Another developer hightails it from Portland’s waterfront

The Portland Forecaster reports that Eric Cianchette, owner of the Portland Regency, will not be pursuing a building project on the Maine Wharf at this time. The Maine Wharf, which is roughly behind the Dry Dock Restuarant, would have been home to a 120 room hotel, with the first floor dedicated to marine dependent business. Along with the $45 million hotel, Cianchette planned to reconstruct the aging pier for roughly $10 million.

Cianchette’s lawyer cited upcoming amendments proposed by property owners in the Waterfront Central Zone as his reason for not continuing with the project at this time. Cianchette is taking a wait and see approach for now.

The Bolt to the Blaine House ’10 – Rosa Scarchelli (D)

Now that she’s announced her candidacy, it’s time to find out what Rosa Scarcelli is all about.

Yesterday I mentioned that the color scheme on Scarcelli’s website were a bit jarring. Not that it has much barring on the election, Matt Gagnon at Pine Tree Politics has an interesting comment on that strange matching of orange and blue.

from Pine Tree Politics:

Scarcelli’s website is a little odd – not because it looks bad (its decent enough), but more because its color scheme looks like something out of a political race in Virginia with its orange and blue accents (something very common down here in my neck of the woods). Usually in Maine you see variations of blue and green – so it looks a tad out of place, but then again should I really be picking on color schemes?

I can hear the shouts already. “She’s from away! She’s from away! Don’t let her within 50 miles of Augusta!” Of course those who would focus on that probably still think Obama is not an American citizens and we never landed on the Moon. Personally I just find it to be an interesting fact, much in the same way I enjoy Mental Floss. Maybe Scarcelli chose the scheme to highlight her difference from the other Democratic contenders, who have all been involved in politics in one way or another. Only she knows for sure.

As Pine Tree Politics points out, Scarcelli is already in the game with a Tweet and Facebook. Scarcelli’s Tweet already has 138 followers and 67 updates, while she is following 123 tweets. Steve Rowe, whose been in this thing for a while now, still only has 114 followers and a meager 3 updates. Democratic challenger Dawn Hill unaccounted for on Twitter. Scarcelli’s Tweet is an interesting blend of the personal and political. Everything from family outings to personal opinions to Maine political news is there. Some of that may sound trivial, but I argue it’s relevant to creating the well rounded image of a real person, not just a face on a poster. For someone who is running as a political outsider Scarcelli is hitting the right buttons with her Tweet.

Steve Rowe still leads in Facebook followers, 616 to Scarcelli’s 247. Though Rowe’s Facebook seems to have a lot of supporter commenting, Scarcelli is using Facebook as another way to present her platform. Scarcelli posts links to articles in MaineBiz, videos of speeches, and other announcements. There isn’t a whole lot to look at yet, but I’m sure that will change.

On to Scarcelli’s credentials.

Scarcelli, like many others in this election, does not come from a political background, but a business one. Scarcelli’s business experience differs from someone like Matt Jacobson or Bruce Poliquin. Jacobson and Poliquin’s experience are in running large organizations and investment in bringing business and jobs to Maine. Scarcelli’s background is rooted in a smaller scale public service business – providing low cost housing to those in need. Is this experience better or preferable than other candidates’ business knowledge? That depends on which voter you talk to. Personally any leadership experience is a plus for a candidate. Then again, how good a leader they actually were cannot be ignored either.

How about Scarcelli’s positions on the issues.

Scarcelli’s recipe for job creation is not all that varied from anything we’ve heard yet. Make Maine business friendly through tax incentives and trim the fat in Augusta, operate more efficiently. Not a bad plan, which is why almost everyone is using it. Scarcelli also advocates a reinvestment and refitting of our current failing industries such as logging and fishing. You’ve got to spend money to make money right.

Scarcelli’s education platform is nothing new either, just maintain current support of K-12. However, her commitment to link community colleges with businesses is interesting. Community colleges should be relevant options for those who don’t wish, or cannot at that time attend a four year school. Linking degree programs directly to employers will give graduates a leg up when they enter the already crowded workforce. And I can’t say I disagree with Scarcelli’s assertion that the UMaine system needs an overhaul.

