East Boothbay resident Tom Moroney is running in the Democratic primary for House District 89 on June 14. Moroney faces incumbent Holly Stover who is seeking her third term and the primary’s winner will face Republican candidate Tricia Warren of Boothbay Harbor in the Nov. 8 general election.

Moroney said he injected himself into the race to provide Democrats with another choice. He said he credits time spent with constituents on the campaign trail for Sen. Chloe Maxmin in 2020 as a big reason for running for office.

“These last two and a half months, I've gone back and heard those voices much more passionately and much more vividly today. Not enough is being done.”

Moroney said his plan for legislature is “Forward Together” and it is built on three pillars: Creating vibrant communities with a sense of belonging for all, economy built on sustainability and not exploitive capitalism and continuing to protect and preserve quality places.

“We've got to make all three pieces work: Vibrant communities are all about the people who live here and (they) need to have affordable housing, good quality jobs, and not just jobs for the summer season ... We need to be doing it in a way that we continue to invest and create quality places and spaces: Bike paths, improved road infrastructure, broadband and things like that.”

All of Maine’s big economic drivers also have to work together to thrive, said Moroney. He said Maine needs to think to the future about helping its innovative industries grow over the long term.

Moroney said his top priorities are dealing with issues like climate change and its effect on the fishing industries, lobstering regulations, fostering the trades and general bipartisanship in Augusta. However, the most immediate issue is housing affordability and housing stock, he said. House Speaker Ryan Fecteau’s bill LD 2003 in the 130th Legislature was considerable progress in the battle for housing, but it will not be enough to solve the issue, even over the long term, Moroney said.

“Walking around here and other towns in District 89, you talk to businesspeople and I saw it through the pandemic: Having employees is a huge issue and you peel that back … there's nowhere for them to live … I think there needs to be a full court press and look at a whole range of options … There's a lot more creativity that's needed to address the affordability issue around housing availability. I think that's the biggest issue.”

Another reason Moroney chose to jump into the primary is the recognition Maine is not as homogeneous as it might appear to be to outsiders, he said.

Moroney said he grew up on Long Island, New York as the eldest of five children in a lower-middle-class, hardworking blue collar family and benefited from living in a supportive community. “People who ran things like the police, athletic leagues, religious leaders. They were always important figures in my life and I saw how I benefited from them.”

After earning a degree in international engineering from Stanford University, Moroney embarked on a 35-year career in the energy industry, most of it for Royal Dutch Shell, and lived all over the U.S. experiencing extremely diverse communities. He also lived overseas with communities relatively low in diversity.

“My experiences across the U.S. taught me that the fabric of the American community is really rooted in diversity (but) in the last 20 years, diversity has almost become a wedge to divide us and put us in our own corners. We've got to reverse that, we absolutely have to reverse that. Democracy is on the line … The unraveling of community is so insidious and so destructive and I think that's in many ways behind the level of divisiveness we see everywhere.

“I was shocked these last two and a half months .. speaking with well over 100 families. On the surface, you would think this is a small slice of Midcoast Maine, it's going to be fairly homogeneous and it's not. It's absolutely not. The level of diversity is actually quite refreshing.”

Moroney said whether his constituents are Democratic or Republican, his “Forward Together” message is about connecting everyone, creating a tapestry of people moving in one common direction. A vote for Moroney is a vote for someone who believes in three important characteristics, he said: trust, connectedness and passion.

“I will do the hard work, I will understand deeply the critical issues Midcoast Maine is challenged with and I will work hard to find pragmatic solutions that can be practically implemented, not theoretical things. I'm going to be connected to the community … to Democrats, Republicans, Independents and people who have checked out of the process … I want to do work that will be viewed as leaving some important footprints behind, making an impact for young people and the next generations. I want future generations to grow up and have the hope and inspiration and to have high levels of ambition.”