Biddeford Democrat Ryan Fecteau will return for a second stint as speaker of the Maine House on Wednesday as the Legislature kicks off a new session.
Fecteau says he learned a lot during his first two years as speaker, and hopes he can help make things run more efficiently this time.
Fecteau acknowledges that a more narrow majority for Democrats in the House could affect the goals his party hopes to achieve, but he told Maine Public's Irwin Gratz he believes bipartisan agreement can be reached on issues such as housing and child care.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Fecteau: I think we, in concept, agree what the challenges are, whether it be housing or child care, the costs that Mainers are facing every day just to get by, to get to that next paycheck. We need to be able to work together to solve those problems.
Gratz: You've mentioned housing and child care a couple of times. I'm curious, are those what you consider to be top priorities for this session? Are there some others in that mix?
Yeah, I think those are clearly issues that are on the minds of Mainers. We have too many people who are struggling to find a place to call home, struggling to stay in their home, whether it be rental or even home ownership, and certainly a number of families that are struggling with child care, access to it, the affordability of it. You know, we have moms and dads across the state that are actually making the determination it's better to stay home than it is to go to work, because the costs just don't add up. Obviously, the cost of energy. Homes, for better or for worse, here in Maine the value has gone up, but that has resulted in some challenges on the property tax front, so we have to figure out these problems as well.
Affordable housing was a big issue for you in your last go-round in the Legislature. Some legislation got passed. Are you happy with what has transpired so far, and where do you want to go next on that issue?
Yeah, I'm extremely grateful for the work that we were able to do when I was speaker last time, moving forward a pretty substantial bill to change zoning statewide, to open up and unlock the possibilities of housing. And I saw as that law was being implemented locally, conversations started that were long overdue around housing. And some communities, including Portland, went well beyond the basic requirements of that law, which is exciting to see. There's still work that remains. We have too many barriers that still exist to getting housing built. We have a small group of people, oftentimes in our communities, who really are setting up the conversation in a way that makes it seem like the majority of a community is opposed to housing. We know in polling and research and all the data that, in fact, most people, the vast majority of folks in our state, want to see housing be built.
Do you think you can really move that ball forward, as long as the decisions are essentially left to local communities, or does the state have to get itself a little bit deeper into zoning issues in order to see that happen?
Yeah, I think we can work with local communities. I think we build upon their discretion in order to get these issues resolved. But I think communities are experiencing the housing challenge themselves. They also are employers. They're trying to find school bus drivers, teachers, public works employees, city and town clerk's office employees, you know, you name it, they're probably looking to hire, and they are experiencing the same thing every other employer in the state is experiencing, and that is prospective candidates telling them, 'I can't accept this job because I cannot find a place to live in your community.'
Gov. Janet Mills warned last month the next state budget is going to be tight. Her finance commissioner was quoted as saying she hoped the Legislature will make a priority out of funding continuing programs, rather than trying to create more programs. Your reaction to that?
Well, I'm committed to some of the programs that we have been able to fund over the last several years, that Maine people care about, that they have turned to us to say, 'You know what, you did a good thing here.' That includes finally meeting our obligation to fund public schools at 55%, funding free school meals across the state so no kid is going hungry, no kid is racking up a bill a mile long with their lunch lady, making sure that community colleges are free so that no student is paying tuition. We've seen tremendous success with that, which is also, it's not just about advancing someone's education. It's also about workforce and getting students geared up for joining some of the most important trades that are desperately needed, whether it be plumbers, electricians, automotive repair, you name it, employers are looking for the next group of talent to join their careers. And so I am committed to making sure we maintain that funding and make sure that we're making those key investments, because Maine people are depending on us.