Energy and environmental issues, though not as power as jobs or the economy, will still play an important role in this election. Scarcelli minces no words on her environmental policy. ” I will accept no compromise when it comes to enforcing our environmental laws and regulations.” ,Scarcelli says on her website. Before you start to think Scarcelli is a Green in disguise, Scarchelli doesn’t reject business over environment. Scarcelli believes job growth and protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive. That is the thrust of Scarcelli’s energy policy as well. “And we can work with the federal government to encourage research and development of alternative energy sources such as offshore wind, solar and tidal energy – part of new green economy that creates jobs in Maine that can’t be shipped overseas.”

There will be a few questions Democrats will need to ask themselves before the upcoming primary: Is Steve Rowe too close to the old guard to win the state or does his experience and name carry him? Is an Augusta outsider a safer bet? Scarcelli could be that outsider Democrats are looking for in their nominee.

Matt Jacobson a phenominal candidate says Next Right

In a piece on Gov. Baladachi’s tax reform plan, the Republican blog The Next Right’s wanders away from policy talk and into the 2010 gubernatorial election. The Next Right believes that Matt Jacobson is the candidate to beat in the primary and election.

Jacobson, claims The Next Right, is in prime position to monopolize on his business stance. In these economic hard times a candidate with the nick-name the “human jobs machine” will be difficult to beat.

from The Next Right:

Rather than the tired, poor choices presented to Maine voters in the 2006 election, there is actually an impressive crop of Republicans running for Governor in 2010 – cheif among them is Matt Jacobson, President and CEO of Maine & Company, an organization aimed at bringing businesses to Maine.

Jacobson has been carving out a decidedly pro-business, pro-growth, pro-jobs economic agenda for his candidacy, and it is already starting to resonate. Indeed, Jacobson has been described as a “human jobs machine”, as his position is literally devoted to doing just that – creating jobs. In this environment, that type of economic message can quickly light on fire.

Since we are struggling to bring new business to the state and diversify our industry, Mainers can surely get behind a message like this. We need to stop the bleeding from the fading paper, fishing, and logging industries here in Maine. Mainers are going to vote pro-business this election, that is almost a given. Jacobson’s reputation in the business world does give him a bit of a leg up. Jacobson is already pushing this point his site. However, most candidates have been quick to realize that jobs will be the number one issue in the next election. The ones who can hammer home that they have the best solutions to Maine’s economic woes will likely be packing for Augusta.

The Bolt to the Blaine House ’10 – Dawn Hill (D)

Well, it was only a matter of time before Democrat Steve Rowe had some competition for the gubernatorial primary. Rep. Dawn Hill has stepped up to challenge the Dem favorite.

Dawn Hill serves district 149 (Part of York, Kittery, Wells, and all of Ogunquit). Rep Hill has served two terms in the House. While in Augusta, Hill has sponsored or co-sponsored 83 bills, orders, or resolutions. We’ll get into a few of those votes later. Having that legislative history can be a double edged sword for a politician. Dawn Hill can reference votes she has made and has political experience under her belt. She is an Augusta insider of sorts. Opponents can use Hill’s voting record as fodder. A yea or a nay on a key bill could ruin a campaign, depending on how her opponents spin it.

Let’s dissect Rep. Hill’s website. Now technically this is her House member website, but it seems to be serving some campaign purpose at this point. The site is informative with news, legislative updates, and a breakdown of her positions on education, environment, economy, healthcare, and consumer protection/animal rights. Considering some sites have already touted Hill’s challenger Steve Rowe as the Democratic front runner, Hill’s web site does little to show what she will bring to the table that Rowe can’t or wont. She says she is a “fiscal moderate and a social progressive.” I will not dispute those positions, but I will say that I don’t see how that is all that different from Steve Rowe’s stance.

