PenBayPilot.com has circulated questions to candidates seeking office in Midcoast Senate and House District. As candidates return their responses, we are posting them on the Pilot's front page, and then they will reside on the Elections 2024 Voter Resource Page, which also includes letters, opinions, stories about state and local referendum questions, and more.

Incumbent William D. Pluecker, I-Warren, is seeking the House District 44 seat. The district comprises Hope, Union and Warren. He is running against Ray Alden Thombs, Jr., R-Union.

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1) Please provide a short biography of yourself, and explain why you are running for office.

I have been growing vegetables, cows, and children on almost 100 acres here on Finntown Road in Warren for 20 years now. We mostly sell wholesale to our local food coops and the Mainers Feeding Mainers program run by Good Shepherd Food Bank, which distributes our food throughout the midcoast to food pantries. 

I also work for Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), working to pass federal legislation to support farmers dealing with PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”

I have two children. My son, Eli,  will be turning 19 in October and graduated from Medomak Valley High School this past May, and my daughter, CJ, 15,  began her sophomore year at Medomak Valley this fall. 

I have worked to teach my kids the value of hard work and self-reliance on the farm. I have also taught them about being active members of our community, which I have modeled through  participation and leadership in our church, caring for our community through donating vegetables from the farm to local food pantries, and through our farm apprenticeship program where we have taught dozens of young farmers (many of whom have gone on to run their own businesses) the same values of self-reliance and hard work.

As an Independent farmer in the State House and as the House Chair of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee, I hold a unique perspective. 

I have lived the struggle to keep a small business up and running in tight times, and I know what it means to look beyond the partisan hype to work for real solutions that help people without necessarily making the headlines. 

The perspective of the Independent farmer is an important one in our State politics right now as increasing financial pressure is put on businesses across the state, and we need to learn to do more with less. We need politicians who are working for real solutions for real people, not just scoring political points.

 

2) What are the most pressing issues facing the state and how would you like to see them resolved?

We are heading into a hard winter for many people here in the district. The price of food is going up, as are property taxes. We have a hard enough time making ends meet in our rural communities without these additional pressures. 

Of course, dealing with inflation is a complex issue that is not easily solved. I have worked hard in the Legislature to make sure that towns have the money that they need to keep property taxes low. 

The state is now fully funding 55% of school costs as well as the 5% of municipal revenue sharing. We must continue these funding levels so that we can slow the pressure on towns to increase property taxes. 

We have also expanded direct property tax relief with programs, such as Expanded Property Tax Fairness Credit, Expanded Benefit for Disabled Veterans, Expanded Homestead Exemption, and Expanded eligibility for the State Property Tax Deferral Program, but these programs clearly have not gone far enough towards relieving the pressure on our seniors and veterans.

The cost of housing continues to go up as the supply dwindles. We need to increase supply and make sure that our older homes can be remodeled and made more efficient for winters. The state needs to continue to fund developments and reduce regulations to allow homes to be built.

Our small businesses are struggling with the labor shortage, which means we have a hard time building the homes we need, running our farms, and it hurts our whole economy. The state needs to run programs to encourage people to get back to work and help lower the cost of hiring people and make sure they have the education needed for the jobs we need them to fill.

3) Are there any specific issues affecting your particular district that you want to address in the Legislature?

Property taxes continue to be the biggest  issue that folks have discussed with me. Since I have been in office, the state has fully funded 55% of educational costs as well as 5% of municipal revenue sharing. We need to continue to take the burden of educational expenses off of the property owner.

 In many cases, this burden falls the hardest on our seniors who have been in their homes the longest. When this cost is shifted to the state, cost is able to be distributed over the wealthier more populous areas of the state with a larger tax base. This begins to address the issues we see arising from different school districts having wildly different resources based on the wealth of the community, as well as potentially address the burden on seniors who are aging in their homes. 

Our community came together in an amazing way in the last few years to address the threat posed by metallic mining in our district. Industrial metallic mining cannot be done in a way that does not have a dramatic effect on the land and water in the area of the mine. 

The threat posed by the mining companies that wanted to mine next door to homes was intense, but it was truly awe inspiring to see the community come together across the political spectrum to protect our towns and homes. We passed new municipal mining ordinances that took up where the state laws left off. I will continue my fight in the state house to protect our homes, land, and water from predatory mining operations that try to take advantage of our rural communities. 

