Denise Tepler (Piper Pavelich photo)
With her campaign for Senate District 24, Denise Tepler, D-Topsham, said she is committed to increasing access to affordable health care, childcare, and housing for all Mainers.
Tepler faces Jeffrey K. Pierce, R-Dresden, and Suzanne Andresen, I-West Bath, for the seat. 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.
Tepler is seeking a return to Augusta, having previously served in House District 54 from 2014-2022.
Tepler said she is running for Senate District 24 because she feels that there is work she left undone, and she wants to remain active in public service in her community.
“I understand what kinds of incremental work can be done to benefit the people of Maine, and there are things that I’d like to see happen that I would like to get to work on,” she said.
Tepler studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and a Master of Arts in cultural anthropology. She also studied public policy at the University of Southern Maine.
She moved to Topsham from Philadelphia in 1983 with her husband, Sheldon. Prior to her relocation, she worked as an editor in the publications department and taught anthropology in night school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Since coming to Maine, she has worked in collections at Bowdoin College’s Arctic Museum, taught anthropology at the University of Southern Maine and University of Maine at Augusta, taught cooking through Merrymeeting Adult Education, of Topsham, and worked in nonprofit program evaluation.
Tepler said some of her greatest accomplishments while serving as a state representative included working to require long-term insurance companies to inform customers when they apply for a rate increase with the Maine Bureau of Insurance, and working with Gov. Janet Mills to remove sales tax from menstrual products in Maine through L.D. 286, a bill that was shelved in 2020.
If elected, Tepler said she would like to address increased cost of living, issues of tax fairness, protecting women’s reproductive rights, improving maternal and child health outcomes, and mitigating the impact of climate change on Maine communities.
One of Tepler’s main focuses is improving access to health care and cutting its cost. Solutions for this could include reduced prices for pharmaceuticals, specifically, following in the footsteps of other states and getting a waiver to use Canadian-based pricing for certain medication.
Tepler believes her previous experiences in public service have equipped her to make a meaningful impact in the Senate.
In addition to serving in House District 54, Tepler served on the MSAD 75 School Board of Directors from 1996-2002. She served on the finance committee for the town of Topsham from 2008-2014.
Tepler has served on the board of the Maine Public Health Association since 2022, a nonprofit that advocates, acts, and advises on public health challenges, aiming to improve policies, systems, and environments that have underlying health inequities, according to the association’s website.
She has also been on the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program Board of Directors since 2022 and is chair of the board’s governance committee. The program works to provide community members with access to healthy food.
Tepler is on the Highlands Resident Assistance Fund Board, which provides financial assistance to residents of The Highlands retirement community in Topsham who cannot pay some or all charges for housing and healthcare.
According to Tepler, the growth of Maine’s economy rests on the state’s ability to grapple with three issues: housing, child care, and wages.
If elected, Tepler said she would consider working on creating a tax increment financing district for the development of daycare centers, specifically with businesses that need to provide daycare services for their employees.
“I’m very interested both personally and professionally in the issue of how do we grow quality child care for the people of Maine because we can’t expect young families to come here or to stay here unless, not only are they able to find a place to live, but they’re able to find and afford a place for their children to be safely watched while they’re working,” she said.
No matter the issue, Tepler said she believes the Legislature can do more to help Maine communities. She applied this to her thoughts on how L.D. 2003 – a bill aimed at alleviating housing affordability issues by allowing additional accessory dwelling units – has affected Mainers.
According to Tepler, despite the bill helping developers recognize the need for affordable housing and the clear increase in accessory dwelling units, the bill didn’t do enough to address the opposition some community members may have to changes in their neighborhoods.
“It is one of the biggest problems we have in developing more housing in the state of Maine, particularly housing in dense areas, which is what we need for (the bill) to be most efficient and effective,” she said.
Tepler is endorsed by Maine Conservation Voters, Sierra Club’s Maine Chapter, Maine Education Association, AFL-CIO, and MSEA-SEIU.
When she’s not serving the community in one of her many roles, Tepler said she enjoys cooking, reading, listening to audiobooks, and spending time with her family.
For more information, go to denisetepler.mainecandidate.com.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
