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House District 87 candidate Jeff Hanley. (J.W. Oliver photo, LCN file) |
By John Maguire
Pittston resident Jeffery P. Hanley is the Republican candidate running in the general election on Nov. 4 against District 53 incumbent Timothy Marks for District 87 in the
Maine House of Representatives.
The newly drawn district includes Alna and Wiscasset in Lincoln County and Pittston and Randolph in Kennebec County.
Hanley was born and raised in Gardiner. He worked odd jobs as a student at Gardiner High School, entered the National Guard and then married his high school
sweetheart soon after graduation. Hanley got a job as a pipe fitter and welder at Bath Iron Works and stayed for three or four years, after which he joined a local pipe fitter’s
union and worked in the industry for an additional 18 years.
Then he joined Sappi Fine Paper mill, working as a welder and pipe fitter. After 16 years employment with Sappi, Hanley retired.
“When people say they want to retire and do nothing, don’t believe it,” he said, “You can stay stagnant only for so long.”
In “retirement” Hanley, 63, works part time as an electrician. He also volunteers for the Gardiner Food Bank and the Knights of Columbus, and served as a mentor for
a Catholic men’s group at the Maine State Prison in Warren for a while.
“It was a very sobering experience,” he said. “For a lot of men in prison, drugs are everything. A lot of men seem to be mentally, emotionally troubled. A lot of
these guys were in trouble from the day they were born.”
Hanley went on to say that the large percentage of men in prison, according to statistics he had read, come from single-parent homes and had difficult times starting
out in life without a father figure.
“To me it’s a moral issue, he said. “Your culture changes as morals change. The reason domestic violence is so prevalent is due to the fact that our culture has
changed, and our morals have changed. You can’t legislate it. It has to come from our culture; you have to have a foundation.”
Hanley is clear in his views on firearms legislation: “When it comes to the Second Amendment, it’s a no-brainer,” he said, clarifying that law abiding citizens with
no criminal records should be allowed to carry firearms. He believes in “Constitutional Carry,” which allows a person to carry a firearm without being required to have a permit.
Hanley does not have a background in fisheries, but is interested in fisheries management and the science behind the regulations. He believes the state should follow
biologists’ recommendations when establishing rules for the fisheries.
“Look at the lobster industry,” he said. “The lobstermen have really saved their industry by taking early action, but they didn’t work in a vacuum; they got a lot of
information from biologists. They really have protected a great Maine industry.”
Industry is a key word for Hanley. He would like to see more of it in the state of Maine. The problems associated with industry, the success of lobstering aside, are
regulations and taxation, according to Hanley.
“We all can’t mow each other’s lawn,” he said, only half-joking. Hanley recalled some of his first jobs as a young man growing up in Gardiner and while attending
high school there: odd jobs, like mowing lawns and working in the service industry.
“I like the direction Governor LePage has taken us,” he said, but then referenced the Forbes Magazine poll ranking Maine 50th among states that are business-
friendly. “The state needs to improve the job climate,” he said. “You can’t raise revenue from people who don’t have jobs.”
The problem, he said, is that Maine residents pay so much to educate students, “and then they leave. The state doesn’t have a really shining future for young
people,” hence his stance on manufacturing, which he says builds value.
“We have to have manufacturing,” he said. “You can only charge so much for a hamburger or to mow a lawn. It’s not just a state problem, but a national problem.
You’ve got to build things. In order for the government to have a tax base, you’ve got to have a stream of income.”
The trouble with manufacturing and attracting companies to Maine, Hanley said, are taxes and regulation. Speaking of regulation, he compared Maine with New Hampshire
regarding the sale of raw milk, an issue that has been debated over the past few years.
Sale of raw milk in Maine requires visits to farms by state inspectors, whereas farmers in New Hampshire can sell 40 gallons per day without these inspections,
according to Hanley. “In Maine you can’t sell anything without the government getting involved,” he said and, referencing a quote frequently credited to Thomas Jefferson or
Henry David Thoreau, “I believe in, ‘that which governs least governs best.’ We want and need government, but we don’t want too much,” he said.
Also, Maine taxes are too high and often are to blame for turning business away, according to Hanley. In addition to providing incentives to attract businesses, he
supports the governor’s interest in eliminating income tax. “I think that’s a great idea,” he said.
He referred to the so-called Fair Tax System, which, according to fairtax.org, would replace people’s income tax with a national sales tax.
There are energy industries that could be better utilized, according to Hanley. Natural gas, he said, is abundant and cheap. Hydro power is also a good idea, where
practical, however, Hanley does not feel the same way about solar energy.
“We don’t seem to have the right latitude; it might work in some places. It all boils down to practicality and cost,” he said.
Hanley heats his home with wood and plans on buying a pellet boiler. This is one industry that he feels has great potential. “It’s a circular economic thing; it all
stays in Maine,” he said. “The trees are growing faster than you can cut them down.”
He cuts his own wood and he and his wife have a big garden. Hanley likes to hunt and fish. He and his wife have four children, who he said all live in Maine, and
nine grandchildren.
“Everything is a struggle in this economy,” he said, adding that his views on the economy, jobs and education, “are selfish. I want my kids to stay here.”
