Both men running for Maine House District 87 have experience in the Maine legislature with incumbent and three-term Rep. Jeff Hanley (R-Pittston) being challenged by former one-term state representative Tim Marks (D-Pittston). District 87 includes Wiscasset, Alna, Pittston and Randolph.

When asked during a phone interview what made him get into politics, Hanley had a number of influencing factors. His brother Stephen was in the legislature and Hanley always felt very politically aware. He said he once listened to Peter Mills give a talk about running for office and he said Mills said “Go have some fun, you might lose, but go do it.” Hanley said. “You can be part of the problem or part of the solution…and well, let’s stop talking and start acting.”

Marks’s interest in government and politics goes back to a young age. He worked for the legislature before becoming a state trooper and he studied political science for a time in college. He said during a phone interview, “It’s always been my mission to help people, and I know government.”

Marks served in the legislature 2012-2014 and, after the adjustment of districts in 2013, he ran against Hanley in 2014, losing by around 200 votes.

If elected, Marks said, “The first thing we’re going to have to do is deal with the budget crisis. Maine is in a great place (relative to the rest of the country) and (Gov. Janet) Mills has done a great job but it’s time the legislature gets more involved in the decision-making.” He said while some industries did quite well in the pandemic, such as outdoor sports and recreation, others like the hospitality industry got “creamed.” He said of the pandemic, “COVID is on everyone’s mind, I hate to see the partisanship, that’s not helping us at all…my fear is that we take our foot off the gas. There have been outbreaks nearby and it’s gotten closer to home.”

Hanley said the most important thing the state needs to do is get the economy back on its feet and get things back to “normal” as soon as possible, including schools. “Number one and two is the economy and schools, we’ve got to really try to open the state’s economy back up, getting school settled and back into session,” said Hanley. “One of my pet bills has been school choice and this latest episode is more and more ammunition for that type of choice to be given to taxpayers and mothers and fathers. You also want to try to control or reduce property taxes…and maintaining the highways and getting them back in shape.”

For Marks, mental health has been on his radar from his work as a trooper and then in a hospital. “I often saw the hospital emergency room half-full of mentally ill people and there’s no place for them to go. They don’t deserve to sit in emergency rooms for days and weeks,” he said, noting that there aren’t enough beds at facilities in Maine to help treat them.

In terms of being in touch with constituents, Hanley said he knows many are not comfortable with in-person interactions right now so he’s been dropping off information on his voting record at houses and he encourages people to call, text, or email if they’d like to talk about anything. When asked what makes him unique as a candidate, he replied, “I don’t want to call myself unique but I’ve lived in Maine all my life, a blue collar worker, raising a family of four kids and now nine grandchildren, and so those are what qualify me and anyone to be in the legislature.” He said his motto is “run the state house like your house,” planning for the future, not overspending, taking care of the people who need it, and keeping things fixed.

Marks feels his background makes him unique and particularly his  experiences as a trooper. “I saw the good, the bad, and the ugly as a trooper,” said Marks, who also noted he comes from a different perspective. “I’m a Democrat but I’m very fiscally conservative. I really consider myself a moderate Democrat.”

Outside the political realm, Hanley is proud of his volunteer work, particularly in the past at the prison in Warren and at the local food bank in Gardiner. “You get to see people who are only a couple of paychecks from being in trouble and it’s very sobering.” Hanley is also involved with the Knights of Columbus, St. Joseph’s Church in Gardiner, and the Lincoln County and Wiscasset Rifle Clubs. He is a former welder, pipe fitter and electrician.

Marks has recently become a farmer and is also a hunter and trapper. Ultimately, Marks said, “when you’re a police officer, you answer the call for everyone, it’s not political. You treat everyone the same.” He said that’s really where he’s coming from.