One week after his victory in a special election Feb. 14, newly minted State Sen. Chris Johnson (D-Somerville) has seen himself become both a hero and lightning rod in Augusta.
A decisive winner in what many considered a surprise victory over a respected Republican lawmaker, Johnson was welcomed enthusiastically in Democratic circles. The warm welcome quickly gave way to the day-to-day of legislating.
“That was the welcome at first, then everything went right down to business,” Johnson said. “Things have settled down to normal now.”
Johnson’s first day was punctuated by a controversial vote on a new Dept. of Health and Human Services budget aimed at closing a shortfall in the agency.
Passed overwhelmingly in the House with bipartisan support, the budget stalled in the Senate where it failed to reach the two-thirds (super majority) approval required to pass.
Johnson joined with 11 other Democrats to vote down the plan. His vote was criticized by some, who claimed he was going back on his promise to seek bipartisan solutions.
Johnson defended his vote, saying that based on discussions with constituents, the budget was not supported by the majority of residents in his district.
The timing of the vote, just hours after he had been sworn in, gave him no opportunity to work with people and get ideas for amendments and potential compromises.
“The only choice was to support or not support something,” Johnson said. “It’s unfortunate that some people take one action and conclude that I’m not going to work with people.”
“As I have greater opportunity to get involved, people will see how I work,” he added.
Johnson previously stated his opposition to the budget stemmed from provisions in it that would have cut thousands of people from MaineCare.
After the vote, Johnson said he immediately began looking for improvements to the budget that would protect Maine’s “most vulnerable.” He acknowledged, however, that there was “very little wiggle room” for what he would like to see happen in order to prevent cuts to the MaineCare program.
Senate Majority Leader Jon Courtney (R-Springvale) voted against the budget so it can be brought back to the floor at a later date.
Going forward, Johnson said that while he is unable to introduce new bills in this session, he has some ideas he is planning to present when the legislature begins debate on the 2013 budget.
Johnson decisively won a special election for District 20’s open senate seat against current House District 50 Representative Dana Dow.
The victory was attributed to dissatisfaction with Gov. Paul LePage and Johnson’s aggressive door-to-door campaigning.
A week after his election, Johnson reiterated his appreciation to the people of Senate District 20 who gave him the opportunity to represent them.
“I’m grateful to the people of my district for electing and placing their trust in me. I’ll do my best to earn that trust as we move forward. I take seriously the responsibility of representing the people,” he said.
Johnson’s victory partway through a legislative session means that he will face reelection this November, less than nine months away. While he said he has already taken out papers to meet the filing deadline, Johnson says he is currently focused on the present.
No Republican challenger has come forward yet, though some are encouraging Rep. Les Fossel (R-Alna) to get in the race.