July 4, 2012 -- On Independence Day, I attended Rally for the Republic in a Bangor park, where I had the opportunity to speak with Sam Canders. Sam is running for the Maine State Representative in House District 15, which is made up of part of Bangor.
He is from the County, and graduated from high school in Washburn.
After the rally, we spoke under a tree at that park, which is the reason you can hear the wind during this interview. I trust you will put up with that background noise, as it is well worth it to hear who this young man is and what he believes in.
He talked about his career, his time in the military, what sort of changes need to be made, his fiscal positions, strengthening the economy in Maine, loosening the reins of regulations on businesses, and his commitment to buying locally and his sponsorship of a local farmer to that end.
As to his running traditionally instead of using taxpayers' "Clean Election" funds for his election:
"Initially, when I started this campaign, I most definitely was part of the "clean election," and upon researching how that actually works as far as the -- no better way to put it, I guess -- is tax-subsidized campaigning, I didn't feel as though that was a great use of tax money and didn't see that as being clean at all."
When asked how he differs from his opponent, Adam Goode, he pointed to his fiscal principles, relating them to running a household:
"We can all want something great, or something new for our home or our household, but you have to pay for it. You pay for it now, or you pay for it later."
Listen to the interview here:
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Sam's campaign website is at SamCanders.com.