Sen. Chris Johnson, D-Somerville, is defending his seat representing Senate District 13, formerly known, before last year’s redistricting of the House and Senate, as District 20.
The district still includes Washington, Windsor, and all of Lincoln County except Dresden. Friendship, which was also part of Senate District 20, is not included in Senate District 13.
Johnson won by a narrow margin against Alna restoration contractor Les Fossel in 2012 and the two are facing off again this year to serve in the 127th Maine Legislature.
Johnson serves on a number of boards and committees, including as Somerville town meeting moderator, as a member of the Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 Board of Directors, and as a member of the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission.
He is currently the Senate chair of the Marine Resources Committee and Government Oversight Committee and is also a member of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Ocean Acidification Commission.
Johnson’s website states that he has worked to restore alewife passage, to protect and sustain the lobster fishery, to protect the elver fishery from closure, and has collaborated with Republicans to draft a GMO labeling law, LD 718, “An Act to protect Maine food consumers’ right to know about genetically engineered food and seed stock.”
Johnson often attends events throughout Maine to show his support for local farmers, foresters, fishermen, and food purveyors, such as the Maine Food Summit held in Orono last December.
“I’ve been doing a lot of homework to come up with ideas for ways to help,” he said, underscoring his strong interests in farming, fishing, the environment, health care, and job creation.
Solutions to job creation, he said, are just as diverse as the variety of jobs in the marketplace; so there is not just one solution to reducing unemployment. “There are many things we can do,” he said, pointing to a resurgence in farming in recent years.
“Farming has been expanding in Maine after decades of decline; there is great potential,” Johnson said.
Johnson referenced New England Food Vision, a collaborative report that predicts Maine and the rest of New England could produce over 50 percent of the food purchased by consumers by the year 2060. “It’s a big opportunity, and an important focus area,” he said.
Financial uncertainty is one challenge Johnson hopes to address in a second term in the state senate. He believes Maine lawmakers need to help provide access to capital for farmers who often cannot afford market rate loans.
“We should consider how Maine values agricultural land,” he said, praising the fact that Maine provides a reduced property tax for agricultural use.
In order to create farm-friendly communities, Johnson believes legislators need to provide leadership guidance to communities, such as helping with local ordinances and building comprehensive plans.
“I think we should set goals to recognize the economic value in local food production,” he said.
“We also need to have a rational food safety policy,” he said, expressing his frustration for the farmers who are required to comply with rules designed for “Big Ag.”
Johnson recently spoke with farmers in the region who told him they have to send livestock out of state to be processed. The food safety policies for Maine farmers need to be “right-sized for Maine,” he said.
Johnson sponsored a local foods for schools bill (LD 1431. An Act To Support School Nutrition and Expand the Local Foods Economy) to steer school cafeterias away from industrial packaged goods toward fresh, locally grown produce and other food products.
“The intent was to get back to scratch cooking. There’s been too much ‘heat and serve’ going on,” he said. “This was a way of incentivizing schools, rather than telling schools where to buy food.”
The bill would have provided a $12 million dollar bond issue toward the development of 10 local food hubs. It would also require the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Education to administer local food programs in schools.
Gov. Paul LePage vetoed the bill. Despite the governor’s veto being upheld, the school foods bill garnered significant bipartisan support, according to Johnson. Since that time, he has been speaking with farmers in Whitefield and has been developing ideas for new legislation.
Like the processing of cattle and other farm animals for consumption, Maine faces competition in seafood processing.
Johnson supports a $50 million dollar bond package up for a vote in November, which includes a bond to fund Maine’s marine economy and, specifically, seafood processing plants in Downeast Maine, according to the Senate website.
Canada subsidizes its seafood processing industry with direct financial support and by providing health-care coverage for its workers, according to Johnson. He said Maine needs to grow and to make changes in the seafood processing industry in order to become more competitive with Canada.
Health care coverage also plays a role in Maine’s economy, he said. More than $250 million in federal funding is available for health-care expansion and Maine is the only state in the Northeast that has not accepted these funds for MaineCare-eligible recipients.
“Expanding MaineCare makes sense,” Johnson said, supporting the idea that accepting these funds will help create more jobs and cut back on more expensive medical treatment through preventative care.
Johnson laments the Senate’s ability to override the governor’s veto of a $20 million research and development grant and the loss of a multi-million dollar offshore wind turbine project by Norwegian company Statoil. However, he will continue in his support of technology and innovative solutions to farming and marine-related industries if re-elected.
Johnson is a graduate of Bangor High School and the University of Maine in Orono, according to his website. He and his wife, Valarie, live in Somerville.
