Stanley Paige Zeigler, Jr. is seeking the House District 96 seat, which comprises Belmont, Liberty, Lincolnville, Montville, Morrill, Palermo and Searsmont.

My name is Stanley Paige Zeigler Jr. Because I am a junior I went by my middle name growing up, however I answer to both my first and middle name. I am 67 years old and live in Montville. I retired two years ago from a 35-year career in the U.S. Merchant Marine where I reached the level of an Unlimited Master.

Prior to joining the Merchant Marine, I worked as a night counselor at a drug rehab center in the Portland area. I also taught students with special needs in Skowhegan.

Before that I was an all around logger for Georgia Pacific in northern Maine and a cedar rat on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. While in Washington, I also worked in several photographic dark rooms in Seattle. Before that I worked as a Maine Ambulance Attendant. In my teens I worked road construction and in an auto garage doing entry-level mechanical work. 

I have a B.A. from Dickinson College, an A.A. in navigation from Southern Maine Community College, studied advanced wood harvesting at Washington County Community College, took teacher certification classes at the University of Maine in Farmington and attended graduate school at Maine Maritime for international maritime management.

Presently I am vice chairman of RSU 3 and the Unity Area Regional Recycling Center

What are the most pressing issues facing Maine today, and how would you like to see them resolved?

The issues facing Maine, and especially our district, consists of: local production of food and energy, addressing rising property taxes by fully funding education, developing an educational system that provides our children with a future, to develop the necessary infrastructure to make it possible to have sustainable jobs, to shed light on fraud in our system of government and to have proper medical care and housing for our citizens.

How will you protect the local (municipal) taxpayer as you help shape a state budget?

First of all, the municipal taxpayer needs to be protected from increases in property taxes. This can be accomplished by fully funding education and making sure we have redirected monies to our emergency preparedness system before we give tax breaks to the wealthy.

What policies would you create and promote to build Maine's natural resource-based economy? 

It is important that our natural resource based economy  be promoted and protected. Tourism is a large percentage of that economy. Maine is a tourist destination because of its natural beauty. We need to maintain that We need to brand our state’s name. L.L. Bean continued to make boots in our state so they could put “made in Maine” on their labels. Our name is our cache and we need to protect it by protecting our environment.

What policies would you create and promote to sustain the natural resources of this state (fisheries, timber, mining)?

In regard to policies dealing with our natural resources I feel we need to protect Maine from the extractive industry of mining. There are so many examples of mining companies not respecting or repairing the areas they mine. The flood that occurred in Colorado is an example of that. Fisheries in general are in decline and reflective of current climate change. The best way for the state to help fisheries is to help mitigate climate change, but also to provide support services to fishermen during this downturn. If the stocks rebound, but the workers in the field have left, it will be difficult to revitalize this industry. We need to research and develop more renewable wood products. I applaud the work done at the University of Maine.

What is your position on alternative energy and public investment into it? 

All sources of energy come from the environment, whether it be fossil fuels or solar. So there are no “alternative” sources, but just sources and they all have to be examined and tried. Also, all current energy sources are subsidized in some fashion, even fossil fuels. We need to move away from fossil fuels towards sources of energy that are renewable. With renewable technologies come lower costs, reducing the need for subsidies.

What is your position on the five citizen initiatives that are before voters Nov. 8?

As an individual voter it is immaterial what my positions on the initiatives are but as a prospective legislator it is important to see what I would like to do if they pass.

Regarding question 1, legalization of marijuana, our state needs to come up with a model separate from the other states that have already legalized use. We need to protect the purity of the product, the medical user from taxes, the small farmer and our youth.

In regards to question 2, fully funding education, we need to make sure these designated taxes are not redirected to the general fund.

Regarding question 3, background checks prior to sale of firearms, we need to address the time period of lending a firearm to be in line with actual hunting seasons and address the costs of background checks so that they don’t become too expensive.

Regarding question 4, the increase of the minimum wage, we need to stick to the initiative’s time line.

