When the 127th Maine Legislature reconvened last week it did so for the first time in eight years without Bruce MacDonald. He was among 19 state legislators who were prohibited from seeking a fifth consecutive term due to the state’s 22-year-old term limit law.

MacDonald, 75, of Boothbay said he’d would have sought another term in the Maine House of Representatives had he been eligible.

“As a veteran legislator you learn how the system works,” MacDonald said. “You also get to know the people by name, where they live and what their issues are. That is important in representing your district.”

During his legislative tenure, he served during a time when the Democratic party had a large majority in both chambers and the governorship. He also served when the Republicans gained a majority in both chambers for the first time since 1974. The 2010 election also gave the Republicans control of the Blaine House as Gov. Paul LePage won the first of his two terms in office.

MacDonald, a democrat, said it was an interesting experience going from the majority to the minority. When MacDonald was first elected in 2006, the Democrats had large majorities in both chambers and in 2008 increased those margins. But the GOP riding a wave of voter discontent turned the tables in 2010.

“It certainly was an eye-opener,” MacDonald said. “You think more broadly about what it’s like to be in the minority. It completely turned around, and you understand how the other side must have felt all those years. In the minority, you might have a good idea, but you get rolled because your side isn’t in the majority. ”

Regardless of which party controlled the legislature, or the Blaine House, MacDonald was frustrated in his efforts to improve public education. He battled Gov. John Baldacci over school consolidation and LePage over charter schools.

He believes the state has failed over the years to make a sustained commitment to improve public education. MacDonald attributed the failure to not living up to the state’s commitment to fund 55 percent of public kindergarten through grade 12 education.

MacDonald believes a stronger public education system is vital to state’s economic development. He points toward surveys where employers want an educated workforce as a main factor in job creation. He said companies are leery about relocating unless there is well-educated, trained work force.

MacDonald believes the solution to improving the state’s economy is putting more money into the public school system. In recent years, the state has moved closer to funding 55 percent of K-12 education, but it still hasn’t reached the level mandated by law. He estimated it would take about $300 million in additional funding to reach the 55 percent mark.

“It’s a law, but implementation depends upon how much money you have,” MacDonald said. “Nobody wants to raise taxes. So to get to 55 percent you’d have to ‘rob’ other agencies like DHHS ( Department of Health and Human Services), University of Maine System, police or the prisons, and nobody wants to do that either.”

When Baldacci proposed school consolidation in 2007, MacDonald opposed the effort. The  first-term legislator opposed Baldacci’s version of school consolidation because he didn’t believe the law would achieve the promised savings.

MacDonald opposed the legislation every step of the way until the final vote was taken. The school consolidation law was submitted as part of the state budget. This put legislators in a position to either accept the new law or reject the entire budget. 

“I’m not going to vote against the whole budget because I don’t agree with one aspect,” he said. “The budget had a lot good things for fishermen, roads and other functions. So I thought it was good government to carry on and vote for the budget, and fight the battle another day.”

In the next legislative session, MacDonald and a bipartisan combination of rural legislators worked to revise the school consolidation law, which had become wildly unpopular across the state. The legislators proposed reforming the law to what it looks like today. The revised law included the creation of  Alternative Organizational Structures, which looked to save school systems money on administrative, transportation and special services.

However, the rural legislators proposal was never saw the light of day, according to MacDonald. Baldacci submitted a bill that changed the law to placate the rural legislator’s concerns.

“I think the Gov. (Baldacci) saw the hand writing on the wall and submitted his own bill to create the AOS,” MacDonald said. “His original bill looked to reduce the number of administrators and use the savings in the classrooms. But those savings never materialized to the extent promised.”

When LePage became governor, he began his own educational reform providing more opportunities for charter schools. These institutions receive public money without operating within an established public school system.

MacDonald opposes charter schools for two reason. The first is that he believes charter schools aren’t achieving the improved results promised, and second, it removes tax dollars out of the public school system.

“I think Republicans support charter schools because it fits there attitude about every public sector program. They think the free market can do everything, and they don’t put much faith in public institutions like education,” MacDonald said.

As a state legislator, MacDonald served thee terms on the Marine Resources and one on the Business Research and Economic Development committees. MacDonald is proud of the bill he submitted to refund five percent of gasoline tax back to lobstermen.

He submitted the bill after hearing about the tax’s unfairness from a lobsterman on the campaign trail.

“The lobsterman asked why they had to pay the tax, which was designated for road improvements. I thought he made a good point, and sponsored the bill,” he said.

MacDonald also pointed toward a bill placing a three-year moratorium on constructing a coal-fired liquefying plant near the Sheepscot River in Wiscasset, and allowing public organizations to invest in wind and tidal energy as major accomplishments in the legislature.

As the 127th Maine Legislature is about to begin, 53 new Maine House of Representatives will be taking their seats in the state capitol. One of those new representatives is Stephanie Hawke (R-Boothbay Harbor) who is succeeding MacDonald.

For these first-time legislators, MacDonald advises them to be good listeners and carefully consider what bills to sponsor.

“There is a lot of good work done in the committees, so it’s important to be a good listener to understand what the bill is about,” he said. “Also, in my first term, I submitted 14 bills only one got passed. So they should focus on sponsoring the ones that impact the most people.”

He also advises legislators to be patient. MacDonald said the 151 members of the Maine House all have a different set of priorities.

“You’ve got the Saint John Valley and large cities like Portland. You also have western Maine, which has a focus on paper mills and the forests, and the communities along the coast which place an importance on marine issues,” he said. “You find out in a hurry that the other legislators aren’t real concerned with the cost of operating a lobster boat.”

As a legislator, MacDonald believes their most important role is to be the community’s man in Augusta. His legislative service included numerous hours answering constituent’s phone calls regarding elderly people looking to replace lost documents — like birth certificates — or people with questions about child support laws.

“Your most important job is relating to people and connecting them to the government,”  he said.

MacDonald could seek reelection to the Maine House of Representatives in 2016, but he doesn’t believe he’ll run for office again. As he approaches his 76th birthday this month, MacDonald will focus on his love for the arts. He plans on spending more time painting and playing his fiddle.