Dresden Republican Jeff Pierce wants a third term representing House District 53, which serves Woolwich, Dresden, Arrowsic, Phippsburg, Georgetown and part of Richmond. Woolwich Democrat Allison Hepler is challenging him on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Pierce said he has learned in his first four years in the seat, a lot of things intertwine. “Education is a big piece,” because it also impacts the economy, he said. He would like to see greater vocational education and would like to see junior high schools teaching shop class and home economics again, he said. “I took them, and it was wonderful.” Those are life skills and can help people figure out what they want to do for work and start to practice it, he said. His  business, Jeffrey Pierce Restoration and Renovations, has at times struggled to find helpers who knew what a hammer looked like, he said. “We used to find all our help right out of high school and we’d finish training them.”

"If you want businesses to come here, you have to have a trained workforce. If you have a trained workforce, you have to pay them a good wage. But you have to be able to afford your energy. Businesses don't come to high tax states ... People go where capital is welcome." Cutting taxes also encourages young people to come to Maine, which would help bring businesses to Maine, he said.

Pierce said the state’s education funding formula doesn't make sense, and should just go by towns’ student counts. “What pupil is worth less than another pupil? The money should be the same amount per pupil.”

Pierce said Maine needs to continue catching up on paving roads; and look at all options for renewable energy for how much each can provide and their environmental impact. "There's a place for solar. There's a place for wind, and hydropower ... I think you have to look at everything ... Nobody wants the natural gas because it's carbon. But over 60 percent of our power plants will be going offline in the next 20 years. We've got to figure out power, because nobody will be able to do business if they have a 25-cent kilowatt cost. It just won't happen. We'll be back in the dark ages.

"You have to take a comprehensive approach," said Pierce, who serves on the environment and renewable energy committee. “And we are 50 years if not better getting off oil and natural gas. Let's just be real about it ... You can't just pick an energy source and say 'We're going with this.' Wind, solar, hydro, gas, it all needs to happen. If you don't look at it pragmatically, and you pick one source, we will lose. And we’ll lose business big."

He said as a legislator he is proud of supporting first responders and veterans; having a perspective of bringing things back to the basics, like work ethics for teenagers; and his being “super accessible.  I use my personal cell phone for my contact number, because I feel if I’m going to be your representative, then you should be able to call me instead of some mindless government phone bank that says, ‘Sure, we’ll get him a message.’”

The government oversight committee he sits on has worked to make economic development programs more business-friendly, he said. Tax  credits that help businesses grow  aren't free money, they require things like maintaining certain employment levels, he said. 

There are gains to be made, and he wants to be a part of making them, including fish passage, road rebuilding, and helping first responders cope with their experiences in the opioids crisis and horrific motor vehicle accidents, he said. “They take that home with them mentally. We need to be able to afford to debrief these guys.”

Pierce chairs Dresden's planning board.