Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

MAINE COMPASS: State employees have a key role in turning Maine around

The union that represents most state employees has demanded that I apologize for declining to answer its candidate questionnaire and for stating that the endorsement of the Democratic candidate for governor is a done deal.

It is, and I won’t apologize for speaking the truth.

At the same time, I want to make it very clear that my decision and response to the Maine State Employees Association-Service Employees International Union was in no way meant to offend rank-and-file state employees.

I requested an opportunity to meet with the union leaders, but they refused to meet with me because I would not complete their questionnaire. Instead of responding to the questionnaire, I provided a letter to the union and asked that the letter be shared with state employees.

I want the support of state employees and will work hard to earn it. We have problems that we need to work together to solve.

I met with the MSEA-SEIU leaders last fall and told them that many people throughout Maine believe that state government is too remote, too big, too expensive, too unfriendly, leaderless and just plain broken. Nine months later, those feelings among the voters I meet with on a daily basis have only grown more intense.

But we can fix this. We can get rid of the programs that we don’t need or can no longer afford. We can improve customer service. And if we do those things, we can restore the trust and confidence that Maine people have in their government.

As Maine’s next governor, I intend to lead a comprehensive reform of state government. The two most important ingredients for reform are strong leadership in the Blaine House and the commissioners offices and the help and support of state employees. As I told the MSEA members in my letter, I want to work in a partnership with state employees.

Job 1 for all of us is to get Maine people back to work, raise income levels and broaden our tax base. Too many of our fellow citizens are either out of work or are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

Last month, I spent the night with a hardworking family in central Maine. I met with many of their neighbors, including a number of state employees. There wasn’t one family that hadn’t been hurt in some way by this recession. They want this economic nightmare to end. They want to believe in the future again.

Union leadership wants state employees to fear any candidate who is not a Democrat. Instead, what they really should fear is a candidate who represents more of the same. Because if Maine stays on the same course as it has been, the only thing state employees will be able to count on is more economic stagnation, less tax revenue and more job cuts.

State workers, like everyone else in Maine, should embrace the candidate who has the best plan to get Maine’s economy moving again  someone who will create the conditions that will cause Maine businesses, as well as those from outside of Maine, to invest here again. That’s the only way we are going to create jobs and raise incomes.

That’s why we need to focus on strategies that will make a difference. The most important change that we need to make is to reduce the costs of living and doing business in Maine, so that our extraordinary natural advantages once again become competitive advantages.

In addition to lowering the cost of electricity and the cost of health care, we also must reduce the cost of state services. We can do that in part by making state government more efficient and more innovative, and I want state employees to lead the way in those efforts. I will seek their advice and involve them in decision-making, because I know that most state employees work hard and take their public service seriously.

Finally, these are the ironclad promises that I made to state employees in my letter: I will provide strong, honest, ethical leadership. I will appoint department heads and managers based on their experience and competence, not their political connections. I will challenge state employees to come up with new ideas and ways to deliver services more efficiently and effectively. I will empower them to do what is right, and I will find a way to reward them.

Our state motto, Dirigo, means I Lead. I want Dirigo to mean something again in the Blaine House and throughout state government.

I want every state employee to be proud of what they do and to be respected and admired by the people they serve. I make no apologies for that.

Eliot Cutler of Cape Elizabeth is an independent candidate for governor.