Debate Sparks Some Electricity
By Paul Carrier
Republican gubernatorial candidate Chandler Woodcock broke from the pack on key issues Thursday while independent Barbara Merrill took aim at Democratic Gov. John Baldacci during a four-way debate at the University of Southern Maine that also featured Green Independent Pat LaMarche.
When LaMarche demanded that Maine stop accepting out-of-state waste, Baldacci said Maine has some of the toughest laws in the country on the disposal of such waste, prompting LaMarche to respond: "That's like saying you have the most strict laws for beating your wife. It shouldn't be done to begin with." |
Baldacci, LaMarche and Merrill agreed that nuclear power has no future in Maine and that wind power does, although Merrill was alone in endorsing the Redington Wind Farm, which Maine Mountain Power LLC wants to build in western Maine.
Baldacci and LaMarche backed a project that's already under construction in Mars Hill, but they did not weigh in on the Redington plan during the debate.
Baldacci, Merrill and LaMarche all panned the idea of building a nuclear power plant in Maine, because waste disposal remains unresolved.
"The first rule in kindergarten is, don't make a mess you can't clean up, and that's the problem with nuclear power," LaMarche said.
Woodcock took a different view on both issues, saying no one should expect nuclear power to become part of Maine's energy mix in the next decade because it would take 10 years to get government approval for a site.
Agreeing that disposal remains a concern, Woodcock described nuclear power as "a clean form of energy" that produces power "at a very low cost."
Woodcock, who is on record as opposing the proposed Redington Wind Farm, said he does not share the concerns of critics who argue that such projects would destroy the aesthetics in pristine areas by marring the landscape with unsightly turbine towers.
Merrill repeatedly took the offensive during the debate, chiding Baldacci and other Democratic Party leaders for what she cited as the shortcomings of her former party.
She criticized Baldacci for signing a state budget last year that called for borrowing more than $400 million to keep state government in the black — a plan that was abandoned after opponents mounted a referendum drive to try to kill it.
She said Baldacci "needs to provide leadership" on the Redington Wind Farm, and she slammed the governor and Democratic leaders in the Legislature for slowing the cleanup of the Androscoggin River.
Maine needs "a governor who can restore faith in state government," Merrill said. "We won't get that done with the current leadership."
When LaMarche demanded that Maine stop accepting out-of-state waste, Baldacci said Maine has some of the toughest laws in the country on the disposal of such waste, prompting LaMarche to respond: "That's like saying you have the most strict laws for beating your wife. It shouldn't be done to begin with."
Reading from a speech that President Carter gave in 1977, LaMarche said the United States was "the most wasteful nation on earth," and that remains true today. She said Maine must build a future that is "based on conservation."
Describing Americans as "very spoiled when it comes to energy" consumption, Woodcock called for more research and development and endorsed "a more diversified portfolio" of energy sources.
The reaction of the audience was mixed, although several people noted during interviews after the debate that Merrill was aggressive in her criticism of Baldacci, which pleased some and displeased others.
"What really impressed me was the overall quality of all four people," said Alfred Padula of Portland. "We didn't have any real duds there."
