Just as the 124th Maine Legislature reconvenes for its second session, the Maine Economic Research Institute (MERI) has published its legislator ratings for the first regular session. The MERI ratings are intended to measure the performance of legislators on economic issues that impact job creation and investment.
Though some dispute the methodology, there is no debating whose records are the best and worst when it comes to creating a jobs-friendly atmosphere in Maine. On the whole, the results are discouraging.
You'd think that with the economy in the tank, the folks back home could have expected a reasonable improvement in the Legislature's attitude toward the state's small businesses. It didn't happen according to these numbers.
Senate
By district, the greatest relative improvements for the economy occurred in Portland's State Senate District 8 where
Justin Alfond (26.5) succeeded Ethan Strimling (10). If Alfond applies his business experience to his voting record, it should help him achieve an even better rating in the years ahead.
In contrast, voters in Auburn, Durham, New Gloucester and Poland threw an anchor to the drowning economy. The most dramatic deterioration in economic representation belongs to the record of
Deborah Simpson of Auburn (23) who narrowly defeated former State Senator Lois Snowe-Mello (91). Another blow to the economy came from the record of
Seth Goodall of Bath (29) who defeated incumbent Paula Benoit (82) in Senate District 19. These are not subtle shades in difference - they are black & white.
To see a complete MERI ranking of the House and the Senate, click here.
House of Representatives
While the median score of 30 for the entire House remained unchanged since 2008, there was a decline in the median score among the top third of representatives from 86.5 in 2008 to 71 in 2009. That's disturbing when you consider that the House often acts rashly in the knowledge that the Senate will kill off truly bad ideas. Now, not only is the House less jobs-friendly, the Senate defense system has been severely weakened.
Some districts traded up in terms of jobs-friendly representation when they elected the following legislators:
The most improved MERI rating for an incumbent House member belongs to
Rep. Herbert Clark of Millinocket whose score improved by 37 points from 34 in 2008 to 70 in 2009. It might have been nice if more of the state's depressed regions had similar changes in behavior from their legislators.
Compared to their previous state representatives, the biggest losers in terms of jobs-friendly representation were voters in districts who elected the following legislators:
