The incumbent will not be running for the Maine Senate District 9 seat in November, as 2004 winner Michael Brennan (who ran unopposed then) is bowing out two years ahead of his term-limit requirement. Brennan has held the seat since 2000.
Republican David Fernald, chairman of the Maine Technology Institute, and Democrat Joseph Brannigan, a longtime House member, will compete for the seat, representing the Deering neighborhood of Portland and part of Westbrook.
Fernald's institute is a nonprofit that tries to bring technology-based businesses to Maine. He says the state needs to do better at providing a healthy environment for small businesses, that the lack of competitive jobs has resulted in low wages. “There are lots of broken things in the state,” he says, citing the current tax structure, which he says results in the exodus or failure of businesses. He supports the controversial TABOR initiative, which would tie the growth of government spending to population increases and inflation. TABOR recently made it through a challenge in the Maine Supreme Court and it will be on the ballot in November. Fernald says the DirigoHealth plan “is a failure,” and that the solution is more health insurance providers, not government intervention.
Brannigan has represented Portland in the state house for the last six years, and he spent four terms in the Senate in the '80s and '90s. He is a supporter of DirigoHealth, but he acknowledges that it needs to be looked at, and changed to address cost issues that have kept large numbers of people from signing up. TABOR “would be a disaster” if it passes, he says: Maine’s taxes aren’t the issue; it’s low wages that are hurting people. He advocates spending more on higher education instead of cutting taxes to attract businesses. “A well educated workforce is a draw,” he says, and the effect of taxes is overstated.
Incumbent Brennan says after thirteen years serving in Augusta he is ready for a break. He may not be out of politics long, however: he is considering a 2008 bid for the US Congress 1st District seat now held by Tom Allen.
