The 2018 gubernatorial candidates on fostering innovation, R&D spending, non-competes, the Seed Capital Tax Credit, and more

As governor, I will provide our entrepreneurs with a central location for the help they need by creating the Small Business Accelerator to help with financing, worker training and regulatory approvals. My administration will also provide them the direct financing they need to hire their early talent through a Job Growth Loans program, which will provide an advance on the revenue that the new worker will earn. To support the innovators who create and build these small businesses, my administration will also create a new incentive for entrepreneurship by offering low interest student loan refinancing to startup founders who build their business in Maine.

I am the only candidate in this race to actually start a business and grow it over 40 years. I have a background in startups with over 40 years of executive experience creating jobs and growing Maine’s economy. I believe that there are policies that we can implement that will make Maine a better place to do business across the board. I would communicate with our young people about the opportunities we have in our state for them to live, work and raise their families. We must encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in our schools, and expose our students to those opportunities at a younger age. My administration would work with the Maine Municipal Association and local communities to modify their land use codes to allow existing commercial buildings that have been abandoned, or are in disrepair, to be converted to new businesses without the difficult task of rezoning and repurposing. We need affordable commercial space for startups. We would also encourage these commercial spaces to allow an owner-in-the-store apartment so that entrepreneurs can put more money into their commercial space to start their business. We also need to continue to eliminate red tape, lower taxes, reduce electricity costs and high health insurance premiums, and to speed up our permitting process.

If Maine is to be both a great place to live and a great place to make a living, we need a plan to make it so. The Hayes Administration will work with the Legislature to support the Maine Economic Growth Council and other key stakeholders to develop a non-partisan, long-range, economic development plan that has buy-in from business leaders, regional and local economic development professionals, and most importantly, from Maine people. The state’s long-range plan will:

• Build on our assets and strengths and avoid fragmented and scattershot strategies that ignore the impact on our natural resources and rural character.
• Take into account regional challenges and opportunities, recognizing that not all places in Maine will benefit from the same strategies.
• Focus our university system’s research, innovation, and workforce and economic development efforts.
• Align the state’s tax code with our twenty first century economy so that individuals, families, and businesses contribute fairly and benefit proportionally.
• Allow our towns, cities, schools, and local and regional development agencies to work within their communities knowing where they fit into the overall state strategy and to plan proactively and for the long term.
• Complement and coordinate with the efforts of Maine businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Be a cohesive and consistent vision, with measurable long-term goals and priorities, to optimize return on public investments, guide resource allocation, and ensure that our policy priorities move us toward the agreed upon goals.

Most of the job growth in Maine is generated by new businesses and supported by innovation. New and young firms generate about two-thirds of new jobs created nationally. In Maine, the Maine Economic Growth Council reports that about 80 percent of economic growth is generated by innovation. Those companies are best positioned to compete globally, and also typically offer higher wages. I have long believed that Maine’s future economic prosperity depends on us building and nurturing an entrepreneurial economy. I have been a champion for this idea, and published the book Maine’s Next Economy, which makes the case that innovation and entrepreneurs are the engines of Maine’s next economy. States that have successfully built innovation economies have often developed a shared vision and action plan among public agencies, universities and research institutions, workforce development organizations, and the private sector. Maine needs to incubate more start-ups and accelerate the growth of promising Maine companies. Here are a few of the things that we can do.

• Brand Maine as the Incubator State. We must protect and strengthen our brand. We have a national reputation for our environment, our small towns and livable cities. Our products are seen as authentic, trustworthy and wholesome. We are, in many ways, the envy of states across the country. I’ll use the state’s marketing resources to brand Maine as a great place to start a business and raise a family. This would help attract talented immigrants and young people and also help repatriate former Maine residents who are ready to come home.

