Setting the Record Straight

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Dill, Summers, King: Tough questions, candid interviews

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Maine State House in Spring, Photo John Christie

The most important issues for voters in this election are jobs and the economy. As part of our series about the U.S. Senate race in Maine, “Setting the Record Straight,” the Center’s reporters have conducted in-depth interviews with the top three candidates about their records of job creation and economic development. Reporters Matt Drange, John Christie and Naomi Schalit pose the hard questions and track down the important details with candidates Cynthia Dill, Charlie Summers and Angus King. We videotaped those interviews, and you can see them below. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Stories, Angus King, Charlie Summers, Cynthia Dill, video

King cites his $900m tax break program as a job creator

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Angus King, photo Terry Karkos, Sun Journal

The number one issue on voters’ minds this year is jobs. Angus King, the leading candidate in the U. S. Senate race, claims as governor he helped create jobs in Maine with some of his policies, including a program called BETR. BETR stands for Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement. Until King became governor, businesses had to pay property taxes on equipment they purchased, from paper-making machines to computers. In 1995, then-Gov. King persuaded the legislature that if the state gave the taxes back to the businesses, businesses would expand and create jobs for Mainers. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Money, Stories, Angus King, BETR, Maine senate campaign, tax break

Charlie Summers interview with the Center

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The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting’s Naomi Schalit and John Christie interviewed U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Summers on Friday, August 17. With him was Jay Martin, Maine’s Small Business Advocate. The interview focused on Summers’ record of job creation, specifically on the creation of the Small Business Advocate position. There are two versions of the video. The first is an edited version of our interview, the second is the unedited interview.   Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Charlie Summers, Maine senate campaign, video

King claim about pension funding neglects to tell the full story

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Angus King, photo Terry Karkos, Sun Journal

In promoting his independent candidacy for U. S. Senate, Angus King claims credit for improving the financial condition of the state’s pension funding during his two terms as governor. The accuracy of the claim, made on his campaign web site, is important because Maine, like most states, has a history of going deep into debt due to poor financial management of the multi-billion-dollar program. The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting examined the claim for accuracy and completeness, relying primarily on records from the Maine retirement system and legislative studies. The research shows that while the pension system finances improved while King was governor, a major reason wasn’t because of anything he did – it was because he was governor during the stock market’s glory years when the system’s investments went up double digits. King’s use of statistics to make the case for himself have another problem: He counts only the first six years of the governorship, when the pension funding improved, and skips over the final two years, when the funding declined, although it was still better than when he took office. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Money, Stories, Angus King, Maine senate campaign, Pension

Record shows little support for Dill’s claim to be job creator

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Cynthia Dill, photo Christopher Cousins, BDN

Cynthia Dill, Maine’s Democratic candidate for Olympia Snowe’s soon-to-be vacant U.S. Senate seat, said on her campaign website last month that she “has a record of … creating quality jobs” during her six years in the state legislature. But an analysis of Dill’s legislative history by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting found that claim to be largely premature. To date, only five permanent jobs can be attributed to Dill’s legislation, plus another 323 temporary positions — the bulk of which are construction jobs. During an interview last week, Dill defended her record when questioned about the validity of her job creation claim.“It’s a job,” said the Cape Elizabeth state senator. “Whether they are temporary or not, it’s something that I’m very proud of.”

On the morning of July 17 — the day after the interview — Dill asked her web developer to modify the homepage, an email she provided to the Center shows. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Elections, Stories, Cynthia Dill, job creation, Maine senate campaign, three ring binder