the economy and make a difference.
Unfortunately, one of the challenges that we faced is that we were playing defense in a sense. We were faced with the loss of two vital institutions in our county ˆ one of which was the [Washington County Community College] boat school and one of which was the Downeast Heritage Museum. We all wanted to be starting out in a positive proactive direction, and we end up trying to play defense, which was very unfortunate.
So what was the final result?
At the end of the legislative session, the governor did come up with funds ˆ- smaller than we had asked for ˆ for the boat school and the Downeast Heritage Museum, to preserve them for this year [See "Destination unknown," cover]. I had put a bill in that requires a collaborative process between the Maine Community College System, the University of Maine System, the city of Eastport and other significant players, to come up with a plan to ensure the future of the boat school. We funded that with $25,000 to help them to work through that process.
Tourism seemed to play a big part in David Flanagan's report. How did the task force approach boosting tourism efforts in Washington County?
With our recommendation on the Heritage museum, we see that as a real pivotal piece. The whole mission of the museum is being a place where people can go and learn what there is to do and to see throughout Washington County. I think, generally speaking, that for those of us on the task force tourism is a significant and important and growing part of our economy. But we're also mindful of the fact that we can't wisely put all of our eggs in one basket.
What were other areas the task force discussed?
One significant sentiment is that the task force actually voted to endorse the Washington County racino. You might remember that this task force was created because the Governor twice vetoed the legislation ˆ which had passed both the House and the Senate by wide margins ˆ that would have allowed us to proceed with the racino in the first case, and in the second instance would have allowed it to go out to referendum.
So it was kind of ironic that the task force then went ahead to vote very strongly in favor of the racino. In fact, of the 23 members of the task force, there were only two dissenting votes, and both of them were people outside of the county. One was from the Governor's cabinet, [Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Jack] Cashman, who was the governor's designee but never attended a single meeting. But he did vote in this instance. All of the Washington County residents on the task force, with one abstention, voted in favor of the racino.
The racino issue has been pretty divisive elsewhere in the state. Why do you think that it's been embraced so widely downeast?
Well, we look at what similar ventures have been able to accomplish in other areas of the country, and also we've had some opportunity to see what's happening in Bangor. It seems to be a very positive development for Bangor, and once again Washington County finds itself sitting on the sidelines. There's a very strong sense of resentment in Washington County towards being deprived of an opportunity to lift ourselves up by our bootstraps.
We look at Calais, and the number of people that come through there ˆ it's the eighth busiest border crossing in the nation ˆ and know that we could attract so many people from the Maritime Provinces. Instead, they're just driving through Calais to go to Bangor. It's very painful for people who are trying to work and make a living here to see us as simply a pass-through.
Are there plans to revisit the racino effort?
Oh yes. The racino supporters are still intending to be on the ballot in 2007, just for the sheer number of petitions. There was a petition process that fell short to get on the 2006 ballot, but most of those signatures are still valid, and additional signatures are being gathered to be on the ballot in 2007. I'm confident that it will get on the ballot.
Racinos aside, economic development is a big issue in Washington County. Dianne Tilton, the long-time executive director of the Sunrise County Economic Council, recently stepped down from her position. What does her leaving for the private sector earlier this year mean for economic development in the county?
Dianne Tilton is an extraordinary individual. She has provided thoughtful and dynamic leadership for the economic council throughout its existence. So, clearly everyone was sorry to see her leave, but we understood and respected that she's devoted a great deal of her life and her career to Sunrise County Economic Council and her desire to move into the private sector.
How would you describe the economy in Washington County?
I would describe it as full of potential. But for decades we've struggled to realize that potential. There's a very strong sense in Washington County ˆ rightly or wrongly among the population ˆ that we have not been a priority for the state in terms of economic development. One example of that is the Pine Tree Zones, which was a concept that was very warmly received here. When you look at a county that has the highest unemployment rate and the lowest per capita income ˆ the greatest economic challenges ˆ I think there was a great [hope] that Pine Tree Zones would steer economic development towards us. But in fact, it got watered down in the Legislature so much that now there's Pine Tree Zones in Cumberland County. It sort of defeats the purpose.