  
  
• Coordinate One Portal. Many resources are available to help entrepreneurs, but entrepreneurs need to know where to look. Maine has a diversity of organizations that provide financing options, such as grants, loans, and equity investments, to different types of organizations, such as research institutions, startups, growth companies and mature companies. These funders include public-private partnerships and nonprofits like the Maine Technology Institute, the Finance Authority of Maine, Coastal Enterprises Inc., and the Maine Venture Fund, as well as private investors such as Maine Angels.
 Maine also has numerous organizations that provide expertise and match entrepreneurs with mentors and investors. These include the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, the Small Business Development Centers, SCORE, the Small Business Administration, and economic development agencies. Entrepreneurs typically lack the time to wade through these agencies and organizations. A single portal that guides them to the services they need would connect entrepreneurs to those services while allowing them to stay focused on building their companies.
  
  
• Support Peer Networks. Among the things that entrepreneurs need is a support network to share strategies and information, reinforce their entrepreneurial networks and provide access to cutting-edge thought leaders and ideas. That includes mentors who can help entrepreneurs navigate challenges and can coach start-ups through the various phases of business development.
  
  
• Ensure adequate and Patient Capital. To get new companies off the ground, and to accelerate their growth, entrepreneurs need access to capital. Startups at the earliest stages can benefit from startup microgrants and microloans. Later, they’ll need long-term, patient, and low-cost capital.

Entrepreneurs want to build their businesses in stable, welcoming, thriving communities. By declaring only some communities “Business Friendly”, by refusing to sign bonds for key infrastructure, by blocking Medicaid expansion, and by not keeping their word on deals, the current administration sends the wrong signal to those looking to start businesses. We need stability and support for the infrastructure that foster small business growth – everything from high quality broadband to affordable health insurance.

We need to stop telling our young adults that there are no job opportunities in Maine. Instead, we need to work with our schools and parents to educate students at younger ages about the good-paying career opportunities in the trades, identify those students who are interested in pursuing that type of career, and get them enrolled in these programs and connected with Maine employers. In addition to keeping our young people in Maine, we also need to attract our former Mainers back home to broaden our workforce. In order to do this, I support tuition reimbursement and student loan forgiveness programs. I also support looking at providing businesses with tax credits to encourage them to employ high school students so our kids get into the workforce quicker. Most importantly, we need to reform our career technical education programs to make sure that we have the best in the country. As mentioned above, we need to continue to work towards making Maine more business friendly. We need to eliminate job-killing red tape, increase efficiency in our permitting process, and work to lower taxes, healthcare costs and electricity for Maine families and small businesses.

Terry prefers to start by asking those in the startup community what is working and what is getting in the way. If we are to make lasting, positive change, we will need an inclusive strategy to craft a non-partisan, long-range, economic development plan that has buy-in from entrepreneurs, business leaders, regional and local economic development professionals, and most importantly, from Maine people.

Let’s stop waiting for the next big manufacturing plant to come to Maine and save us. Other governors are not going to let us sneak into their states in the middle of the night and take their best jobs, unless we pay more than they’re worth.

Let’s invest in ourselves, instead, and in the thousands of Maine small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs who are inventing our future every day.

Here’s my plan:

• Redirect tax breaks to Maine’s small businesses. Maine provides as much as a half-billion dollars in tax breaks, each year, to create jobs. Most of it goes to big companies and grandiose promises. As a strategy for growth, it has been a dismal failure. It’s time to redirect our tax investments into promising small companies that are poised to grow and that actually create jobs. To ensure we retain economic development investments and programs that are working, I will conduct a bow-to-stern review. An independent assessment of all our economic development programs, including tax expenditures, will give us information about which economic incentives, investments, and programs are working well, need tweaks, or should be eliminated. This top-to-bottom review should be done by an independent consultant who solicits input from stakeholders, but is not overseen by stakeholders. The content should not be altered by political leaders. It is likely that such a review will uncover that there is insufficient data to evaluate some policies and program, so recommendations should include ways to measure and gather information needed to adequately assess the effectiveness of Maine’s investments. 

