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Maine Association of Realtors Endorses Doug Thomas
Maine Credit Union League Endorses Doug Thomas

Thomas Announces Candidacy for Senate District 27

RIPLEY - Republican State Rep. Douglas A. Thomas has announced that he is running for the State Senate District 27 seat being vacated by Sen. Douglas M. Smith of Dover-Foxcroft.

Smith, who has served two terms in the Senate and three terms in the Maine House, decided not to run for re-election in order to spend more time with his family.

"Doug Smith and I are very close personally and our political philosophies are very similar," said Thomas, a self-employed firewood dealer who has served three terms in the Maine House.

Thomas said he's running because he believes Maine is at a crossroads. “We can not continue down this path of higher taxes and fewer jobs. Maine state government must change the way it does business, and stop asking our towns to pay more every year only to see property taxes go up until we can’t afford to pay them. We must find ways to create a climate where the jobs we need can grow."

The Republican lawmaker also said he supports welfare reform “so that we can help those that need our assistance without attracting new people with over-generous benefits.”

Thomas also said that Maine needs to reduce the size of government “to fit revenues rather than increasing taxes to pay for an ever-expanding government. We can reduce the cost of health insurance by allowing Maine people to buy health insurance in other states where premiums are often 50 percent lower. Maine also needs to improve its roads, and I have a plan that will do that without increasing taxes.”

Thomas has represented the towns of Athens, Harmony, Ripley, Dexter, Garland and Charleston in the Maine House.

Prior to his election to the Maine House, Thomas served as a selectman in his hometown of Ripley and on the School Administrative 46 Board of Directors.

Thomas has served on the Transportation Committee for six years, which has jurisdiction over the Department of Transportation, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, motor vehicle registration and license plates, driver’s licenses and the Maine Turnpike Authority. It also oversees highway and bridge construction and maintenance.
He also served on the Labor Committee for two years.

In his 2008 re-election bid to the Maine House, Thomas was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine (SAM), Maine Association of Realtors and the Maine Credit Union League.

He also received the National Federation of Independent Business Guardian of Small Business Award, and a Certificate of Excellence from the Maine Economic Research Institute.

Senate District 27 stretches from Palmyra in Somerset County to Chesuncook Township in Piscataquis County and Patten in Penobscot County.

Thomas worked for Great Northern Paper in Millinocket at one time and knows that part of the district very well.

Thomas can be reached at 277-3017 or firewood@tds.net

Doug Thomas's firewood truck in a parade