Radio Address: Sen. Hobbins on 100 days

Weekly Radio Address – Sen. Hobbins – April 16th, 2011

This is Barry Hobbins, Senate Democratic Leader. Thank you for tuning in.

This week marked the first one hundred days of the LePage administration. And on the Governor’s one-hundredth day, Maine made the national headlines—again. A lengthy feature in The Washington Post told the controversial story of the removal of the now-famous labor history mural.

Maine people sent us to Augusta with a mandate to create jobs. Democrats know that jobs are not created by anecdotes, rhetoric and by scapegoating.

Senate and House Democrats have called on the Governor to stop the distractions and get back to the task at hand—job creation and economic growth.

Democrats are frustrated by the extreme agenda focused on rolling back child labor laws and environmental protections. And, instead of protecting Maine people, this administration is trying to balance the budget on the backs of retirees living on a fixed income. And, if that isn’t enough, it also goes after the most vulnerable in our community by destroying home visiting programs for first time parents and gutting the Drugs for the Elderly Program.

For the past 100 days, Democrats have had to answer over and over again, why this administration is focused on everything other than getting Maine back to work. We’re hearing from Mainers who can’t afford the fuel needed to fill their trucks to haul products. We’re hearing from Mainers who have to work two jobs and still, they can’t pay their mortgage. We’re hearing from Mainers who graduated from college, strapped by student debt, and now can’t find a job.

As Democrats, our number one priority is growing jobs and making our state a more attractive place to live and do business. And to that end, Senators Alfond and Goodall and Democratic members from the House have worked in a bipartisan fashion with the Regulatory Reform committee to craft a common sense bill that streamlines and reduces redundancy for small businesses while protecting the health and safety of Maine people. And, all of this work was done with direct guidance and feedback from the hundreds of Maine people and Maine business owners who showed up at the series of statewide “listening sessions”. We know and you also told us that it is possible to support and encourage business and protect the Maine-brand without compromise to our personal or environmental health.

Most concerning is all of the anti-worker rhetoric. The simple fact is—you can’t be pro-jobs and anti-worker. It is time for this administration to stop instigating a division between business and employees. And instead, actually focus on putting Maine people back to work.

My Democratic colleagues and I believe that we must invest in Maine’s most valuable resource–our workforce. Maine workers have a national reputation for our worker productivity and strong work ethic. We should never hear again that a company in Maine is relocating or opening a satellite office elsewhere because we can’t meet their workforce needs.

Democrats know how to change this. We must end the waiting list for higher education and open the doors to the thousands of students ready to learn. No graduate should leave the state because they can’t find a quality job. We know that Maine families want what’s best. Parents want their children to be better educated, have more options than they did, and be prepared for the economies of the future. By making smart investments, we will give Maine workers and Maine businesses opportunities—and that is the best way to move beyond the rhetoric.

Maine people are tired of ideological rhetoric and are ready to see results come out of Augusta. We must deliver results. And, we stand ready to work across the aisle and we ask the Governor to stay focused!

Thank you for listening. Again, this is State Senator Barry Hobbins.