Senator
Bruce Bryant Seeks Re-Election to the Maine
Senate
Senator Bruce Bryant (D-Dixfield) has announced
his candidacy for re-election for a third
term in the Maine State Senate representing
District 14 which includes Oxford County
towns of Albany Township, Andover, Bethel,
Buckfield, Byron, Canton, Dixfield, Gilead,
Greenwood, Hanover, Hartford, Hebron, Lincoln
Plantation, Lovell, Magalloway Plantation,
Mexico, Milton Township, Newry, Peru, Roxbury,
Rumford, Stoneham, Stow, Sumner, Upton,
Waterford, West Paris and Woodstock, and
the town of Jay in Franklin County.
In his first term in the Senate, following
3 terms in the House of Representatives,
Senator Bryant was the only senator chosen
to chair two committees. As Senate Chair
of both the Agriculture, Conservation and
Forestry Committee and the Inland Fisheries
and Wildlife Committee, Senator Bryant took
on tough issues and earned praise as a fair
and effective leader, sponsoring successful
measures to stop liquidation harvesting
of Maine woodlands, to stop timber theft,
and to save Maine’s dairy farms. He
chaired the State Fish Hatcheries Commission
and served as a member of the Maine Dairy
Task Force.
In his second term, Senator Bryant chairs
the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee
and serves on the Agriculture, Conservation
and Forestry Committee. A leader on rural
issues, he was selected to chair a Task
Force of Maine’s Unorganized Territories.
Senator Bryant was successful in getting
an agreement between Maine and New Hampshire
on key snowmobile trails through the legislature,
as well as a bill to repeal the tax on snowmobile
grooming equipment. Major work during the
past session included the addition of substantial
land, including Katahdin Lake to Baxter
State Park and legislation to codify the
river drivers’ agreement for the use
of the Allagash Waterway. Senator Bryant
received the highest environmental rating
for Oxford County legislators from the Maine
League of Conservation Voters. He is a member
of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine.
Health care is one of Senator Bryant’s
priorities. He chairs the Task Force on
Veterans Health Services and supports Dirigo
Health to make health coverage more available
to small businesses and Maine citizens,
currently serving more than 14,000 people
and 2000 small businesses, and saving $43
million healthcare dollars through cost
containment. With his brother, Rep. Mark
Bryant of Windham, Senator Bryant worked
hard to solve some of the funding issues
with Dirigo Choice and will continue to
work to see that the savings from the implementation
of Dirigo are returned to the people not
the insurance companies. At the request
of a constituent, Arthur Boivin of Rumford,
Senator Bryant took on the issue of Do Not
Resuscitate directives, and shepherded the
bill to greatly simplify the process for
patients and families through final passage
and signing by the Governor in May.
Senator Bryant regards education as critical
to the future of the region, and supported
the Essential Programs and Services plan
to increase funding for education. While
the EPS formula will increase funding and
ultimately achieve a fair distribution of
state education funding, there were short-term
problems for several school districts as
the process began. Senator Bryant was able
to obtain solutions to the unique cost-sharing
situation faced by MSAD 44. The new money
provided to towns for education resulted
in lower property taxes in many District
14 towns. Senator Bryant supports continuing
to work on a fair tax system for Maine in
the coming legislative session and worked
to mitigate the loss of the personal property
tax revenues to several of his towns.
As founding President of the River Valley
Technology Center, Senator Bryant secured
more than $1.3 million in state funding
for the facility, which provides precision
metal worker training, and serves as an
incubator for new businesses. During the
past two years, as founding Vice-President
of the Fractionation Development Center,
he has focused his energies on development
of the project that has tremendous potential
for the region, the State of Maine and the
nation. The Fractionation Development Center
is part of an exciting emphasis on biorefineries
that will give new life to the forest products
industry in Maine and has the potential
to move Maine a long way toward energy self-sufficiency.
“It is my core belief that economic
development is the engine that allows us
to pay for education, healthcare and our
way of life,” Bryant stated.
Senator Bryant’s leadership in responding
to the Canton Flood disaster resulted in
substantial funding for the relief and rebuilding
effort and earned praise from community
leaders and residents. A Canton native,
he was there immediately after the disaster
and has continued to assist the community
with the long term solutions to chronic
flooding, including relocation of community
buildings and individual residences.
Maine’s National Guard members serving
in Iraq and Afghanistan are now guaranteed
a period of time upon their return to insure
proper rest before returning to their civilian
employment as the result of a bill sponsored
by Senator Bryant and his brother. They
also sponsored successful legislation to
provide returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans
with one year of free park passes and hunting
and fishing licenses upon their return.
In announcing his bid for re-election,
Senator Bryant stated, “It has been
a privilege to serve as State Senator. From
the Canton flood relief, to exciting economic
development initiatives, to dealing with
the varied needs of our area, I have done
my best to represent our area, and look
forward to continuing to work hard on the
issues of vital importance to the future
of our region and the State of Maine.”
A resident of Dixfield who was raised in
Canton in a family of 10 children, Senator
Bryant is the father of 3 daughters. A graduate
of Dirigo High School, he is a 26-year employee
of NewPage in Rumford and holds a Stationary
Steam Engineer license from the State of
Maine. Bryant led the 1250-member Local
900 Paperworkers Union as President from
1994-1997. Senator Bryant served in the
House of Representatives from 1998 to 2002
when he was elected to the Maine Senate.
Senator Bryant welcomes the help of those
interested in his re-election effort. He
may be reached at 562-8872, or through his
web site, www.brucebryant.net.
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