PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Maine House Speaker and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon participated in a roundtable discussion on Monday, Sept. 28, on rural issues at the Aroostook County Action Program building in Presque Isle.
Monday’s appearance at ACAP was one of several for Gideon across The County from Sunday to Tuesday, including visits to Caribou, Houlton and Grand Isle. Gideon was in town because of a Senate debate in Presque Isle on Monday night.
Gideon’s stop at ACAP, as well as her appearances across The County, brought her campaign to a region often seen as deeply Republican. Additionally, it places rural issues at the forefront of her Senate campaign against Susan Collins, who is from Caribou. Aroostook County has long been a political base for Collins — she has won The County in her four winning Senate campaigns since 1996.
In a meeting that lasted about an hour, several ACAP employees spoke about what community programs have been successful, as well as other sectors The County continues to struggle with. Gideon was an active participant in the discussion, asking extensive questions and taking notes on a yellow notepad.
Aroostook County Action Program Family Coach Jeannie Fox, right, speaks to Maine House Speaker and U.S. Senate Candidate Sara Gideon, left, during a roundtable at the ACAP headquarters.(David Marino Jr. | The Star-Herald)
Chief Operations Officer Jamie Chandler told Gideon about the two-generation or whole family approach that ACAP had used to help at-need families in Aroostook County. Under that program style, both parents’ and children’s individual needs — including healthcare, childcare and affordable housing — are met in a systemic approach.
Gideon said her primary takeaway from the roundtable was that action needed to be taken on several issues facing Aroostook County and Maine. If elected, Gideon said she would prioritize critical issues facing rural Maine, including outmigration, infrastructure decline and access to reliable broadband.
“We need to decide as a federal government that we are ready to invest in rural America,” Gideon said. “We know that many of the challenges that we face [in rural Maine] are replicated across the country.”
Gideon said that she first began to make frequent trips to The County after she was elected Assistant Majority Leader of the Maine House in 2014. She said it had been enjoyable seeing several familiar faces as she has campaigned in the region over the last 15 months.
Chandler said Gideon’s campaign had approached ACAP about a roundtable, with her staff saying that Gideon was particularly interested in hearing about the organization’s two-generation approach.
ACAP Communications Manager Sherry Locke said that many political leaders seek out ACAP because of the on-the-ground work it does with members of the community — they are intermediaries of sorts between County residents and political leaders.
Chandler said Collins visited the ACAP office about a month ago, and that members of Congress and the Senate had also visited in the past.
“I think that it’s very important for anyone running for office to understand what the conditions are for the people they are representing,” Chandler said.
