State of Maine Archives: on Technology

Janet Mills: High speed internet as fundamental as electricity

Janet Mills: Proposes $15 million to expand broadband

Janet Mills: $2M for broadband; $5M for rural development

• Invests $2 million in broadband, designed to draw down much larger amounts of federal money to Maine;
• Funds $5 million for rural development; and
• Directs funding to market all parts of Maine not just as a tourist destination, but as places to live and work and raise a family.

Eric Brakey: Net Neutrality is heavy-handed government control

Brakey: No. Avoid "heavy-handed government controls."

King: Yes. Ending net neutrality will "deprive Americans of open & equal access."

Ringelstein: Yes. Create federal law protecting net neutrality.

Janet Mills: Loss of net neutrality is a giveaway to huge corporations

Mills: Yes. "Rollback of net neutrality is a transparent giveaway to a few huge corporations."

Moody: Unknown.

Zak Ringelstein: Create federal law protecting net neutrality

Brakey: No. Avoid "heavy-handed government controls."

King: Yes. Ending net neutrality will "deprive Americans of open & equal access."

Ringelstein: Yes. Create federal law protecting net neutrality.

Eliot Cutler: Invest capital in our backbone infrastructure

Shenna Bellows: "Total Information Awareness" undermines our democracy

A: I support measures to repeal the Patriot Act and prohibit the NSA from engaging in bulk data collection. The federal government should only be gathering information about Americans when there are specific and articulable facts that are actually relevant to a terrorism investigation.

Q: Are there categories of foreign leaders that you think it is appropriate for the US government to be surveiling?

A: I think we need a paradigm shift in our surveillance--in our approach to surveillance. For the last decade, policymakers in Washington have trampled on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, creating a constitutional crisis. This paradigm of "Total Information Awareness" undermines our democracy and threatens international relations. We need a Church Committee-style investigation into the nature and extent of our surveillance practices. And we need meaningful reforms to restore our constitutional freedoms and restore our trust.

Paul LePage: New website to see how Maine tax dollars are spent

My administration also launched a "Business Friendly Communities" initiative. The program works with our towns and cities to make them "Open for Business." Eighteen Maine communities are now designated as business-friendly. These reforms are a small step in making Maine a better place to live and raise our families.