Hill’s campaign is borrowing a page from President Obama’s play book. Is this page his deftly executed grassroots campaign? Or maybe his keen fundraising machine? No. Hill is choosing to ride the Change Train.

from Seacoast Online:

“All of the rules have been broken,” she said. “Look at Barack Obama. If everyone followed the people who think traditionally, he would not be there. People are looking for change. Coming up the standard ladder is not expected by the populace anymore. Party officials think that way, but the people ask, ‘Who can do the best job?’”

I may try to avoid painting myself as some rebel outsider in the political game when I clearly wasn’t. Hill would not be the first legislature who practiced law for ten years to run for governor, nor would she be in exclusive company. I one of the other candidates, who actually does come from outside this typical background, does not jump on Hill’s statement I will be surprised.

Obama did not only win on “Change”. He had a tide behind him that wanted to push out all remnants of the Bush administration. Obama also had the charisma to make people believe in change. The public opinion is against the current Democratic governor. Though I have not heard Hill speak, I would question if she has the level of charisma that President Obama does. You cannot just copy and paste Obama’s 08 campaign and hope to win an election.

Hill is not ignorant of Maine’s problems. How to we attract more and better paying jobs, how do we keep young graduates in Maine, and at the same time preserve Maine’s character? Her solutions are vague. We need to reinvent and innovate. How? Mine the collective experience of business , agriculture, fishermen, retailers, and tourist industry successes? Yes, we do need to cull advice from all those involved. I’m going to need more than that from a self proclaimed “mover and a shaker” and an “independent thinker“.

Perhaps most disturbing is Hill’s use of Maine as a “brand”. In support of protecting the environment Hill refers to the natural beauty as a brand we must market. Our special memories of Maine are a brand. Even you, presuming you are a Mainer too, are part of that brand. See what I just did there. I took something that is a clear truth and turned it sour. Of course we want tourists to come visit the natural beauty of Maine. That’s a big part of our economy. We sell that “brand” just like Tim Allen is hawking Michigan or Missouri markets Branson as a squeaky clean Las Vegas. Words are so important in politics. How something is said can make or break a candidate. Will voters warm up to the idea of being a brand? Will those who battled against Plumb Creek, Poland Spring, and Wal-Mart buy into that phrase. Even if, economically speaking, it is something we sell?

Hill is not devoid of concrete ideas on improving Maine. Hill sponsored a bill to protect Maine’s shoreline bodies of water and forests in LD-340. Hill also supported low-interest loans for geothermal heating, swifter approvals for wind turbines, and efforts to reduce carbon emissions. This stance could swipe votes from Lynne Williams should Hill win the nomination. It also helps preserve that brand.

When it comes to education Hill is hardly innovative. Hill did vote against the school administrative consolidation, which is sure to sway some votes. During the legislative life of the bill, Hill fought for greater flexibility in the consolidation and fair economic burdens on each town. Hill did vote against the recent charter school bill LD 1438. The rejection of the cutting-edge virtual charter schools in such a rural state is nearly unforgivable. It’s a disappointing blow to the state, especially when we are struggling to prove we can be an innovator and a leader.

A peak at Project Vote does show some of Rep Hill’s strengths. Hill received an 80 out of 100 from the Maine League of Conservation Voters. The Maine AFL-CIO gave hill a 100 in support of labor. Hill scored high in civil rights (75) from the Maine People’s Alliance. Hill voted for LD 1020 the same sex marriage bill, giving us the only clear gay marriage stance from a candidate. Hill did not fair so well when it comes to business however. Hill scored 25 out of 100 from the Maine National Federation of Independent Business. That is a poor rating considering Hill is a small business owner.

You might think from my harsh treatment of Hill I think she has no chance against Rowe. That’s not true. She has the voting record to promote her cause in some cases. From her writing, it’s clear that her heart is in the right place. Hill understands what is wrong in the state and broadly what it needs to get there. Can she connect with voters statewide and give them some concrete examples of how she will improve the state? More importantly, can Dawn Hill convince voters she is a superior choice to Steve Rowe? Don’t underestimate Rep. Hill. If Hill can get her ducks in line she could mean trouble for Rowe. Hill has plenty of time to get her game plan together. Then again so does Rowe.