If question 5, rank choice voting, is passed, then we need to set up the procedures necessary in a timely manner to aid our municipalities in doing the work of educating our voters. 

Lastly, in question 6 dealing with infrastructure, we need to make sure the funds allotted are spent in accordance with the vote and not held back.

What issues are emerging from your conversations with the public as you go about your campaign, and what solutions do you envision?

 While canvassing I have encountered certain issues repeatedly. The issue of elderly care and children with special needs keeps coming up. So many parents, children and spouses are having difficulty in meeting the needs of those who are infirm. We need to support programs that assist in allowing people to stay in their homes and having respite care for their caregivers. Property tax relief is another concern as people’s income stagnates, but property taxes go up. Fully funding education will start to control property tax increases. Accepting available federal funding could help the rising cost of medical insurance. More to the point, we need a general discussion of the best way to spend our public dollars on medical programs similar to what they did in Oregon. While I’ve been knocking on doors, I repeatedly hear about the opiate problem, the increase in crime and lack of services for those in need.  We need more treatment centers and training for police as the first contact for addicts. Fraud within our government services, whether it be in welfare or payments to medical providers is another concern. We need to make sure we treat people with dignity who may need assistance but close possible loopholes. In regard to medical providers we need to make sure we have enough auditors to find the abuse.

A recent Maine Dept. of Labor report indicates the work force will get even older, and more jobs will require post-secondary education.    How will you work to build a knowledge-based economy when so many of Maine high school graduates do not seek higher education?

As a school board member we are dealing with this issue at every meeting. Students are looking at their options post graduation and finding them restricted by cost and direction. Is a college degree necessary or could there be other shorter duration programs that address specific vocations?  What vocations will exist after graduation?

Our present educational system is trying to turn out students who can adapt to new learning situations, not just with a rigid set of skills.

The generation that is going through our schools needs to be more adaptable than any previous one.  They are facing a life of re-educating themselves. It is not just our high schools that need to adjust, but also post secondary educational institutions.

Colleges need to reinvent themselves, as well as their vocational cousins. They are pricing themselves out of a market that hasn't shown as much return as it has in the past. If our present students can be in a learning environment where they can control the direction and see where that direction is going, then they are invested. Once invested, they will learn what they need to in order to progress. That may sound simple but to develop the system to do that is not.

Is Maine doing enough to accommodate the successful assimilation of immigrants?

Our state, at its executive level, needs to not make statements degrading immigrants. Viable vetting is important to security, but we are an aging population and we need a younger workforce. Immigrant populations have shown the ability to be entrepreneurs which who are valuable for the growth of our state.

What is the best legislative activity that has occurred in Augusta over the last six years. This does not have to mean legislative action, but can include collaboration, research, etc.

There were many small accomplishments that came out of Augusta, but one item excited me six years ago when there appeared to be bipartisan support for shining light on the machinery of government.

There was a movement to slow the revolving door from government to business, review governmental contracts to ensure that no governmental representatives made a profit off their influence and open the doors of conferences dealing with public policies. Unfortunately, that light has waned over the years.

There was another exciting effort that initially appeared to be bearing fruit, then later faltered and failed. I was impressed with the work on the solar bill and the fact that so many stakeholders were working together to solve the issue. I thought, "here is our state government at its best", but that also unfortunately failed. There was hope and there still is for those issues, if we rebuild strength in Augusta.

How would you define "good state government?"

 “Good state government” is open and transparent government, which is proactive for the specific needs of the people of our state.

Is there any other topic or issue you'd like to talk about here? Have at it!

The one thing that was paramount in my career in the Merchant Marine was that if you were in charge, you were the only one responsible when a system failed. You didn’t point fingers, you either worked with the resources you had and fixed it or you left. Someone who could address the problem would then replace you. Augusta is plagued with finger pointing and nothing gets moved but the air around those wagging fingers. We have failures in responding to environmental and social issues because of people refusing to work together!