The 2018 Republican gubernatorial campaign trail hit Boothbay April 22 as one of the four candidates attended the American Legion breakfast. House Republican Leader Ken Fredette of Newport has been a key legislative ally to Gov. Paul LePage for the past eight years. Now he is trying to succeed his fellow Franco-American in the Blaine House.

Fredette campaigned at the local Legion hall because he has a military connection. He has served for 20 years in the Maine Air National Guard and his father and his three brothers served in the U.S. military. Fredette is a lieutenant colonel and active guard member. So, for him, eating an early morning Sunday breakfast with veterans seemed like a good idea.

“We live in a great state in a great country. I think it’s all of our obligations to perform public service,” he said. “And I’m proud to follow in my father’s and older brothers’ footsteps serving in the military. I’m also thankful for our veterans’ service. I’m inspired by their example.”

Fredette, 54, grew up in Danforth, a small Washington County town near Houlton. He graduated from East Grand High School in Danforth. He later graduated from the University of Maine at Machias and received master’s degrees from the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Government, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and University of Maine Law School.

In 1994, Fredette moved to Newport and set up his law practice. His involvement in politics dates back to his high school and college years. He worked for U.S. Sen. Warren Rudman, R-New Hampshire, before working as a staffer for Bob Dole’s 1988 presidential campaign in New Hampshire. He also worked for Maine Republicans U.S. Sen. Bill Cohen and Gov. John McKernan and Maine Sen. Rick Bennett’s unsuccessful  1994 congressional campaign.

Fredette ran unsuccessfully for the legislature four times before winning election in 2010. Fredette was swept into Augusta on a wave which propelled Republican control of the Legislature and governorship for the first time in 40 years. In his first term, Fredette served on the Appropriations Committee which wrote the legislation for a major tax cut.

“It was about a $350 million reduction in taxes which has been good for the economy,” he said. As governor, Fredette wants to follow the same path as LePage on further economic and welfare reforms. In 2012, Republicans lost control of both the Maine House and Senate.Then Fredette became House Republican leader. In 2014, Republicans regained the Senate and made substantial gains in the House.

In his six years as House Republican Leader, Fredette is proud of his record of backing key LePage legislative priorities. Fredette cites “record low state unemployment” and his “small town conservative roots” as why Republicans this June should support him over State Sen. Garrett Mason, former Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhem and businessman Shawn Moody.

“The LePage-Fredette years have been good to Maine. I’ve lived here all my life and have never seen unemployment this low,” he said. Fredette also believes preventing 60 pieces of legislation has benefited Mainers. Fredette and the House Caucus have sustained 60 LePage vetoes compared to 14 by Senate Republicans. “That’s preventing 60 bad laws from being enacted. I have a strong record of supporting conservative Republican small town values, and I’m very proud of that,” Fredette said.

During his legislative tenure, he worked with LePage in enacting new legislation requiring ankle bracelet monitoring for domestic violence offenders and paying off $183.5 million in Medicaid debt to Maine hospitals.

He is also a strong advocate of another LePage initiative: Eliminating the state income tax. He described two southern Maine counties as being robust and the others still needing a boost. “We’ve accomplished a lot, but in reality, a lot more must be done. York and Cumberland continue to expand, but the others  lag behind. More needs to be done for rural Maine so families can raise their families, educate their kids, and prosper.”

Last year, Fredette and his House Caucus won a major power struggle over the state budget. In July, House Democrats and Senate Republicans negotiated a budget deal which would have avoided a state shutdown. LePage vetoed the budget, and House Republicans sustained it. The result was a three-day state government shutdown.

A legislative compromise was reached. A proposed 17 percent lodging tax increase and 3 percent income tax surcharge were eliminated, but $400 million in additional state spending was included.

“We couldn’t leverage the Speaker or Senate President on the spending. It resulted in about $160 million more for  local education and the other nearly $200-plus million was a pretty high price for eliminating those taxes,” he said.

Fredette believes reducing taxes is good for the entire state and especially communities like Boothbay, given the state’s restaurant and lodging taxes on the hospitality industry. 

“This is a tourist community and those taxes would’ve been bad for the local economy. So we made the best deal we could,” he said.

As the past legislative session was winding down, Fredette found himself negotiating the implementation of the voter-enacted Medicaid expansion. In November 2017, 59 percent of Maine voters approved the ballot initiative which provides coverage for approximately 80,000 people. Fredette promised expansion once a funding mechanism was found. “We must find a long term funding formula and it must be sustainable. Once that happens there will be a deal,” he said.

But no deal came. The legislative session ended April 18 with dozens of bills unresolved, including high priority items such as Medicaid expansion,  recreational marijuana implementation, a voter-approved minimum wage increase and federal tax conformity. When House Republicans declined to expand the session by five days, House Speaker Sara Gideon reportedly called Fredette an  “obstructionist” and LePage and his legislative allies “terrorists.”

On April 22, Fredette said Gideon’s remarks were “outrageous” and “unacceptable” by a legislative leader. He described the Legislative session as “one being consumed by time-wasting with no regard for getting their work done.”

“She should be ashamed of herself and so should the people of Maine. This is unacceptable,” Fredette said. “This was mismanagement by the Speaker who allowed things to drag out. Committees failed to get their work done, legislation was repeatedly tabled unnecessarily, so to extend the session would’ve cost taxpayers money.”

Fredette has a 100 percent pro-life legislative voting record. He is a gun owner and avid hunter.

The Republican Gubernatorial Primary is Tuesday, June 11. The two gubernatorial primaries will be the first time rank choice voting is used.