• Provide a level playing field. Maine’s tax structure should provide a level playing field for businesses of all sizes to create jobs and contribute to the state’s overall economic health. There have been multiple attempts to overhaul Maine’s tax code to ensure fair, stable and predictable revenues. Tax reform can reduce our overall tax burden, volatility, regressive impact, and over- reliance on property taxes. There are also recommendations to broaden the narrow base of the sales tax and enhance the tools cities and towns have to raise funds. The Governor should work with both sides of the aisle in the legislature to craft, and then champion, a bi-partisan tax reform package.

• Streamline permitting. Agencies with permitting and approval authority often take an adversarial approach to working with businesses, rather than working to provide predictability for start-ups and small businesses. The Governor can instruct agencies to set a welcoming and helpful tone, including timeframes and clear processes for licensing and approvals. We cannot have one set of policies meant to regulate large businesses that are entirely impractical for startups and entrepreneurial-level work.

• Reinvent DECD. When the Department of Economic and Community Development. was created, the economic development paradigm focused on federal block grants. There is a general agreement that DECD is not actively promoting entrepreneurs and start-ups, and that the agency needs to be reinvented. In many states, like Massachusetts, the economic development agency is a major player in supporting the innovation economy, and stays on the cutting edge by bringing in staff that come from and understand the private sector.
• Appoint a Superstar Commissioner. The most important thing the Governor could do is ensure that DECD’s Commissioner is a top-notch reformer who has a vision and the skills to transform the agency into a strong supporter of innovation and entrepreneurship.


As Governor, I will work to increase R&D in a way that directly benefits Maine people. Together with our University and Community College systems, we can increase investment — targeting those investments on projects that will also have the spin-off benefit of training skilled workers to address Maine’s workforce needs. Additionally, we can build on the success of many of our great private institutions such Jackson Labs, and the University of New England; providing them research grants that will trigger sources of funds beyond the state.

I believe that R&D is a critical investment if we are serious about continuing to grow Maine’s economy and create better paying jobs for Mainers. However, I believe that we need to ensure we are focusing on commercialization, in addition to R&D. I want to make sure that the investments we are making are strategic, and that the final products can get to market and are commercially viable. The most important thing we can do to increase investment in R&D is to continue to grow our economy. The University of Maine Board just hired Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy to lead our flagship University of Maine campus. She is the former COO of the National Science Foundation. She has an extensive background in attracting R&D resources, that we anticipate will increase our investments at our university’s already world renowned research and innovation lab. A thriving economy will produce more revenue for state government to give back to Maine taxpayers in reduced taxes, and to invest strategically in our economy. We need to ensure that we are partnering with the private sector. Taxpayer dollars cannot be the sole funding source of R&D in Maine. We need to encourage our businesses to make strategic investments in R&D, and I support an aggressive partnership between the state and the private sector. I also support a forensic review of Maine’s budget. We need to identify programs that are not producing intended results or are outside the scope of the department, and make the though decisions to redirect those resources into other programs that will grow our economy. 

Terry has proposed investing $100 million of general obligation bond funds each year for a minimum of four years, to be matched with federal dollars, to build out the middle and last mile of fiber broadband access across Maine. We have not invested in broadband for several years, and the lack of reliable high speed internet access is holding back Maine businesses and entrepreneurs. We need this infrastructure if we are to compete effectively and continue to attract young, skilled workers to Maine.

I have long been a champion of increasing R&D investment. In 2006, as the President of GrowSmart Maine, I spearheaded the successful lobbying campaign for get a $55 million dollar R&D bond onto the ballot, which was passed by the voters and which provided funding for startups over the ensuing decade.
I support tripling our state’s R&D investment. Investing in research and development helps Maine compete in the new knowledge-based economy. Universities, public and private laboratories, and industry can generate research that leads to new products, processes, and services. I support reaching the 3% benchmark, and will be a leader in promoting this investment with Maine voters.
The University of Maine, four publicly-supported laboratories (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Jackson Laboratory, the Center for Blood Research, and Maine Medical Center), and industry laboratories generate research that can be spun off into commercial ventures. R&D is also supported through MTI, the state’s R&D tax credit and R&D “super credit,” and the Maine Economic Improvement Fund.

