Two candidates are running for State Senate District 7 representing, South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough – Democrat Lawrence Bliss and Republican Thomas J. Dunne. The seat is being vacated by Lynn Bromley due to term limit restrictions. The following are candidate surveys completed by each candidate.

Lawrence Bliss 

Age: 61 

Position seeking: State Senate, District 7 

Address: 504 Cottage Road, South Portland 

Phone: 780-4220 (Day) 799-8229 (Night)

Occupation: Director, Career Services and Professional Life Development, University of Southern Maine 

Marital Status: Partnered 

Partner’s Name: B. Nolan McCoy 

Children: Zev (age 12), Franci (age 9) and Carlin (age 6)

Highest Level of education completed: Master of administration degree, in urban public administration 

Name and location of school or university last attended: University of California, Berkeley, Calif. 

Organizations and activities: I have been a member of the board of directors of The AIDS Project, the Equality Institute of Maine, South Portland Citizens for Justice, Equal Protection Portland, the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance, and My Wonderful Dog. I have been chairman of the South Portland Democratic City Committee, and treasurer of the Cumberland County Democratic Committee. 

Top three issues: (in order of priority)

1. Economic development (including tax reform) 

2.Environmental protection 

3. Energy independence 

In your own words, why are you seeking elected office? 

  I’ve described the last legislative session as “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” We accomplished some great things for the State, including passing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the largest bipartisan investment package in state history, a tax credit for college graduates who stay and work in Maine, expanded family medical leave, minimized carbon emissions from coal degasification, and more. But we were unable to manage a tax reform package, and the school consolidation effort was truly ugly! We must be able to do better!

   I want to work on that tax reform plan, and I want to bring some common sense to the economic recovery effort. I want to make sure that our harbor and our beaches are protected as more cruise ships come in.  I want to make sure that our wetlands are secure, but that developers can still promote smart growth. And I want to ensure the strength of our family farms. And I want to encourage research and development of new, clean energy technologies.

  Economic development doesn’t happen in a vacuum. New business won’t come to Maine unless our roads and bridges are safe, our schools are strong, our housing is affordable, and our infrastructure encourages development. Common sense. We can move Maine forward by working together, and I want to represent the people of District 7 in that effort. 

Thanks for the opportunity to tell you about myself! Please vote on Nov. 4 … or sooner!

Tom Dunne  

Age: 51

Position seeking: State Senate District 7

Address: P.O. Box 6301  Cape Elizabeth

Phone: 767 5692

Occupation: retired (ex-partner at Accenture, 1984-2003; ex-executive director Dirigo Health Agency, 2003-2004; ex-executive director Ingraham, 2006-2007) 

Marital Status: Married 

Spouse’s Name: Mary 

Highest Level of education completed: Masters (of business administration) 

Name and location of school or university last attended: The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration (Dartmouth) (prior to graduate school, I earned a BA in Economics from SUNY Geneseo)

Organizations and activities: member Maine Public Spending Research Group

Top three issues: (in order of priority)

1. Jobs – creating more good paying jobs, green jobs

2. Government performance – improve performance by prioritizing programs redirecting and reducing spending

3. Health Care reform – Dirigo isn’t working. Time to fix it up or shut it down 

In your own words, why are you seeking elected office? 

   I am running because we are facing tough times, and as compared to my opponent I have a very different background, different skills and new ideas. I have run a business, and worked with many organizations helping improve their operations.  I worked in business for over 25 years, and volunteered for 15 months as the initial executive director of the Dirigo Health Agency. Later I served as the executive director of Ingraham, a social services agency.  

   On social issues, I am moderate – where Maine stands today is pretty good.  

   But I am concerned about jobs and wages; government spending, and the need to prioritize programs; health care; and energy. I understand the challenges, and I know how we can improve. 

    For example, on health care I will propose new approaches including: 1)change the system to encourage greater competition; 2) adjust incentives to encourage better services and lower costs; 3) prioritize publicly funded services (MaineCare) and eliminate abrupt income cut-offs that “trap” people in the system; 4)pilot major changes in the patient care model;(visit my Web site for details. www.Dunneforsenate.com)