Did people in Washington County think the task force would be able to throw its weight around and affect some change?
I'll be very honest with you: I think the economic development task force was widely shrugged off by Washington County residents as just another study and another task force. We've been studied and task forced to death. There's a very strong sense that the time for study is over and the time for action has arrived.
Because it came on the heels of the Governor's unfortunate decision to veto the Washington County racino, I thought that the time was right for the Governor to seize the moment, to show true leadership and really provide action. I don't think many people in the county expected it, but I think many of us on the task force believed in it. We were willing to give it the time and the energy we did because we believed it would make a difference.
If you look at the expansiveness of David Flanagan's report and if you look at the work we did, clearly the results today are unimpressive. We made some minor gains around the edges, but certainly not the significant gains we could have made had the governor inserted himself aggressively and advocated for the recommendations of the task force.
It's not all bad news, though, right? Are there good things happening in Washington County?
Hope springs eternal. A lot of us who come from Washington County and have decided to live our lives here, by nature we're optimists. We know that Washington County can be much stronger economically, and the board of the Sunrise County Economic Council is a great example ˆ those are people from throughout the county who come together once a month with the sole purpose of trying to improve the economy of Washington County.
There are some bright spots. I'm thrilled to be part of preserving our family business. Look's Gourmet Food is doing great things; hiring new people, expanding. There are some good things happening in Washington County, and there are a lot of people who are very committed to making it happen.
Despite the fact the task force was met with consternation from some Washington County residents ˆ many of whom, according to Raye, were convinced that it would amount to yet another dead-end study ˆ he saw it as an opportunity to shed much-needed light on the region's economic woes. The county is perennially among Maine's lowest for per capita income and highest for unemployment. Still, Raye figured the task force would be able to take advantage of the advance work of David Flanagan, Baldacci's Washington County envoy who spent months last year compiling a set of recommendations to boost the county's economic fortunes.
The task force was launched with fanfare last August, but then a curious thing happened, according to Raye: What started with a bang ended with a whimper. Raye, a Republican running for re-election to the state senate, says the recommendations coming from the task force ˆ including a package of bills that sought funding for the Downeast Heritage Museum in Calais, the county's Incubator Without Walls entrepreneur training program and the Sunrise County Economic Council in Machias ˆ made little headway on the floor of the Legislature.
Mainebiz spoke with Raye about the net result of the task force and the overall economic climate in Washington County. The following is an edited transcript.
Mainebiz: We didn't hear much about the Washington County Economic Development Task Force after the initial announcement that it had been formed. What was the process like? Was it a fairly collaborative effort or were people at each other's throats?
Raye: It was actually a very collaborative effort. Everybody just rolled up their sleeves around the table and we sorted through David Flanagan's recommendations. We tried to hone those down to ones we thought we'd be able to accomplish in the short term to try to jumpstart the economy and make a difference.
Unfortunately, one of the challenges that we faced is that we were playing defense in a sense. We were faced with the loss of two vital institutions in our county ˆ one of which was the [Washington County Community College] boat school and one of which was the Downeast Heritage Museum. We all wanted to be starting out in a positive proactive direction, and we end up trying to play defense, which was very unfortunate.
So what was the final result?
At the end of the legislative session, the governor did come up with funds ˆ- smaller than we had asked for ˆ for the boat school and the Downeast Heritage Museum, to preserve them for this year [See "Destination unknown," cover]. I had put a bill in that requires a collaborative process between the Maine Community College System, the University of Maine System, the city of Eastport and other significant players, to come up with a plan to ensure the future of the boat school. We funded that with $25,000 to help them to work through that process.
Tourism seemed to play a big part in David Flanagan's report. How did the task force approach boosting tourism efforts in Washington County?
With our recommendation on the Heritage museum, we see that as a real pivotal piece. The whole mission of the museum is being a place where people can go and learn what there is to do and to see throughout Washington County. I think, generally speaking, that for those of us on the task force tourism is a significant and important and growing part of our economy. But we're also mindful of the fact that we can't wisely put all of our eggs in one basket.
What were other areas the task force discussed?