Ensuring that our schools are teaching for the jobs of today and tomorrow is a key element of growing our economy. We need to be helping Mainers build these skills, both by providing computer science courses in K-12 education, and by helping Mainers post secondary schooling and mid-career if they wish to transition between industries. To attract and keep talent in Maine, we also must offer the quality of life that this talent will seek, this includes available housing, well-funded schools and strong communities. A vital part of this is expanding broadband and cell coverage, making sure Mainers across the state have access to high speed and reliable internet. My economic plan also includes the creation of a “MaineWorks” team to bring together our state’s workforce efforts; it will have the specific responsibilities of promoting the state to key technical workers — partnering with businesses to help them acquire the talent they need.

Too often we tell our kids that there are no opportunities in Maine. We need to change the narrative. Maine is at virtually full employment – our economy is booming. We don’t have enough people to do the work. There is no greater opportunity to stay in Maine, and pursue a career here because of the opportunities for upward career mobility. I believe need to employ several strategies to attract and retain talent. During my service on the University of Maine System Board, we approved effectively doubling our capacity to educate students in our engineering program to keep pace with the demands here in Maine. We need to do a better job of educating our students today about the jobs available. Most importantly, as mentioned above, we need to change the narrative and how we talk about Maine to our children. We need to invest in tuition reimbursement and student loan forgiveness programs to give Maine a competitive edge to attract and retain talent. Lastly, let’s look at partnering with our business community to provide tax incentives or tax credits for employing students from Maine, especially our high school students. I would also work diligently with our education community to ensure that our students are being educated for the jobs available in our economy.

Nearly 37 million people visited Maine last year. $8 million in dedicated funding is set aside each year to market Maine as a tourist destination. The Hayes Administration would collaborate with the Maine Legislature to match that investment with $8 million in dedicated revenue annually to develop a “play-to-stay” program that invites tourists to live and work in Maine. We would only need to convince 0.05% of our visitors to make Maine their home to solve our state’s demographic and workforce challenges. Combining this with the broadband build-out will position Maine for success.

One of our challenges right now is that we don’t have enough people to keep our businesses and our small towns going. Unfortunately, in recent years we’ve been sending exactly the wrong message to people across the country who might be interested in joining us here. We’ve told them, in multiple ways, that Maine is not a welcoming state. Or that we’re beset with problems and nasty politics. I will change that tone immediately upon taking office. We’ll hang out the welcome mat to anyone, from across the country and the world, who wants to help us build a brighter future for Maine. While attracting technical talent is one part of the solution, the other is to grow more technical talent amongst people who live here today. Tomorrow’s economy offers great opportunity for Maine, if we’re ready. In the past, a high school education could get you a well-paying job and a middle class lifestyle. Now, we need more, including skill training, apprenticeships, and higher education to prepare Maine’s workforce for the jobs of tomorrow.

We need to strengthen our commitment to the University of Maine and Community College systems to ensure Maine can be home to world class technical education opportunities. As Governor, I will make it easier for people to access our educational programs, regardless of where they are at in their education and career paths. This is why I have proposed the creation of the Maine State College, which would create a single-source of online and extension education for people who would otherwise not be able to receive further education. Additionally, my administration will create a Targeted Training Team to quickly plan role-specific training for workers.

Maine needs to do a better job talking to our children both in our school systems, and at homes, about the high paying jobs available in these areas. I served on the Gorham School Business Roundtable where we actually took educators out into the community to visit some of the manufacturers in our area. They were amazed at the technical nature of the work, and also the competitive wages provided by these types of jobs. We need to reform our career and technical education programs. I would require every CTE instructor to spend 2 weeks a year in a best in class business in their respective field. I want to make sure our instructors are equipped with cutting edge knowledge, and the practical application of that knowledge. I would also work to streamline the process for professionals and experts who have spent years in the respective field to gain a teaching certification. Often times, those entering retirement have so much knowledge to give back but we require them to jump through too many hoops to get into the classroom with our students. I would make sure we reform this process to encourage experts and professionals with decades of experience to get certified and into the classroom to teach our children.

