Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

STEVE ABBOTT: 'I'm an optimist'

By Edward D. Murphy emurphy@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Steve Abbott thinks there should be a little more talking in Augusta.

Abbott, one of seven candidates for the Republican nomination for governor in next month's primary, isn't looking for more political posturing. He said more talking before lawmakers submit a bill can help reduce grandstanding and produce better laws.

Abbott, a former lawyer and the chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, for the past 12 years, told the MaineToday Media endorsement board Thursday that the state needs a realist who believes in the state's potential.

"I want Maine to have an attitude that it can succeed. There's an attitude of pessimism in this state ... (and) I'm an optimist," he said.

The idea of having more conversations before a bill is introduced is one of the lessons he learned in his dozen years in Washington, Abbott said. The pre-introduction work usually led to greater support for bills, with changes recommended that would make the laws better.

Too often, he said, lawmakers look for proposals that will make Maine "first in the nation" with an initiative that isn't well thought through, particularly when it comes to the cost.

Abbott said he supports the repeal of a tax reform package that will be on the June 8 ballot. He said the state needs to rein in spending to produce real savings on taxes.

Maine needs a top-to-bottom audit of state government, he said, to find waste and eliminate any duplication of effort. It then needs to develop a set of benchmarks that programs will have to meet for continued funding.

Abbott said that government has become too shortsighted, looking only to the next election cycle -- and sometimes not even that far. He proposes a Maine 2020 approach, to put the focus on the kind of state Maine should be in 10 years and restore a longer view to policy-making.

Maine's push to get school districts to consolidate has taken on a "one size fits all" mentality, Abbott said. He suggested that savings in education can come from innovation.

Abbott said he would support innovation in energy production but the state must keep its options open and not get too dependent on any one technology.

He also said Maine would benefit from greater use of hydroelectric production and nuclear energy.