For Rep. Lawrence Bliss (D – South Portland), campaigning for the State Senate seat in District 7 – including areas of South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough – is bittersweet. With four terms under his belt, Bliss said he doesn’t agree with “artificial term limits” forcing him and other “hard working legislators” to leave their seats once they are termed out.

“If [Rep. Lynn Bromley] could stay in the senate I would probably stay in the house,” he said.

When it comes to campaigning for the State Senate – Republican Tomm Dunne is also campaigning for the seat – Bliss said he is ready for the extra workload and is hoping to represent more Mainers with a “louder voice.” Bliss said he often often marvels at local officials who are in more direct contact with their constituents. 

“People on the city council and the school board deal with issues that are right there; potholes in streets and education. Those people are saints,” he said. 

A California native, Bliss said he made the decision to move to Maine when his position as the director of advising and counseling at the San Francisco State University became “too easy.” 

“There was no place to go,” he said. “I had to be near the ocean, so I [applied] to three schools on the West Coast and three on the East Coast. It was a first-come-first-serve.”

The University of Southern Maine (USM) was the first employer to respond to his application and Bliss said he traveled cross-country for an interview that coincided with the arrival of a “nor’easter.” 

“The image people have of Maine is that it’s this backwards place where people wear slickers and have outhouses,” he said. “It was absolutely pouring [during the interview], I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

Despite the weather, Bliss said he was drawn to the position at USM, “an absolute gem for southern Maine,” he said was “just on the verge of exploding into something great.” 

“I figured even if I hated it I could do it for two years,” He said.

Much to the shock of his Californian friends and family, Bliss moved to South Portland and has been working at USM’s Career Services and Professional Life Development department for nearly 20 years. Bliss quickly began to enjoy the rewards of his work at USM and discovered the West Coast image of Mainers being “backwards” was far from reality.

“In California, it’s all professional politicians. If you’re really persistent you might get to talk to somebody’s clerk or something,” he said. “In Maine, people expect to see your face and it’s all about citizens stepping in, which is what a democracy ought to be. It’s just too perfect here.”

Bliss began his political career shortly after his partner left the political arena in 1997. Although Bliss said he had always been interested in politics, he hadn’t ever considered himself a politician until the Democratic party approached him concerning an open seat in the house in the 1999 elections.

“They were looking for a candidate and I said ‘Sure, I’ll give it a try,’” he said.

Bliss quickly hit the road and went door to door in his neighborhood, “something every candidate should do,” he said.

“I learned that there is a huge variety of people in South Portland,” he said. “There are some very wealthy and some other people that are extremely concerned about their property taxes. It was an amazing eye-opener.”

During his campaign for State Senate this year, Bliss said the number one issue on the minds of Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and South Portland residents is the economy. Bliss is hopeful a recent increase in the minimum wage could help “those who are really struggling” afford the rising cost of milk, heating oil and gasoline this winter, but he said there are still long term changes that need to be made.

“We need to grow the economy,” he said. “I differ with the governor [and past governors] in that the quick fix seems to be to create a special zone with a tax break and expect businesses to flock to that zone. The whole concept is naïve and it hasn’t worked.”

When asked what steps he would take as a State Senator given unlimited funding and no political influences, Bliss said he would make sure the state provided municipalities with 55 percent of the cost of education; state school funding in Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and South Portland was down this year. He would also provide the Department of Transportation with funds to complete an increasing “backlog of projects” while at the same time working towards environmental and preservation goals.

“I’m worried about the water in [Casco Bay],” he said. “We need to do more to make it cleaner than it is. We also need to help small farms – those in Cape Elizabeth are really scraping by – and preserve the wetlands in Scarborough while still attracting developers.”

When it comes to politics, Bliss said it is important for all candidates to know their communities and keep an open mind.

“If you’re running because of a single burning issue it’s going to be an uphill fight to win and an uphill fight to get the issue resolved,” he said. “It’s about serving your community.”

 Bliss said he does not have political aspirations beyond the State Senate and should he not be elected in November he would still “look for ways to make some people’s voices heard.”

“There are enough really great folks with higher political aspirations than I,” he said. “All of the people who are running are great candidates and have taken some personal risk to put themselves out there in front of the public and it’s important to learn what they stand for and to thank them all.”