The need to invest in our human talent has never been more pressing. Just as the shuttered paper mill in Bucksport is being reimagined as a salmon farm, we must find new ways to prepare Mainers for multiple job and career changes throughout their lifetimes.
A top priority of the Hayes Administration will be to elevate the skills of our existing workforce, to retrain displaced workers, and to take advantage of the skills of new legal immigrants. Maine needs a vehicle that connects stakeholders to close the skills gap by identifying workforce needs and engaging the future workforce to develop Maine’s talent.
Terry supports promoting coding, robotics and STEM opportunities to our youth and adults across the state.  Long term success of these efforts will require trained and skilled teachers.
Our challenge is to marshal Maine’s talented citizens, in partnership with our public schools, universities and community colleges and Maine’s employers, to sustain Maine’s future. We will match our education and training resources with the needs of Maine’s employers so they can grow and prosper and ensure that educational and training resources create opportunities for career advancement.

A vibrant democracy and 21st- century economy driven by innovation means we have to invest more in the skills of Maine people and in public education and training. We need to bring practical education back into all schools and make advanced training more affordable.
In the past, a high school education could get you a well-paying job and a middle class lifestyle. Now, we need more, including skill training, apprenticeships, and higher education to provide Maine’s workforce with the skills needed in a modern economy – particularly the technical skills that are now in the greatest demand.
A central priority of mine is providing free higher education for 2 years. While Mainers need more education and training, not all can afford it. We will make it easier for everyone with the energy and drive to improve themselves to get up to two years of post-high school education, including technical training, apprenticeships, community college courses, and university education. We will do this by providing ten year student loans to cover the cost of training and education. For every year the student remains and works in Maine, they will have no loan payment and 10% of their school loan will be forgiven. In ten years, the student will have no loan obligation at all.

The state needs to be an active partner to Maine’s cities and towns, as opposed to an opponent as we have seen for the past eight years. I will work to provide quality services at the state level, which will allow communities to better focus their efforts on providing a welcoming environment for startups and growing businesses. High-growth communities are the economic anchor for our state, and I will recognize them in our economic plans as the hub that they will serve for growth across the state. This includes using these cities and towns as hubs for broadband — which can then be provided to the surrounding areas.

During my work on the University of Maine Board of Trustees, we worked diligently to turn around some of our campuses like USM into positive educational experiences for our kids. We are now seeing private investment in our higher education institutions, such as the new Maine Center Ventures which will provide graduate degrees in law, public policy, and business. This center will help to provide our future leaders in our companies not only in the greater Portland area, but throughout the state. We also would look to partner with manufacturers, contractors and other businesses in rural areas to subcontract work throughout Maine to ease the burden of space constraints and congestion. We need to do a better job of connecting our rural economy, with our high-growth cities, and form partnerships to collaborate off-site manufacturing and construction related activities. Lastly, USM recently approved a public-bussing line through Portland, Westbrook and Gorham which allows individuals to access transportation into Portland, while living in less expensive suburban areas. We should look at ways of replicating this model in other areas of the state, where the population can support it. 

Terry will be the Maine’s best salesperson and ambassador. Maine needs a Governor who will champion Maine’s attributes as a beautiful, friendly and safe place to live. Maine’s image as beautiful and safe is a marketer’s dream. Maine boasts some of the most stunning landscapes, coastline and natural wonders in the world – and we while we are committed to protecting it, we can also prosper from its many unique qualities. We should aggressively build and promote a single unified Maine brand and strategically seek markets for products that are authentically and indisputably Maine-made, grown or produced.

As Governor, I will work to create the conditions and tools that innovators need to flourish in all parts of the state. I will also use the state’s marketing resources to brand the state as a great place to start a business. If we do those two things, growth can occur everywhere in the state – our rural areas, our suburbs, and our cities.

One of my top priorities as Governor will be to move quickly at the state and local level to create a welcoming environment for all types of remote work. My Economic Action Plan creates the Welcome Home Program — which removes the risks for companies in having remote workers here, as well as provides a tax credit for remote workers relocating to Maine. Additionally, we will support communities that wish to setup remote worker hubs — creating world-class shared workspaces for remote workers outside their homes.

