June 26, 2006
The challenger | Republican candidate for governor Chandler Woodcock discusses his approach to improving Maine's business climate
By Whit Richardson
When Chandler Woodcock took home 39% of the Republican votes in Maine's recent gubernatorial primaries, the retired teacher and lay minister from Farmington beat out two opponents with more business experience than himself vying to unseat Gov. John Baldacci. But Woodcock says his record of supporting the business community speaks for itself, with the Maine Economic Research Institute consistently rating his business-related voting record during his three terms in the Senate "very strong." And he adds that, if elected governor, he'll assemble a team of "the most business-minded individuals and allow them to help create a stronger business environment in the state."
That's because Woodcock says the biggest challenge facing Maine's next governor is to change the perception that Maine is a bad place for businesses to invest. The way to do that, he says, involves cutting taxes, curbing government spending and reviewing the state's regulatory climate. "People will invest in the state if their perception is that it's going to have a return for them," he says.
With that goal, it's not surprising that Woodcock supports initiatives such as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a series of government spending limitations that will appear on the November 7 ballot. Curbing government spending also will allow the state to focus on another one of Woodcock's priorities: paying off the state's approximately $7 billion debt. Woodcock sees state debt as another financial burden that administration after administration has passed along to future generations; if not paid down, he warns that debt could continue to drive young people ˆ and investment ˆ out of the state. "One of my friends in the Senate calls it the snow-plow effect. We've pushed it and pushed it till that bank of snow can't be moved anymore," he says. "I think it's time to face that issue and pay it down appropriately."
He also is not against giving incentives to encourage investment in Maine, but he criticizes Baldacci's Pine Tree Zone program, which offers tax breaks to businesses located in specific areas, for giving an unfair competitive advantage to businesses within the zones. Instead, Woodcock supports pushing the program statewide to level the playing field for all Maine businesses.
In line with his free-market approach to business-climate issues, Woodcock ˆ whose wife is a 30-year health care professional ˆ says his plan for addressing Maine's health insurance problem is simple: allow for competition. "And that means to me allowing people to purchase health insurance from other states where they have licensed writers of insurance and make it a competitive market," he says. "You're empowered now to choose what best suits you, at what price and what product."
But while talking about ways to improve Maine's business climate, the Republican nominee for the Blaine House also criticizes the current administration for taking "front-page credits" whenever there's good news to report about Maine businesses. For starters, he says, those few good headlines don't tell the story of the majority of small businesses that are struggling with what he sees as high costs and burdensome regulations. But he adds that it's not an administration's place to take credit for business success. Instead, government should simply ask businesses how to help create an investment-friendly environment ˆ and then get out of their hair. "I've said many times on the [campaign] trail that government needs to be more humble about business," Woodcock says. "Government shouldn't be creating jobs. Business creates jobs and we haven't allowed business to do that in this state for a long time."
That's because Woodcock says the biggest challenge facing Maine's next governor is to change the perception that Maine is a bad place for businesses to invest. The way to do that, he says, involves cutting taxes, curbing government spending and reviewing the state's regulatory climate. "People will invest in the state if their perception is that it's going to have a return for them," he says.
With that goal, it's not surprising that Woodcock supports initiatives such as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a series of government spending limitations that will appear on the November 7 ballot. Curbing government spending also will allow the state to focus on another one of Woodcock's priorities: paying off the state's approximately $7 billion debt. Woodcock sees state debt as another financial burden that administration after administration has passed along to future generations; if not paid down, he warns that debt could continue to drive young people ˆ and investment ˆ out of the state. "One of my friends in the Senate calls it the snow-plow effect. We've pushed it and pushed it till that bank of snow can't be moved anymore," he says. "I think it's time to face that issue and pay it down appropriately."
He also is not against giving incentives to encourage investment in Maine, but he criticizes Baldacci's Pine Tree Zone program, which offers tax breaks to businesses located in specific areas, for giving an unfair competitive advantage to businesses within the zones. Instead, Woodcock supports pushing the program statewide to level the playing field for all Maine businesses.
In line with his free-market approach to business-climate issues, Woodcock ˆ whose wife is a 30-year health care professional ˆ says his plan for addressing Maine's health insurance problem is simple: allow for competition. "And that means to me allowing people to purchase health insurance from other states where they have licensed writers of insurance and make it a competitive market," he says. "You're empowered now to choose what best suits you, at what price and what product."
But while talking about ways to improve Maine's business climate, the Republican nominee for the Blaine House also criticizes the current administration for taking "front-page credits" whenever there's good news to report about Maine businesses. For starters, he says, those few good headlines don't tell the story of the majority of small businesses that are struggling with what he sees as high costs and burdensome regulations. But he adds that it's not an administration's place to take credit for business success. Instead, government should simply ask businesses how to help create an investment-friendly environment ˆ and then get out of their hair. "I've said many times on the [campaign] trail that government needs to be more humble about business," Woodcock says. "Government shouldn't be creating jobs. Business creates jobs and we haven't allowed business to do that in this state for a long time."
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