Peter Mills Profile – Your Vote 2010
03/22/2010 Reported By: Susan Sharon
Of the seven Republican candidates running for Governor this year, only one has ever been elected to the Legislature. His name is Peter Mills. In 2006 he lost a three-way gubernatorial primary to Chandler Woodcock.
But he’s making another run at the Blaine House. This time, he says, with even more experience and more ideas. Over the next few weeks we’ll be profiling all of the candidates in the governors’ race.
Peter Mills is an attorney, who spent five years in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He was born in Maine, attended law school in Maine and has served in the Legislature for the past 15 years. During that time he’s served on seven committees including appropriations, education, taxation and health and human services. Mills describes himself as a fiscal conservative and a social libertarian. To others he’s seen as more of an Independent. Mills says, no.
“I’ve been a Republican all my life. I think I’m the true spirit of what it means to be a Republican. I’ve always thought that. I think the general Republican philosophy suits me right to a T,” said Mills.
He has been known to take on either party. He once led a successful effort to stop Democrats from using future lottery revenues to balance the budget. He supported workers comp reforms to help workers, increased school funding to help local governments and school consolidation. And while many Republicans have an aversion to raising taxes and fees of any kind. Mills leaves some wiggle room.
“In a year or two the revenue picture in Maine and the need to pay off our pension liability is all going to come together and the budget challenges of the next Legislature and the next governor are going to be much deeper than the ones that we’re facing right now,” said Mills.
Susan Sharon: So are you saying you can’t rule out in the future possible tax increases?
Peter Mills: I’m not one of these people that takes a pledge. I think that’s not a very sane posture. But I have no plans to increase taxes in the near future.
Susan Sharon: But you can’t rule it out?
Peter Mills: I wouldn’t rule it out.
Mills supports teacher assessments, a longer school day and a longer school year. He says he is not a fan of casino gambling or medical marijuana and if he is elected governor he would support big changes to Dirigo, the state’s health insurance program for low income people. He says the 40 million dollar price tag is too expensive to cover just 12-thousand people…especially when taxpayers are helping to foot the bill.
“My first preference would be to end Dirigo but if you can’t get that bill through the Maine House of Representatives than I would insist that it be turned into a broader voucher program, that there be an asset test for people who want to apply for it; that we cover many more people with the same amount of money through thinning out the subsidies and spreading them over more families,” Mills said.
Mills’ leadership style and approach to issues has won him the respect of at least one of his party’s more conservative members.
Dr. Thomas Shields says, “Peter is one of our credible candidates who could make a good governor.”
Shields of Auburn formerly served with Mills on the Legislature and is currently listed on his advisory committee. As chairman of the Androscoggin County Republican Committee, Shields says it’s not appropriate for him to endorse any candidate in the primary but…
“Peter has an in-depth knowledge of state government, probably more than any of the other candidates because he’s been there so long. From that point of view, particularly from his fiscal stance on being a very conservative fiscal person Peter is an attractive candidate,” said Shields.
Along those fiscal lines Mills says the state cannot afford to borrow anymore money and he thinks too many Mainers are dependent on state services.
“We must determine how to take human services and wean people from dependency on them and in the end spend less money on human services and more money on things that build our culture and our state. Things like education repairing the infrastructure. We need to be investing in our future. And the money that we spend on human services doesn’t do that,” said Mills
To grow Maine’s economy, Mills proposes to reduce the capital gains tax. Establish clearer regulations of every sort; and support what he calls his “Fund of Funds” bill designed to attract venture capital by making use of money already on deposit with the Maine Retirement System.
“I think he has built a name and a reputation for himself so that counts,” said Amy Fried, a political science professor at the University of Maine.
“However, in the Primary it’s not just a matter of name recognition, it’s a matter of the on-the-ground organizing. How much has each particular candidate gone out and gotten commitments from people and worked with county party activists and county party officials and I think that’s what’s really gonna make a big difference,” said Fried.
Mills comes from a family of highly visible public servants. His father was a former U.S. attorney; one sister, Dr. Dora Mills is the state health director; another sister, Janet Mills is Maine’s attorney general. And his wife, Nancy Mills is a superior court judge. Peter Mills says if there’s one thing he wants people to know about him, it’s that he has a strong belief in personal accountability. That means having his conduct and his positions evaluated and always being open to changing his mind.
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