It is critical that we improve access to broadband if we want to continue to grow our economy, and attract people to Maine. Although much of Maine has access to broadband – there are rural areas that do not have the infrastructure they need. We need to not only address access to broadband, but also ensure that we have the necessary bandwidth required to meet the needs of our 21st Century Economy. Often times, remote workers, require access to broadband to carryout their work. In addition, many of Maine’s most beautiful communities are located in rural areas which can be attractive to people who want to live and work in Maine, but they need access to broadband. No one entity will solve this problem alone. We need strong public-private partnerships if the state is going to make advances. We must encourage private companies to make investments in our state, leverage federal funds where they are available, and make strategic investments with state dollars where it makes sense. ConnectME has done good work to evaluate our needs as a state and to tackle this issue. We need to build on this work and coordinate our efforts so that we can leverage our resources effectively. We would also encourage public co-working spaces to encourage people to come together within their communities. 

Broadband is the superhighway of today’s economy. Our businesses can compete globally with reliable, high-speed broadband. If we build it, they will come. Maine people and businesses will be able to compete with anyone, anywhere in the world, and our state will become a magnet for highly skilled and educated workers.

Terry has proposed investing $100 million of general obligation bond funds each year for a minimum of four years, to be matched with federal dollars, to build out the middle and last mile of fiber broadband access across Maine. We have not invested in broadband for several years, and the lack of reliable high speed internet access is holding back Maine businesses and entrepreneurs. We need this infrastructure if we are to compete effectively and continue to attract young, skilled workers to Maine.

We have to do these things.

• Re-brand ourselves as an entrepreneurial state.
• Refocus all state efforts in economic development away from ‘attracting’ jobs to growing them here, from the bottom up.
• Tell the country that we welcome anyone who can help us build the next economy.
• Build ladders for startups that take Maine’s innovators and doers seamlessly from concept to success, and that link them at every step of the way with the resources and talent they need.
• Build broadband capability to all corners of the state, to which I have committed to propose a $100 million dollar bond in the first year and another one in the fifth year.

I would support a review of our approach to non-compete clauses and consider whether there are reforms that would support economic growth without causing harm to our existing business community.

I support giving businesses the choice of whether or not they want to use non-compete clauses. When a business makes an investment in an employee, and provides training which can often times be expensive, I understand the business wanting to protect its investment. However, I also believe that individuals in our workforce need enough flexibility to pursue a good paying career path. Often times courts will strike down noncompete clauses that are too restrictive or prohibit individuals from pursuing career opportunities. We need to balance both interests. I would need to look at the specifics of any proposal that plans to change non-compete clauses in Maine.

Non-compete clauses in many contracts stifle innovation and hold back progress. Terry is aware of reforms in other states and will work with employers and entrepreneurs to find the right balance for Maine.

I think that this is not an issue understood well by most people. As Governor, I will convene employers, employees, and leaders in the entrepreneurial world to discuss the issues, with a particular focus on identifying needed reforms. We will also take a hard look at what those two states, and others, have done.

I have seen this kind of incentive works well, and I would be open to increasing the cap if an economic impact study validates the program’s effectiveness. This type of state financial support opens up avenues to significantly more investment from the private sector and fosters the businesses that anchor communities around the state. I will also explore whether an expanded cap for the credit could provide additional incentives to encourage entrepreneurship in parts of the state where the credit has seen less utilization in the past.

Yes, I do believe tax credits can be a useful way to incentivize investments in Maine startups. I would have to look at a specific proposal to increase the cap in the Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit. In addition to encouraging startups, I am also very committed to helping our existing small businesses grow, and to attracting large scale investment into Maine. This means we need to lower taxes, reduce electricity costs, eliminate job-killing red tape, and make our permitting structure more efficient so we can continue to attract investment. We need a multi-pronged approach if we are going to grow our economy and create jobs. We cannot rely on any one sector to strengthen our economy. 

