Tuesday, May 22, 2012
RACE FOR GOVERNOR
By Melanie Creamer mcreamer@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
When University of Maine Professor Habib Dagher asked to see the coast Maine for potential wind power sites, Pat McGowan put him in a plane he was flying and showed him.
Pat McGowan
File photo
McGowan, one of four Democratic candidates for governor, told MaineToday Media's editorial board on Monday he's a hands-on person who understands the state's economy and has a vision for its future.
McGowan, of Hallowell, has a long record of public service. He was a legislator from Somerset County in the 1980s, regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration in New England, and was most recently commissioner of the Maine Department of Conservation.
As a former state representative, McGowan sponsored the Land and for Maine's Future program, which has put a half million acres into conservation.
McGowan said one of the first proposals he would bring forward if elected governor is to advance the Great Maine Forest Initiative.
"We need to get back to the best days of Maine economically, when the natural resources and energy were linked together to add the most value and give the best benefit as far as jobs and the future of the economy," McGowan said.
He said his objective is to link forest resources with long-term contracts for the paper and wood products industries and link renewable energy, whether it's biomass, wind power or other opportunities with hydro Quebec.
"I have met with the premier of Quebec and the president of HydroQuebec," McGowan said. "I know what they are doing. They are going to build 20,000 new megawatts of electricity from hydro and they don't have a place to sell it. There are opportunities."
McGowan said he will also focus on small businesses. He said his work has been owning and operating small businesses, and helping small businesses gain access to access to capital, technical assistance and training.
"It's the backbone of the Maine economy, small businesses," McGowan said. "I know what it needs."
McGowan has proposed an initiative to consolidate the State Planning Office, the bureau of professional regulation, and the Department of Economic and Community Development. He said those departments need to be looking at and talking to each other and seeing the same end result.
"That's a better economy with more coordination from government," McGowan said.
On taxes, McGowan said his objective is to not take another penny out of a Maine family's pocket. He also said he would be willing to look at other revenues that don't impact families like nonresident property owners.
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