 

4) Given the cost of health care, how would you address increasing access to affordable and high-quality health care for all?

When I was first elected to the State House six years ago, we were paying for health insurance through the affordable care act marketplace that we could barely afford, but we made do. Some years, my kids qualified for Mainecare, and some years they did not, depending on how well the farm did. 

We lost our access to subsidized health insurance through the marketplace once I was officially employed as a legislator, and almost my entire legislative paycheck went to paying for health insurance those years. 

I know the challenge of trying to find affordable health insurance, or even battling it out with Maine Health when they bill you for care you thought your insurance was going to cover. There is no easy fix for the issue. I am proud that we expanded access to Mainecare so that fewer families had to do that dance of going between Mainecare and the marketplace every year. We need to continue to fully fund that program, so that families in rural communities like mine do not have to choose between health care and heat.

 

5) Property owners throughout most of Maine are watching their property tax bills increase on an annual basis, some dramatically. What would you do, as a legislator, to help relieve the financial load on property-owning taxpayers?

I have addressed issues such as educational reform and municipal revenue sharing above, so I will go into more detail with the directed property tax reforms that are needed.

We must continue to expand the Property Tax Fairness Credit. For tax years beginning after January 1, 2024, the Property Tax Fairness Credit was increased for individuals 65 years of age or older by  increasing the maximum benefit base to $4,000 and increasing the maximum benefit from $1,500 to $2,000. 

The $4,000 benefit base amount will continue to be adjusted annually for inflation for tax years beginning after 2024. This is a first step in the right direction that we took this past year, but we need to increase this relief for Mainers by making it available to younger people and families. 

There will be many demands made upon any possible surplus as we go into 2025, but this should be at the top of our priority list.

This past Legislature we expanded the Property Tax Benefit for Disabled Veterans, which essentially doubles the credit they would have otherwise received. We need to do all we can as a state to ensure these men and women are able to stay in their homes.

Since 2019, we have expanded the Homestead Exemption, which most of us who have owned our homes for at least 12 months qualify for. This is an amazing program that benefits all of us who are paying property taxes and own our own homes in Maine. We need to continue to expand this exemption.

This year we expanded the property tax deferral program, which was formally funded from the federal government but which the state has now picked up. 

For older folks who make less than median income and do not have the resources in the bank to afford their property taxes, the state will pick up the cost so that they do not have to leave their home for lack of payment. 

The state will recoup the cost upon the transfer or sale of the house, but at the very least they will not have to leave their homes. We need to ensure this is a program that ensures no senior will be kicked out of their home for lack of funds to cover their property taxes.

 

6) Do you endorse net energy billing (solar power subsidies) that are designed to help Maine move further toward renewable energy, despite the increase in power bills for Maine power customers?

I have been evolving in my understanding of net energy billing through the years. I am a farmer who sees the impact of climate change on a daily basis, and I want Maine to find a more sustainable way to supply the energy we need. Nevertheless, the solar power subsidies that were appropriate years ago are no longer serving us. 

The cost of solar panels from China continues to go down, and the subsidies are no longer as important as they were when Net Energy Billing began. It is time that the State Legislature takes clear action to reduce the average bill on residential and commercial ratepayers alike. We need solar, but not at the expense of citizens and businesses losing their ability to afford access to electricity. 

 

7) Are you in favor of developing an offshore wind port in Searsport? If so, do you want it sited on Sears Island or Mack Point, and why?

We need to continue to develop green energy in Maine in order to offset the impact of climate change on our farmers and fishermen. Nevertheless, destroying important coastal habitat for the sake of a greener future does not make sense. 

We should be doing more to explore the cost differentials between Mack Point and Sears Island. Information from the two sides of the debate gave conflicting information about which would be cheaper to develop and provide power for Mainers. Dredging is necessary to pursue development at either site, more studies need to be done to look at the environmental and financial impact of both plans. At the end of the day, a very strong argument would need to be presented in order for me to think that Mack Point was a stronger choice than Sears Island. 

 

8) Should abortion be a constitutional right in Maine?