Terry does not plan to lead with an increase in the cap. The number one constraint to economic growth in Maine at this time is our demographics. More than any tax breaks, loan programs or other incentives, a plentiful supply of skilled and productive workers will keep businesses here and draw new businesses to Maine. It is in our shared interest for state government to play a leadership role in matching our education and lifelong training resources with the needs of our businesses.

Yes, the tax credits have been successful, and yes, we need to increase the cap. As a guiding policy, I see a need to scale-up the state’s successes in supporting entrepreneurs. Many of our publicly-supported initiatives are effectively supporting innovation, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and scale-ups. But, we have undercapitalized some of strongest assets, including FAME, MTI, and the Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit. Experts have recommended we take these initiatives to scale. The resources for expansion could come from redirected resources, the General Fund, bonds, and tax reforms. A key to the success of these programs is sustained and predictable funding.

I hope to see diverse growth in Maine over the next decade, and I think this is a very realistic goal given the work ethic of our people and the wonderful natural resources our state has to offer. We have excellent opportunities both in our traditional industries, and in new growth areas, and I think our state will benefit from having a robust mix of sectors represented. This includes growing sectors such as our brewing industry, as well as solar. My economic plan seeks to create a healthy and supportive environment for all kinds of businesses.

Maine has some critical heritage industries such as farming, forestry and fishing. These industries are changing dramatically, and they are reinventing themselves right now. We have seen significant investment in the pulp and paper industry, diversification of crops in agriculture, and in an ever expanding aquaculture industry. We need to modernize and diversify our heritage industries because they are not only important economic drivers, but they makeup the fabric of what it means to be a Mainer. I also think there is a real opportunity for growth in our biotech industry, manufacturing, and construction industries and would work to build the workforce necessary to fill jobs in these sectors. 

There are exciting efforts underway in the private and non-profit sectors that hold great promise for Maine’s economy. Terry plans to work with the Legislature to support these ongoing efforts, such as FOR/Maine and FocusMaine.   FOR/Maine’s #1 goal is to sustain and strengthen Maine’s existing forest products businesses by attracting capital for rural investments and supporting the revitalization of Maine’s rural communities. The goal is revitalizing this sector so that it generates over $12B in economic activity across Maine by 2025. FocusMaine has identified three key industries where there are opportunities for growth:

• Agriculture: Become a renowned producer of high-quality, traceable food.
• Aquaculture: Become a renowned producer of high-quality, traceable seafood.
• Biopharmaceuticals: Build a world-class biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing environment.

Increasing the number of knowledge workers in Maine is also a goal for the Hayes Administration.

As a general rule, I tend to think that government does a miserable job of picking winners and losers. When it does, those decisions too often support legacy industries over emerging ones, and large businesses over small. The best illustration is how well government predicted the rapid growth in small-scale and organic farming in Maine, and the resultant explosion of farmers markets, the foodie network throughout the state and then the rapid expansion of breweries over the last ten years.
I can tell you with confidence that if you had asked anyone in government whether those sectors would grow, not one of them would have said ‘yes’.
What government can do is to create the conditions that allow businesses to thrive in the marketplace. Create fertile soil in which many seeds can sprout and in which some will grow faster than others, but never pick which will succeed.
The exception to that general rule, for me, is in the renewable energy sector, because of the role that energy plays in our larger economy and in climate change. In that sector, I have called for energy independence within thirty years, with solar and perhaps offshore wind the primary sources of tomorrow’s energy, and with an approach that allows us to decentralize energy production and allow Maine people to own and control their own generation, with a diminishing role of the electric grid and grid-scale production.
Energy independence would allow us to recirculate the $5 billion dollars we now send to gas and oil companies into our next generation of innovative businesses, infrastructure, education and health care. That said, I will intentionally boost one sector that has been disadvantaged by public policy over the last eight years: renewable energy. The renewable energy sector is one sector that deserves attention because would help Maine become more energy independent. Mainers export as much as five billion dollars each year to oil and gas companies. Imagine what we could do if we were able to produce more of our own energy, keep those dollars here and reinvest them in a new economy, education and health care.