The Bolt to the Blaine House ’10 – Matt Jacobson (R)

Four Maine gubernatorial candidates have been covered so far. Alex Hammer, Bruce Poliquin, Lynne Williams, and Steve Rowe have had their time in the sun. Now Matt Jacobson (R) gets his chance.

Jacobson already has made a strong digital presence on the web. Jacobson exemplifies a web 2.0 candidate, as does most of his opponents. There is a website, blog, twitter, facebook, and myspace page for the candidate. Each is on par with the competition, though from a design point of view both Republican candidates at this point have the best looking websites. I’ll leave speculation as to why that is to others.

As a writer for Maine Biz, it’s no surprise that Jacobson’s focus is on business. All of the issue pages of his site are either overtly business related or link their topics to business. Not that this is a bad thing. With Maine struggling to emerge from recession, the loss of manufacturing industries like paper, and recover from years of mass youth migration Jacobson’s tactic is a wise one. Jacobson’s blog, a port of his Maine Biz writings, provides a wealth of information on his business stance. I’m going to focus only on Jacobson’s website at this point.

The site Jacobson has constructed is comprehensive. Coverage of issues is broken down into five categories; jobs and economy, education, spending and taxes, energy, and the environment. I’ll touch on a few of those.

Jacobson pushes for a smaller, learner government in order to lower spending. To get the best grasp of Jacobson’s plan for reorganizing government one need only look as far as the recent school district consolidation. Jacobson is looking to consolidate services the government provides. The engine of government will be tuned and all those useless aftermarket mods your cousin said would get you more power will be yanked out. Jacobson hopes his tuneup job will leave us with “Fewer yet more efficient units of government dedicated to higher quality performance is the key – just as it is in every budget across Maine”

I can say with confidence that Matt Jacobson fits the fiscal conservative mold to a tee. His stance on taxes and spending and pro-business attitude make that choice a no brainer. I hesitate to label him a moderate. There is little information available on his social leanings at this point.

You may be saying now well what makes Jacobson any different from Republican challenger Bruce Poliquin? They both in favor of lower taxes, less regulations, and pro-business. The differences are subtle, but they are there if you look. Take their environmental positions for instance. Poliquin advocates a partnership of ecology and economy. Jacobson too believes that economic growth and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive as well, but if push came to shove the economy would come first. Jacobson says on his website, “Where environmental and land use rules and regulations become unnecessary barriers preventing responsible growth of jobs and communities, I’ll make sure those barriers are taken away.” Yes, Maine’s environmental regulations can be excessive, but Poliquin illustrates what some of them made possible. “When I was a boy in Waterville, if you fell in the Kennebec River you had to get a tetanus shot. We should all be proud of the years of hard work to restore many of our natural assets. We cannot go backwards in the protection of our environment.”

Here’s how I look at the two candidates. Poliquin is pro Maine families. The crux of Poliquin’s campaign is his “plan to help Maine families.” Poliquin’s policies are to advance the quality of life for Maine families first. The fact that they aid business as well are almost secondary. Jacobson is pro-business first and foremost. This is not to say that Jacobson is anti-family. No candidate in their right mind would even elude to that. Jacobson’s policies advance the cause of business in Maine, which incidentally helps Maine families.

Does this mean Jacobson has no appeal to Maine voters? Of course not. Running the government is much like running a business. Jacobson could leverage this point in the primaries, driving home the economic state of Maine. There are two hurdles to face. Do Republicans want a Jack Welch type business man as their government CEO or do they want a jack-of-all-trades? If Jacobson should win his parties nomination, can Jacobson bet that the state at large is not sick of business types altogether?

So much of politics is all about spin. If Jacobson can spin his business experience, which is vast, to his advantage it could spell victory in the primary. Then possibly the Blaine House. It wont be an easy fight for Jacobson by any means. But if his military and business resume proves anything it’s that he’ll give the competition a fight.

Dunkin Donuts = Walmart of the coffee world?