 I have always been a supporter of medical freedom in my votes in the state house, and from that perspective, I have also always voted pro-choice. The government should not have the right to come into our doctor appointments and tell the doctor and patient that they have to make a choice that puts that person in medical danger. I will continue to vote that way. 

The probability of a constitutional amendment passing the Maine House is almost zero as it would require a ⅔ majority of the body to pass the measure. The issue is not one where the two parties are likely to compromise, and neither party is likely to win a ⅔ majority as both sides generally have close to 50/50 representation in the House. I will continue to vote pro-choice, but I will work to convince the legislature to pursue practical medical freedoms for all people, not political non-starters like a constitutional amendment. 

 

9) Are Maine’s gun laws strict enough? If not, what do you propose? 

In these times of increasing gun violence in our schools and political arena, we need to take a stronger look at our priorities as a society. Children are slipping through the cracks of a school system that is burdened to not just be an institution of education, but also providing medical and mental health care, and food access. With fewer and fewer resources for mental health needs in our state, more people are finding themselves alone when they most need help. 

As a society, we are increasingly legitimizing the use of violence as a means of resolving disputes, and so the mentally ill turn there when there is nowhere else to turn. We need to make sure there is a real mental health system in Maine that finds folks with violent impulses and takes away their guns before it goes any further. 

We need the military to take care of their soldiers who have put themselves in harm's way for all of our safety, and to realize that those soldiers have been exposed to many experiences while in the service from regular low level blasts leading to traumatic brain injury, to the traumas of war, and that they may require more support than those who have not been in military service. 

Reasonable gun laws that keep guns out of the hands of unsupervised children, and mentally ill folks prone to violence are common sense measures that should find bipartisan support. 

 

10) What legislative committees would you like to serve on and why?

As the House Chair of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry, and as a farmer, myself, with 20 years experience selling commercially, I have personal and policy experience with the agricultural sector that is unique in Augusta. 

I have worked for years now to push back on the constellation of pressures that are mounting on farmers from loss of agricultural soils to development, increasing labor, fertilizer, and seed costs, to market pressure from Canada on blueberries and domestic pressure on our embattled dairy sector. Agriculture is a way of life in Maine as much as it is a business venture. 

The loss of these farmlands and businesses will irrevocably change the nature of our state which impacts both tourists as well as those of us lucky enough to call this land out home. Local Maine farms are special in that no one business can exist in a vacuum. As farmers, we all depend upon the infrastructure and services that the rest of the farming community also need. 

There is a tipping point at which there will not be enough demand for service providers like veterinarians, tractor supply and repair shops, to milk trucking, at which large swaths of the industry could go under. As an interconnected web, we all work together to support our state, the people who eat our food, and the environment upon which we all depend. 

11) What is your opinion on each of the Nov. 5 statewide referendums?

 I am not advocating one way or another on any of the below questions, but I am offering my opinion on them so that you can have insight into my own thought process.

QUESTION 1: An Act to Limit Contributions to Political Action Committees That Make Independent Expenditures, Do you want to set a $5,000 limit for giving to political action committees that spend money independently to support or defeat candidates for office? 

YES - Even though this question is mostly a political effort to create the opportunity to take a case to the Supreme Court, it is still worth making the statement against the big money that plays such a large part in so many elections.

QUESTION 2: An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue for Research and Development and Commercialization, Do you favor a bond issue of $25,000,000 to provide funds, to be awarded through a competitive process and to leverage matching private and federal funds on at least a one-to-one basis, for research and development and commercialization for Maine-based public and private institutions in support of technological innovation in the targeted sectors of life sciences and biomedical technology, environmental and renewable energy technology, information technology, advanced technologies for forestry and agriculture, aquaculture and marine technology, composites and advanced materials and precision manufacturing? 

YES - I am a big supporter of R&D that can be used to support our small businesses especially our forestry, agriculture, and marine industries. 

QUESTION 3: An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Restore Historic Community Buildings, Do you favor a $10,000,000 bond issue to restore historic buildings owned by governmental and nonprofit organizations, with funds being issued contingent on a 25% local match requirement from either private or nonprofit sources? 

YES - I see the match component as an important piece of this question. The faster the world moves, the more quickly some of these historic buildings are lost. We should not lose this important connection to our past. 

