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Alan Caron, an Independent candidate for governor, on Monday released his plans for building a 21-century economy in Maine.
The paper is the first of nine policy documents Caron plans to release over the summer.
In addition to the economy, Caron will provide details about his positions on education, government reform, energy, healthcare, opioid abuse, infrastructure, the environment, and attracting more people to Maine.
“Voters deserve to know how the candidates plan to address the big challenges facing Maine,” Caron said. “They need to hear how we intend to overcome the partisan divide that has cost us so much lost time and energy. And they need to know that I didn’t just start thinking about Maine’s economy when I decided to run. I’ve been working on these issues and writing about them, for many years. These documents are the foundation of my campaign and will serve as my roadmap as governor.”
Caron’s policy document on the economy can be found here.
Caron’s economic agenda includes redirecting tax breaks away from every business in a region, and well-connected larger businesses, to any business that actually creates jobs, branding Maine as an “innovation state,” accelerating the growth of promising start-ups, overhauling the tax code to provide a level playing field for businesses of all sizes, working with educators to teach students how to start and run a business, and making regulations more predictable.
Caron will serve as Maine’s “Chief Convener” and bring together leaders of non-profit organizations, higher education institutions and the private sector to shape the development of a shared vision and agenda for action.
Caron, who grew up in Waterville in a family of mill workers and farmers, is the owner of the strategic planning consulting firm, Caron Communications. He has spent much of the last fifteen years focused on how to grow a 21st-century economy in Maine.
In 2003 he founded the nonprofit GrowSmart Maine, which helped to produce a report, “Charting Maine’s Future,” which developed strategies to revitalize the state’s economy through preservation of Maine’s quality of place and investment in areas where Maine has a competitive advantage.
In 2009, Caron created Envision Maine to work with nonprofits, businesses, and government and on ways to improve the state’s economy. He has also co-authored two books – Reinventing Maine Government (2010) and Maine’s Next Economy (2016).
