Vigue takes his vision of hope public

As true northern New Englanders, many of us tend to take a “glass half empty” approach to life. We are known to be stoic, independent and sometimes just a bit surly when it comes to strangers.

And why not? Our taxes are high, our winters are long, and the economic outlook at least for the northern part of the state is usually pretty gloomy.

Peter Vigue, president and CEO of Cianbro Corp., is determined to change that. Well, he can’t change the weather, but he’s got many believing he truly can change the state’s economic forecast.

Vigue has been leading one of the country’s largest construction companies since 1991, but within the past year he has taken his message of optimism and his vision for success to the public.

“This is not about Cianbro,” Vigue said this week during a phone call from New York City. “This is about Maine, and it’s time to make some serious changes. This is a critical time and we have got to get things moving.”

Vigue is the first to tell you that he’s not a patient man, and his patience seems to have about run out with the prevailing negative attitude about the state’s economic future.

Having traveled the world and seen economies prosper and fail, Vigue is more convinced than ever that with the right vision and with the effort of private industry, Maine could become a leader in the world’s global economy.

His optimism brought a roomful of the area’s business leaders to their feet Thursday morning when he spoke at a breakfast meeting of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.

“Look what’s happening in the southern part of the state. The economy is robust, but there is limited space, sprawl is becoming a problem, and housing costs are escalating. Then you look at northern Maine and you see all kinds of space, underemployment, a highly skilled and eager work force. I really fear that if we don’t do something now, we’re going to be in a position where the southern part of the state is supporting the north,” he said.

Of course, his announcement a few months ago that Cianbro would be putting 500 folks to work at a modular building structure facility in Brewer next year went a long way to boosting economic morale, but Vigue’s vision is much bigger and delves much deeper into northern Maine.

“We are not the end of the road. I hear that all the time and I get so tired of it. Canadians have been the largest investors in this state for the past 10 years, and we [are] in just the right spot to connect them and their products to the rest of the world,” he said.

Some people claim Vigue is gearing up for a gubernatorial run. Who knows, but his statement Thursday that plans for the famed east-west highway should be scrapped did not sound political at all. It sounded sort of realistic.

He said a taxpayer-funded highway that would involve the public purchase of so much private land would simply not get done. Instead, Vigue proposes a private toll road that would cut across northern Maine on the already existing Stud Mill Road.

“This is not rocket science. All you have to do is look at a map and you can see how much sense this makes from a transportation and hence economic point of view,” he said. “And the beauty of it is the road is already there. It’s pretty simple, actually, and doable.”

So why is Vigue pushing this economic agenda now?

“First of all, I’m passionate about this state,” he said, “and I truly believe that we’ve relied too long and too much on government to get things done. Government officials come and go. Business is a constant, and we need to look to our own industries to get this done. I’m also a father and grandfather

blessed to have his children living in Maine. Too many of my friends have children that live halfway across the country because there are not enough opportunities here.”

He’s not too interested in talking about whether politics is in his future, but there certainly seems to be a lot of people talking about Peter Vigue these days.

Winters will always be long around these parts, but Vigue may just be getting some people to believe that the glass is half full.

Renee Ordway can be reached at rordway@bangordailynews.net.