Bill's Vision for Maine
My Vision for Maine is a Maine built on a world class economy, founded in our natural resources and people, our strategic location, a competitive advantage in energy and business climate, unleashed entrepreneurial spirit, and quality communities for growing up and growing old, for excellent education opportunities, for personal independence and living core American values.
Strengthening Maine's Economy
As governor, I will advocate for the following:
- A reduction in the size of the State government's footprint in Mainer's personal lives
- Legislation that reduces the delegation of excessive policy development and interpretation to appointed State employees
- A merger of Maine's public financing authorities
- Consolidation of essential state planning and economic development activities and staffing into the governor's office
- Independent program review
- Implementation of findings that lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness
Education
Public education needs a shift in emphasis from overly complex standards and exhaustive assessment protocols, towards rigorous yet greatly simplified standards that provide more time for teachers to teach students. While all levels of public education are critical, a Beardsley administration would make early childhood education and services a priority, along with its value-added opportunity to reduce subsequent remediation, special education and social stratification of students.
School consolidation should be modified to address the critical and unique relationshiop between rural communities and their elementary schools.
I support the development of Charter Schools and parental choice in education.
In higher education, I would promote a free standing University of Maine with a strong research capability, and establish a priority for strengthened career and professional education in State universities and colleges.
Energy
Energy is singled out for its exceptional potential impact on Maine’s economic vitality. Present fragmented policy seems to be focused on creating barriers to entry rather than cost competitive energy for Maine homes, transportation and industry. Maine can and should become a dominant energy producer, provider and exporter of energy and should strive to establish the most cost-competitive base load electricity supply in the northeastern United States.
All options, from Maine’s indigenous renewable energy sources to nuclear and offshore oil exploration to imported fossil fuel, LNG and Canadian Hydro, should be on Maine’s energy table. The private sector should play the lead role. Limited and carefully selected coastal energy production sites and energy corridors should be expanded, all subject to constructive and rigorous environmental and safety regulations.
Entrepreneurship
A strong, adequately capitalized private sector is the foundation for quality job creation and prosperity in Maine. My priority will be to reduce unnecessary government barriers to private sector innovation, risk taking and investment. I will champion the cause of reducing excessive regulatory risk, uncertainty, complexity and delay.
I will advocate a gradual, multiyear initiative to lower Maine’s overall tax rates to below the national average.
I will strive to minimize uncertainty around such pro-investment initiatives as the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement (BETR) program.
I will promote the replacement of “prescriptive” regulations with “incentive” regulations, thereby encouraging and accelerating investment, innovation and best practices.