Maine has long struggled with striking a balance between business growth and character preservation. Many towns has zoning laws dictating what new buildings may look like. There have been many attempts to prevent chains from operating in certain areas as well. Camden has recently struggled with the addition of a Dunkin Donuts. Some of the NIMBY crowd, who preferred character over business, resisted but it didn’t last. Two permits have been granted paving the way for the Dunkin Donuts franchise to move in.

Gerald from Turn Maine Blue weighs in with his two cents.

from Turn Maine Blue:

So it may come as some surprise to read that those folks in Camden that oppose the proposed Dunkin’ Donuts really need to stop and think if this is going to kill your town.

Because it’s not.

First, a Dunkin’ Donuts is NOT going to suck business away from the other two (or more) existing coffee houses. The folks that will frequent DD will likely not have stopped at the local shops anyway.

The Dunkin’ Donuts is not going to be located out of town, but right downtown. Other than signage, it will have to comply with zoning regulations – and perhaps this might be a good time to think about revising your sign ordinance.

Believe it or not, this store will likely get people to stop in Camden’s downtown, and while they are there, spend money in other, locally owned, shops. It wasn’t too long ago that the Subway that is now out by the IGA/Hanaford’s was just around the corner from this location.

Filling storefronts should be a priority, especially in this economy. Think of the broken window principal in criminology. If people see a building with broken windows they are more likely to continue vandalizing the building than if those windows were replaced. Along the same line, people be more apt to litter on a street that is already dirty.

With that in mind, think about the psychological impact of an empty storefront. People see the dusty windows and dark interior and think that the area is going downhill. Other businesses begin to worry about the hit their traffic is going to take because of the empty store. Maybe their store will go next. Stores start moving to higher traffic areas and the slide begins. Keeping buildings occupied is paramount.

While I believe competition is part of good business, small coffee shops have nothing to fear from Dunkin Donuts.

There are 7 D&Ds in Portland alone, not to mention the dozen or so more in the surrounding towns. Sure, traffic is backed up onto St. John St. every morning. Dunkin Donuts deserves it. They do what they do well: coffee, donuts and bagels cheap and quick. That doesn’t detract anything from the small coffee shops that dot Portland. I have been to my favorite shop, Arabica, at various times of the day. The place is never empty. People choose a small shop like Arabica, or gasp Starbucks, because they are expecting a certain quality of product and atmosphere. That’s not why you go to Dunkin Donuts

I go to Arabica because they have the best coffee at the best prices. The fact that they are local doesn’t really figure into for me. Even though I’m glad to give a local company my money, locals work at Dunkin and Starbucks too.

In this economy I think we need to put our prejudices aside. Encouraging business growth will not turn our charming towns into corporate sponsored cut outs. Allowing strong businesses to get a foothold will drive traffic to others as well. We may loose some small establishments, but those that survive this will come out strong as ever.

"Re-Branding" Reform – Arne Duncan lets me down

Clay Burell at Change.org again provides us with a great piece of education writing. Clay takes on Dunc’s mission to “re-brand” No Child Left Behind. Unfortunately for us, and me especially since I had high hopes for Arne Duncan, this will be no retooling of the criticized NCLB. The name is all that will be changed. No shift on what is being tested. No move away from multiple choice exams to written. Forget hopes of a problem solving analytical based exams too. The DOE believes it’s all in the name. That’ll get results.

from Change.org

Arne Duncan wants to “re-brand” No Child Left Behind by renaming it (but keeping its essence of high-stakes, high-pressure tests). He also wants, he says this week, to lengthen the school day, week, and year – six days a week, at least 11 months a year — if American students are to compete² with students abroad³ (says the AP).

So rather than increase the quality of education we should increase the quantity? Since when did “more of a bad thing” become a positive phrase? They are really down the rabbit hole at the DOE. Dunc, you let me down man.

If they are going to to run education like a business, wouldn’t it make more business sense to work smarter not harder? Eliminate waste and use resources more efficiently is good business. Companies that utilize their workers, technology, and administration properly succeed. Those who would follow a business plan like Dunc are bound to fail.

Enough with the verbal alchemy. Let’s do something substantial.