Michael Lemelin (Piper Pavelich photo)
Rep. Michael Lemelin, R-Chelsea, is focused on addressing electricity costs and affordable housing in his bid for reelection to House District 53.
District 53 consists of Dresden, Chelsea, Pittston, and Randolph. Lemelin faces Judy Tunkle, D-Dresden, in the race.
Lemelin represented House District 88 from 2020-2022, which was composed of Chelsea, Jefferson, Nobleboro and Whitefield. The districts were redrawn following the 2020 census, leading Lemelin to run for House District 53.
He is currently serving his second term on the 131st Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services.
A Maine native, Lemelin has lived in Chelsea for nearly 20 years. He is the business manager for his wife’s chiropractic office, Chiro Works LLC, of Hallowell, which has been operating since 2006. The couple married in 1995 and has three children.
Lemelin attended the University of New Haven in Connecticut, Purdue University in Indiana, and Boston University in Massachusetts. He studied aerospace engineering at Boston University, but left to work for Johnson Space Center, of Texas, before he could obtain a degree.
“I became a pilot … I love flying,” he said.
Prior to his move to Chelsea, Lemelin worked as a pilot from 1989-1996, flying both commercial and private aircrafts. He left the occupation to provide full-time care for his son, Christian, who is living with multiple disabilities.
Lemelin said he wants to continue serving in House District 53 because he wants to make a difference.
The environment in the Maine House of Representatives has changed over the years, Lemelin said, and he feels that somebody has to fight to make things better for Mainers.
“It doesn’t matter what side you’re on … It used to be different than it is now … It used to be that the Democrats were John F. Kennedy Democrats, and that’s what the majority of people in Maine still think they are; but, times are changing, and it’s not like that anymore,” Lemelin said. “Things are getting worse and worse and worse. Somebody has to push back. I’m that person.”
Mainers in District 53 are concerned about the state of the economy, especially rising taxes, Lemelin said. He attributed the economic hardship to two things: the printing of currency and fuel prices.
“I don’t care if you’re Democrat or Republican, you just have to look out and say, ‘OK, why are my groceries doubled? Why’s electricity doubled? Why is rent going up? And everything goes to one thing … Fuel … The bottom line is fuel,” said Lemelin. “Imagine American Airlines, and gas prices go up 10 cents a gallon. They buy hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel. Do you know what 10 cents a gallon means?”
A remedy for the issue, according to him, is to stop raising taxes, as the state has a surplus of funds each year.
Increases in energy costs are apparent, he said, and solar is the reason why Mainers electric bills are spiking. Lemelin believes the change to renewable resources is unnecessary, unreliable, and also poses risk to the environment.
“I passed a bill purposely to try to slow down solar because I found out how bad it is … I approved the first solar farm as the chair of the planning board in Chelsea, but I didn’t know any better. I know what they are now and I’m against them,” he said.
Lemelin sponsored L.D. 826, “An Act to Provide for the Management of the Waste Components of a Solar Energy Development upon Decommissioning,” which was enacted in June 2023. The bill amends the definition of “decommissioning” in state law to include the recycling of recyclable waste components, such as solar panels, from a solar energy development, as well as the disposal of nonrecyclable waste components by authorized facilities upon the decommissioning of a solar energy development.
Affordable housing is also plaguing Mainers, Lemelin said, and he believes L.D. 2003 – a bill that allows the development of additional accessory dwelling units on properties – isn’t helping.
“Whether we put 1,000 apartment complexes in Chelsea, is it going to solve the housing crisis? No. Why? Yes, supply and demand sets in, but, first of all, nobody wants an apartment in Chelsea, so that isn’t going to fix anything,” said Lemelin. “They want apartments where? Portland. Can’t build any more apartments in Portland, where? And, even if they do, the apartments aren’t going to be $900 a month, they’re going to be $2,500 a month, and even more because now you’ve got a brand new building you need to pay for. It doesn’t solve anything.”
Lemelin said he believes the implementation of L.D. 2003 should be left up to each municipality and that town officials should not be pressured to do something they may not agree with.
“You can’t tell a town how to run their town,” he said.
Lemelin said he is most proud of the bills he has passed throughout his time in the Legislature, including L.D. 826; L.D. 1375, “An Act to Provide Funding for a Chapel at the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Augusta;” and L.D. 2076, “An Act to Exempt from Excise Tax Vehicles of Active Duty Service Members Deployed Out-of-State.”
Additionally, he said being censured by the Legislature was a pivotal moment, as he was simply exercising his right to free speech.
In April, Lemelin and Rep. Shelley Rudnicki, R-Fairfield, were censured by the Maine House of Representatives due to a comment Lemelin had made regarding L.D. 1619, “An Act to Improve Maine’s Reproductive Privacy Laws,” that was enacted on the same day as the Oct. 25 shooting in Lewiston.
“When 1619 passed and went into law on Oct. 25, you told God life doesn’t matter,” he said in the House on April 10. “Keep in mind that the law came into effect on Oct. 25. God heard you and the horrible events on Oct. 25 happened.”
Following Lemelin’s speech, Rudnicki rose to say she agreed with Lemelin’s remarks.
Lemelin said he was simply making an observation, as he also said severe storms coming through the area were a consequence of passing the bill.
“No one feels worse than I do,” he said of the Lewiston tragedy. “It’s horrifying.”
Lemelin said he and his opponent, Tunkle, are like “night and day,” and that what sets him apart in the race is that he has more experience serving Mainers.
“There is nothing we see eye to eye on, not a thing,” he said.
Lemelin said the path forward is paved by implementing ideas that Mainers agree with, and that starts with downsizing the government.
“Don’t you know how to run your life? Why do I need to tell you how to run your life? I don’t need to. Democrats want to run your life,” he said. “They want to tell you how you can think, how you can’t think, that’s what these laws are for. They want to tell your kids what they want to tell your kids, etc. etc. I don’t want that.”
Lemelin served on the Chelsea Planning Board and was a member of the RSU 12 Board of Directors.
For more information, go to Representative Michael Lemelin on Facebook.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
