Good morning from Augusta where, lately, the Democratic candidates for governor are focusing on policy stances more than they are burning down each other’s campaigns. The primary race has grown scrappy at times as underdogs aimed attacks at the perceived front-runners, but that was not the case during an issues forum hosted Monday by WGAN.
Last week, the four Republican candidates agreed on most policy points during a WCSH debate that at times turned into a circular firing squad with Gorham businessman and front-runner Shawn Moody in the middle, deflecting attacks from his opponents. Though the Democrats largely aligned on their positions Monday, shades of differences emerged when they tried to provide details.
The Republicans are talking about reducing or completely eliminating Maine’s income tax, but the Democrats have different ideas about which taxes to raise. While none of the Democrats offered firm details on what would be an acceptable level of taxation, some — such as former legislators Mark Evesand Diane Russell, attorney Adam Cote and lobbyist Betsy Sweet — favor a more progressive income tax structure that takes a higher percentage from people who earn more money.
Eves, Russell and Sweet are clearly courting Democrats on the far left of the party’s ideological spectrum — the same voters who helped Bernie Sanders decisively win the 2016 presidential nominating caucuses in Maine.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Even when the Democrats who want LePage’s job argue, they mostly agree,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Christopher Cousins, please follow this link to the BDN online.
