Jeffrey K. Pierce (Piper Pavelich photo)
In his bid for Senate District 24, Jeffrey K. “Jeff” Pierce, R-Dresden is focused on bettering the economy, specifically through increasing access to vocational training and lowering the cost of living.
Pierce faces Denise Tepler, D-Topsham, and Suzanne Andresen, I-West Bath, in the Senate District 24 race. District 24 consists of all of Sagadahoc County, as well as Dresden in Lincoln County. Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, is serving her fourth and final term in the seat.
A native Mainer, Pierce was born in Augusta and graduated from Cony High School. He took vocational courses at Capital Area Technical Center, a path he wants to make more easily accessible in Maine schools, he said.
“We really have to get our education under control … Maine has some great tinkerers … You don’t need to go to college,” he said.
At 28, Pierce moved to Dresden, where he lives with his wife of 35 years, Ann Pierce. They have two sons, three cats, and two dogs.
Pierce said he enjoys being in public service because he can help people solve problems.
“It’s worthwhile … When you can help people traverse the red tape, or the bureaucracy,” he said.
Pierce served as a representative in District 53 from 2014-2018. At the time, District 53 consisted of Arrowsic, Dresden, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Woolwich, and part of Richmond.
He served on the Dresden Budget Review Committee from 2015 until earlier this year, and the RSU 2 Board of Directors from 2019-2021. Pierce is on the Dresden Planning Board, a role he has held for 24 years, and has been the board’s chair for roughly 14 years.
He owns Jeffrey Pierce Restorations and Renovations, which he started nearly 35 years ago, and Jeff Pierce Realty.
In 2006, Pierce founded the Alewife Harvesters of Maine, a nonprofit organization that works with scientists and fishery managers from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the state of Maine to allow harvest of alewives in the state under high standards of sustainability, according to the organization’s website.
The nonprofit was formed in response to the development of Amendment 2 to the commission’s interstate fishery management plan for shad and river herring, which threatened to shut down alewife fisheries along the coast.
Nearly 20 years later, Pierce is still on the Alewife Harvesters of Maine Board of Directors.
He was also the first executive director of the Maine Elver Fishermen Association, an organization founded in 2013 to advocate for the rights and interests of elver – or young eel – fishermen, ensuring sustainable practices and maintaining the fishery’s economic viability.
“I have a real big passion for alewives and river restoration … Maine’s a huge success story. We are the gold standard for river preservation in the country,” he said.
Pierce said his experience is one of the most valuable things he could bring to the Legislature.
“Why wouldn’t you want a guy with a large, vast amount of work experience in a lot of different fields in there? I mean, I have experience in a lot of different things and knowledge of how it actually works, and what doesn’t work. Why wouldn’t you want that? Why wouldn’t you want to put a working man in office?” he said.
Pierce said he feels his time in the Legislature, his career, and his personal life set him apart from his opponents.
“I’ve practiced providing jobs, I’ve practiced making people better people, so I think my life experiences far set me apart,” he said.
He provided the example of his own criminal record, which includes drug crimes from when he was 18 to 20. When Pierce was 21, he pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking and was sentenced to eight months in jail, with all but 30 days suspended. Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage pardoned him in 2019.
Pierce said he works to better himself every day.
“I’m always improving myself … You can’t be held prisoner to your past either,” he said. “You learn from your mistakes and you move on … I chose to smarten up … I have life experiences that make me qualified to be able to figure out how to fix those situations.”
The path to bettering Maine’s economy is clear to Pierce, and it starts with providing more opportunities in the area for middle and high school students to receive vocational training.
“Brunswick, Topsham, and Freeport now share a vocational school. There’s not enough classrooms to accommodate three large municipalities. Topsham should have its own, Brunswick should have its own – there’s enough kids who would take these programs,” he said.
The concern Pierce hears the most from his constituents is how property taxes have risen dramatically.
“Property tax affects everybody. It affects the cost of your rent, it affects everything going down the pipe, it affects your school system,” he said.
Pierce said he believes the solution to this problem is multi-tiered, and it begins with creating more jobs in the area.
The state is lacking hands-on workers, such as plumbers and electricians, Pierce said. If more Maine youth are trained to fill these jobs once they graduate high school, then the economy will only improve from there.
“We need these skills, and if we have skilled workers, companies will come here. That’s how we build an economy, and that’s how you get good paying jobs,” he said. “There’s a lot of things to work on, but they can all be done in concert, because once you start getting trained people, you can start getting skilled jobs, you can start getting a tax base, and then you can start getting people moving back here … I want everybody to succeed,” he said.
Pierce has an A-plus rating from Gun Owners of Maine and an A-plus rating from the National Rifle Association. He is endorsed by the Alewife Harvesters of Maine.
When he’s not working with the community, Pierce said he enjoys fishing, tinkering, and making things.
For more information, email jeffreykpierce@gmail.com.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
