Peter Cianchette Economy key issue for GOP hopeful

BUCKSPORT – It’s the afternoon shift change at International Paper and the mill workers are approaching a man with a broad smile and an outstretched hand who has strategically positioned himself in front of the cross-walk leading to the employee parking lot.

The papermakers have become all too accustomed to interceptions by politicians at the mill’s North Gate this time of year. It’s almost as predictable as the changing hues of the maples and birches lining the shores of the Penobscot River as it passes Fort Knox on its way to the sea.

What the workers are not accustomed to seeing are Republican politicians like Peter Cianchette, the GOP candidate for governor who is boldly campaigning in the heart of big labor, Democratic territory. Still, if the 41-year-old South Portland businessman and former legislator knows the workers are not necessarily an automatic constituency, he figures they should at least respect him for showing up. He searches for a friendly face among the work force.

Many employees don’t even acknowledge Cianchette, refusing to shake his hand, much less accept any of his literature explaining why he should be Maine’s next governor.

A couple of days later, Cianchette reflected on his short stay at the mill, assuming a philosophical perspective as he rationalized some of the workers’ responses.

“You know it was a general audience, people just coming out of work and they were tired and it was the end of a long day,” he said. “That’s what you get at those places, so to get a mixed reaction is something that one might expect in that situation.”

But there were also a few smiles and greetings from those mill employees who recognized Cianchette from his ads, which are paired up with the local morning news shows like bacon and eggs.

“You know, I actually did have a number of people shake my hand, including one man who said, ‘I’m a union member and I’m supporting you and I know you’re working to help me keep my job,'” Cianchette said.

It’s a common worry voiced by many Mainers Cianchette has met in a campaign that has required him to crisscross the state several times. If people don’t have good-paying jobs, they’re worried about finding them. If they do, they’re worried about keeping them.

“The economy is strained and it’s tough times for the people of Maine,” Cianchette said. “What I’m most struck by is that people want opportunity in this state. They want to live here and have good jobs. While there are regional differences, everybody in Maine wants to make sure that they’re going to have a place to be.”

Jobs and the economy would be the tandem priorities of a Cianchette administration, which would also press hard for a constitutional amendment to freeze property taxes for many of Maine’s senior citizens.

Married with two children, Cianchette was born into the powerful and influential Cianchette construction family, known throughout New England as Cianbro of Pittsfield. He earned a degree in business administration and finance before working his way to the top of the Dragon Cement products company. Later he founded a worker placement firm in Portland, which he later sold. After serving two terms in the Maine House as an acknowledged low-profile, constituent-oriented lawmaker, he accepted a position at Pierce Atwood Consulting in Portland.

Cianchette began testing the waters for a gubernatorial bid a little more than a year ago, meeting with other Republicans to devise a winning strategy for the Blaine House on Nov. 5. He settled on a simple message, emphasizing what he characterizes as “out-of-control” state spending, which he says is primarily responsible for an estimated $265 million deficit in the current state budget and a potential budget gap over the next 30 months of nearly $800 million.

Part of the solution, he says, is to slow state spending by carefully analyzing programs to determine whether they really are cost-effective. He would also cap the growth of state spending by limiting government expansion to 75 percent of personal income growth and lower taxes by 20 percent over five years.

As governor, Cianchette would turn his attention immediately to the economies of northern and eastern Maine, areas he says were left behind in the state’s economic boom of the mid-1990s.

“This election is about who will set the agenda for the next four years, and the agenda should be one of economic revitalization – especially in the 2nd District, where we need more job creation and the replacement of jobs that used to be part of the state’s economy but are no longer,” he said. “We need a strategic plan to really support the region.”

Cianchette is convinced improved transportation links are key to northern Maine’s revitalization. He supports extending Interstate 95 from Houlton to Madawaska and improving rail lines to encourage the return of passenger rail service. Most importantly, Cianchette said he wants to fast-track construction of an east-west highway linking the Maritime Provinces with Quebec and the major transportation routes through upstate New York.

“While Maine, the Maritimes and Quebec have distinct economies, they certainly can interrelate to each other, and that’s why the transportation issue becomes so important,” he said. “We do need to be able to link those economies. In the process we would bring our Maine system together to move cargo. Our share of the expense would be about $100 million that we could finance over a 10-year period. That’s a $10 million-per-year investment that would bring tremendous benefit to the region.”

More information on the candidate’s policies can be found on his Web site: http://www.cianchetteforgovernor.com.