QUESTION 4: An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Promote the Design, Development and Maintenance of Trails for Outdoor Recreation and Active Transportation, Do you favor a $30,000,000 bond issue to invest in the design, development and maintenance for nonmotorized, motorized and multi-use trails statewide, to be matched by at least $3,000,000 in private and public contributions? 

YES - I supported this bond in the legislature and I still do. These trails are hugely important to our tourist economy in the West and North of Maine. This bond will pay dividends back to our state through increased tourism in the shoulder seasons and winter. 

QUESTION 5: An Act to Restore the Former State of Maine Flag, Do you favor making the former state flag, replaced as the official flag of the State in 1909 and commonly known as the Pine Tree Flag, the official flag of the State? 

YES - while I very much disapprove of the way that this question has become so very partisan, I think that at its heart it is a question about whether we want a flag that stands out amongst the flags of the states, is memorable, can be recognized from a distance, and connects us to the history of the founding of our state. 

 

12) Is Maine doing enough to prepare and protect infrastructure for rising ocean levels and increased precipitation?

With the increased storm damage and flooding that occurred around the state this past Winter and Spring, we are now feeling the increased pressure on all our communities from climate change. We need to continue to harden our defenses, raise roadways, raise working piers, and increase drainage. We need to be smart about making decisions to rebuild in especially vulnerable areas, and know when to abandon a road or building, but generally speaking, improving our infrastructure to be resilient in the coming decades is of vital importance to our state’s economy.

 

13) What issues are emerging from your conversations with the public as you go about your campaign, and what solutions do you envision?

We are all facing increasing property tax burdens, and these burdens fall most directly on those who have been in their homes the longest. Seniors in my community bought their homes when they were worth much less than  their current valuation. Their pension and social security checks don’t go up with anywhere near the speed with which the value of their home or the cost of education and municipal expenses go up. So they watch their monthly checks increasingly disappear to property taxes.

 Our current method of education funding pits the needs of our children against the needs of our seniors who are trying to age in place, and this is not sustainable. Education is tremendously expensive and this burden should be taken off the local communities and increasingly picked up by the state. It is also an unfair system that gives preference to the wealthy communities that can afford higher costs for education versus the rural communities without the population or business revenue of the cities. 

Following this pattern, the children of working class rural communities are left burdened by the deficit created by virtue of the place they were born, while the children of the cities have access to more educational resources, perpetuating the “two states” of Maine. 

The State government should continue the process we have begun by fully funding 55% of education. By maintaining that level, or increasing it if budgets allow, some of the pressure on property taxes felt by struggling rural communities will be alleviated. 

When the state levels the playing field by taking education costs off of the school districts, it will lower property taxes. It will also help to ensure equal access to funding for all, rather than creating a system of better funded cities and worse funded rural communities. All of this reduces the burden of constantly increasing property taxes on our seniors, and  will benefit both our children, the holders of our future, and our seniors, the keepers of our past.

 

14) How would you define "good state government?”

A government that guarantees equal access to the fundamental rights of all people. One that has strong checks and balances against judicial and executive powers. A government against which the people can appeal its decisions and have a meaningful voice in how those decisions are made. We also want stability and cohesion in these tough political times. We need politicians that are not out for their own benefit but see the work of representing the district as a service to the public with its own rewards. 

 

15) What are the qualities and attributes of Maine that you want to enhance and cultivate?

I love farms, farmers, and the land that supports them. We need to work to protect this way of life and the economy that it supports. The agricultural industry is under attack by big agricultural businesses and conglomerates in the other parts of the country. Maine’s land and climate are better for smaller farmers who can produce healthy, delicious local food for local people. If we lose our agricultural land and farming economy, we lose so much of what makes Maine so special. 

 

16) Is there any other topic or issue you'd like to talk about here? Have at it! 

As an Independent farmer in the state house and as the House Chair of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee, I hold a unique perspective. I have lived the struggle to keep a small business up and running in tight times, and I know what it means to look beyond the partisan hype to work for real solutions that help people without necessarily making the headlines. 

The perspective of the independent farmer is an important one in our State politics right now as increasing financial pressure is put on businesses across the state, and we need to learn to do more with less. 

We need politicians who are working for real solutions for real people, not just scoring political points.