One significant sentiment is that the task force actually voted to endorse the Washington County racino. You might remember that this task force was created because the Governor twice vetoed the legislation ˆ which had passed both the House and the Senate by wide margins ˆ that would have allowed us to proceed with the racino in the first case, and in the second instance would have allowed it to go out to referendum.
So it was kind of ironic that the task force then went ahead to vote very strongly in favor of the racino. In fact, of the 23 members of the task force, there were only two dissenting votes, and both of them were people outside of the county. One was from the Governor's cabinet, [Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Jack] Cashman, who was the governor's designee but never attended a single meeting. But he did vote in this instance. All of the Washington County residents on the task force, with one abstention, voted in favor of the racino.
The racino issue has been pretty divisive elsewhere in the state. Why do you think that it's been embraced so widely downeast?
Well, we look at what similar ventures have been able to accomplish in other areas of the country, and also we've had some opportunity to see what's happening in Bangor. It seems to be a very positive development for Bangor, and once again Washington County finds itself sitting on the sidelines. There's a very strong sense of resentment in Washington County towards being deprived of an opportunity to lift ourselves up by our bootstraps.
We look at Calais, and the number of people that come through there ˆ it's the eighth busiest border crossing in the nation ˆ and know that we could attract so many people from the Maritime Provinces. Instead, they're just driving through Calais to go to Bangor. It's very painful for people who are trying to work and make a living here to see us as simply a pass-through.
Are there plans to revisit the racino effort?
Oh yes. The racino supporters are still intending to be on the ballot in 2007, just for the sheer number of petitions. There was a petition process that fell short to get on the 2006 ballot, but most of those signatures are still valid, and additional signatures are being gathered to be on the ballot in 2007. I'm confident that it will get on the ballot.
Racinos aside, economic development is a big issue in Washington County. Dianne Tilton, the long-time executive director of the Sunrise County Economic Council, recently stepped down from her position. What does her leaving for the private sector earlier this year mean for economic development in the county?
Dianne Tilton is an extraordinary individual. She has provided thoughtful and dynamic leadership for the economic council throughout its existence. So, clearly everyone was sorry to see her leave, but we understood and respected that she's devoted a great deal of her life and her career to Sunrise County Economic Council and her desire to move into the private sector.
How would you describe the economy in Washington County?
I would describe it as full of potential. But for decades we've struggled to realize that potential. There's a very strong sense in Washington County ˆ rightly or wrongly among the population ˆ that we have not been a priority for the state in terms of economic development. One example of that is the Pine Tree Zones, which was a concept that was very warmly received here. When you look at a county that has the highest unemployment rate and the lowest per capita income ˆ the greatest economic challenges ˆ I think there was a great [hope] that Pine Tree Zones would steer economic development towards us. But in fact, it got watered down in the Legislature so much that now there's Pine Tree Zones in Cumberland County. It sort of defeats the purpose.
Did people in Washington County think the task force would be able to throw its weight around and affect some change?
I'll be very honest with you: I think the economic development task force was widely shrugged off by Washington County residents as just another study and another task force. We've been studied and task forced to death. There's a very strong sense that the time for study is over and the time for action has arrived.
Because it came on the heels of the Governor's unfortunate decision to veto the Washington County racino, I thought that the time was right for the Governor to seize the moment, to show true leadership and really provide action. I don't think many people in the county expected it, but I think many of us on the task force believed in it. We were willing to give it the time and the energy we did because we believed it would make a difference.
If you look at the expansiveness of David Flanagan's report and if you look at the work we did, clearly the results today are unimpressive. We made some minor gains around the edges, but certainly not the significant gains we could have made had the governor inserted himself aggressively and advocated for the recommendations of the task force.
It's not all bad news, though, right? Are there good things happening in Washington County?
Hope springs eternal. A lot of us who come from Washington County and have decided to live our lives here, by nature we're optimists. We know that Washington County can be much stronger economically, and the board of the Sunrise County Economic Council is a great example ˆ those are people from throughout the county who come together once a month with the sole purpose of trying to improve the economy of Washington County.
There are some bright spots. I'm thrilled to be part of preserving our family business. Look's Gourmet Food is doing great things; hiring new people, expanding. There are some good things happening in Washington County, and there are a lot of people who are very committed to making it happen.
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