As a freshman legislator, I find myself learning new things every day. I have learned about the legislative process, and how I can be as effective as possible for the people of our community. But I also keep with me the values I learned from my childhood, and from my career as a Biddeford firefighter and emergency medical technician.
It would have been hard growing up in my family without learning the value of public service. My father, Richard, was the sheriff of York County, my uncle, Babe, was mayor of Biddeford and a state representative, and my cousin Duke was the Maine Senate president. They, and my entire extended family, taught me that a life dedicated to serving your neighbors and your community is a life well lived.
I never thought I would run for office. I chose public service through my career at the Biddeford Fire Department ”“ a rewarding job that I have held for more than 20 years. But then I started reading news stories about how things were going in Augusta, and the growing discord up there. And this is why I decided to run: Even though I am only one person, I figured I could contribute in a positive way to the debate, and get results.
I know there are many others like me. The Legislature recently passed a supplemental budget that keeps the state funded through the end of this fiscal year. While it is far from perfect, I witnessed something that gave me hope: The Appropriations Committee worked in a bipartisan way to get a unanimous vote. This budget was then unanimously approved in the Senate.
There are things in it that people from both parties don’t like, but that is the nature of the political process. To move forward, both sides have to give. I am proud of the work we did together.
Now we begin work on the governor’s proposed two-year budget. I am concerned with several aspects of it, particularly his proposed cuts to revenue sharing for our communities. I oppose those cuts. I also am concerned about his proposal to borrow money to spend over $100 million on the Windham prison. This spending is unnecessary, and I am concerned about borrowing money without voter approval to fund prisons while voter-approved borrowing for roads and bridges is being held up.
But I also understand that we need to let the Appropriations Committee do its job, as we did with the supplemental budget. Above all, we want to do what is best to make sure state government functions effectively for you. Ultimatums and name-calling are not helpful, and we must avoid that behavior. The people sent us to do a job. We’re here to work together to do what’s best for Maine.
I’m thrilled to be your state senator, and am ready to do my job. Let’s get to work.
— Sen. David Dutremble, District 4, is serving his first term in the Maine Senate representing Arundel, Biddeford, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. His column will appear on the first Monday of the month.
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