By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
Rep. Lawrence Bliss (D-South Portland) admitted his Dec. 19 announcement may have been a bit early to publicize he plans to run for a seat in the Maine Senate, but he wanted residents to know he is committed to working hard on their behalf.
Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn said candidates were able to begin circulating petitions on Jan. 1. In order to participate in the June 10, 2008 primary, party candidates must file their petitions with the secretary of state on or before March 17. Candidates are required to obtain a minimum of 100 signatures.
Bliss, who is the University of Southern Maine’s Career Services and Professional Life Development Director, has represented District 122 – part of South Portland – for four terms in the Maine House of Representatives. According to Maine’s term limit law, legislators may serve no more than four consecutive terms in any legislative body.
With his intent to run for the seat currently held by Sen. Lynn Bromley (D-Cumberland County), Bliss will seek to represent South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and part of Scarborough.
Bromley has served four consecutive terms in the Senate and cannot seek another term.
“I think Sen. Bromley has done a very good job, a remarkable job representing us,” Bliss said. “I personally think it’s unfortunate term limits say her time is up, but I’m looking forward to doing the same type of job she did representing South Portland, Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth.”
Bromley said Bliss has served his district well and has a strong base of supporters.
During his tenure in the Maine House of Representatives, Bliss served as chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Utilities and Energy. Reflecting on his service, Bliss said helping to pass voluntary energy efficient building codes that municipalities across the state have implemented will likely have the most positive, lasting impact of any of his efforts in the House of Representatives.
“We have required the state to exceed normal efficiency standards by 20 percent in all buildings that are built with state funds, including schools,” Bliss said.
In addition, a larger percentage of the state’s energy is required to come from renewable sources, he said.
“I think I have sort of shepherded a collection of legislation over the years in the energy field that really has moved the state in a greener, more energy efficient direction,” Bliss said. “It’s been a passion of mine to make sure that we leave a place better than where we found it.”
Bliss also said the state will never move forward if its small businesses are left behind. He said the state has to pay attention to small business and assist in any way it can with efforts such as eliminating unnecessary paperwork.
“We are a state that’s built on small businesses and nobody is ever going to wander in to Maine and say, ‘Hmm, I think we should build a General Motors plant here,’ and immediately put everybody to work and make everybody rich,” he said.
With its concentration of businesses, Bliss said he would like South Portland to receive more state support in light of its status as a service center. He said, like other service centers in the state, South Portland needs state support in the form of funds for roads, bridges, police and public safety.
Bliss said South Portland does get an unfair deal when it comes to state assistance, but he’s far from agreeing with Mayor Jim Soule’s recent call for secession, which Soule announced during his inauguration speech in early December.
“Part of living in representative democracy means we all do what we can and South Portland is fortunate to have a lot of business here that pays a lot of taxes and generates a lot of revenue for the city and the state, but there are other parts of the state that are far less fortunate in terms of economic development,” he said. “To say we should get back everything we put in or we’ll secede, I think is short-sighted.”
South Portland Democrats Chairman Deborrah Jabar said Bliss “sees the bigger picture.”
Jabar said his professional experiences in secondary education and his commitment to energy initiatives, small businesses and civil rights makes him an ideal candidate to step in after Bromley’s term comes to a close.
She said “finding common ground” is the only way to move the state forward, but said too often people become bogged down in labels such as “southern Maine” and “northern Maine.”
“[Residents] need someone who has a vision and who knows how and is willing to think out of the box and collaborate,” Jabar said. “It’s going to take both sides of the aisle to look at the future.”
Bliss said tax reform will be his top priority if his bid for the Senate is successful.
“The most frustrating thing to me in my time in the house has been our inability and it’s not for a lack of trying, to pass real tax reform and I’m hoping that if I move to the Senate where each member has a slightly larger voice, I’ll be able to facilitate that happening,” he said.
While Bliss said running for the state Senate was the next logical step for a termed limited representative, he said he doesn’t have any further political aspirations.
“I think we have a great collection of folks currently running for the congressional seat, but you will never see my name in that mix,” he said.
Bliss and his partner have three children, two of which are still too young to understand what a legislator actually does. His 11-year-old son, Zeb, however, seems to understand his father’s work in the state capitol.
“He understands sometimes daddy goes to Augusta to pass laws to make Maine a better place for when he grows up,” Bliss said.