By Cynthia Dill

Representative,

House District 121

    Earlier this year, three of the nation’s top bonding
houses gave Maine the green light to invest in our state and our
future. They advised us to move forward sooner rather than later with
robust and comprehensive bond investments or we could hurt Maine’s good
financial standing.

    The 123rd Legislature took the advice to heart,
along with substantial other evidence that long-term investment is
necessary for future prosperity. When you drive nearly any road in
Maine, when your children plan for college and career out of state,
when you see stands of pine fall to suburban sprawl and coastline turn
from working waterfront to condo skyline, I hope you will also be
convinced that bonds for Maine’s future are a good thing.

    There is proof enough to put politics aside.
Recognizing the urgent need to repair our roads, maintain our quality
of life and move Maine forward, the Legislature built bridges across
the partisan aisle. In early April, we enacted a historic bond package
of $295 million with near unanimous support. The bond package would
invest $55 million in research and development to grow the economy,
$43.5 million to create opportunity through education, $60.5 million to
protect the environment, and $136 million to repair and improve our
transportation network.

    Maine’s economy continues its natural transition
from a manufacturing base to one supported by services and small,
high-tech firms. The economic portion of the bond package includes a
competitive loan process that will spur the growth of our most
promising new businesses and industries, which will increase job
output, productivity and access to better, higher-paying careers. With
this opportunity for innovation and growth, we would be well poised to
capitalize on Maine’s evolving economy, getting high returns for the
investment.

Advances in the economy are often the effect of advances in education,
as Maine’s university system is a cornerstone of the state’s research
and development effort. By putting college within reach of more
Mainers, our workforce will attract more industry to the state, and we
will give our children the skills to compete for better career
opportunities. Education is the door to opportunity for Maine’s younger
and future generations and will allow them to stay here if they so
choose rather than have no other option but to uproot from the family
trees of multi-generational Maine families.

    Maine’s environment is part and parcel of the Maine
brand, in which we must invest or lose. Our forests, farms and
coastline stand in stark contrast to the heavily developed regions
around us, and they are drawing people here. As more visitors become
temporary or permanent residents, the consequences are sprawl and
pressure on our natural resource-based industries. By investing in our
quality places, and funding programs like Land for Maine’s Future, we
can make the Maine brand a lasting legacy and benefit from tourism
without diminishing our working waterfront, farms and forests.

    Maine’s roads are the clearest example of how
sometimes spending money saves money. Regular investments in
transportation would have prevented the major overhauls that our roads
and bridges now require. Fortunately, if we make the repairs
immediately, we will be able to draw down matching funds from the
federal government and make strategic advances in Maine’s
transportation system, including passenger rail.

    Though the Legislature has voted in strong support
of this bond package, ultimately bonds are a product of the will of
Maine people. The bond package will go to voters in three parts: $131.3
million for the environment and transportation in June 2007; $134
million for research and development, education and natural resources
in November 2007; and $29.7 million for the environment and
transportation in June 2008. If the bond package is improved in its
entirety, we will draw $411 million in matching funds from federal and
private sources for a total $706 million investment in Maine’s future.

    I encourage your strong support of the bond package.
To improve our economy and build for our future, we cannot concentrate
on just one area of investment – we need to look at the big picture. A
well-paved road is a road to nowhere if we don’t also invest in jobs,
the environment and education for Maine citizens.

   

    Rep. Cynthia Dill represents most of Cape Elizabeth
in the Maine House of Representatives. She is serving her first term
and is a member of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.