If you’re fishing for votes in House District 36, you’re going to spend some time at sea.
That’s the word from the candidates: Incumbent Rep. Walter Kumiega of Little Deer Isle, and Kim Strauss of Bass Harbor. They both live on bridged islands, but the legislative district extends across part of Mount Desert and Tremont on Mount Desert Island, to Vinalhaven, North Haven, Swan’s Island, Isle au Haut, Stonington and last but not least, Brooklin on the mainland.
Kumiega, 50, a carpenter by trade, said he took his bicycle on the ferry to Swan’s Island so he could go pedaling door to door. “I talked to people on the ferry. I went to the post office and greeted people as they got their mail. To do the job, you’ve got to at least spend a day at each island.”
Kumiega said he was looking forward to visiting Vinalhaven, where the Tidewater Inn offers free accommodations to political candidates.
Strauss, 63, said he would take his car on the ferry to Vinalhaven since the island is just too big to walk door to door. Strauss and his son Eli operate a seasonal cruise service from the family marina in Bass Harbor, and the elder Strauss and his wife summer on Gotts Island. For 15 years, Kim Strauss has operated the Frenchboro island ferry.
Strauss said islanders talk a lot about ferry service, in the same way mainland residents discuss local roads. Islanders also talk about lobstering, since District 36 covers portions of lobster-rich Penobscot Bay and Blue Hill Bay.
Strauss, who holds a commercial fishing license, estimates that one third of all lobsters caught in Maine come from his District. Millions of pounds of lobster are landed at Stonington, he said. “It’s huge.”
On the other hand, costs for bait and fuel keep escalating, while lobster prices this year hit the bottom of the barrel.
Kumiega is a “clean elections” candidate using public funds; Strauss is funding his own campaign and accepting small donations.
Former House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a North Haven Democrat, held the District 36 seat for four terms and is now 36 years old. The daughter of Chellie Pingree, she didn’t have any problem with name recognition, and sometimes she used her own boat to campaign…her father is a local boat builder.
But island campaigning “is a lot of logistics,” said Pingree. She compared it to a sparsely populated northern Maine district, where you drive many miles to find people. Like a campaign anywhere, she said, “really, most of what you do is events, and knocking on doors.”
She teamed up with Sen. Dennis Damon for a three-day tour.
The two of them were fed a lot of lobster. She said campaigning among the islands is “unique…people really do notice that you make the effort.” Issues range from tourism to fishing, ferries and schools, said Pingree, who now serves on the North Haven school board.
Kumiega said he is often offered cookies and coffee and people want you to stay and chat, so it can take time to canvass even a small island. He met someone who said, “If you want to use my truck, the keys are in it.”
“I’ll challenge anyone to say they have a prettier district,” he said.
Strauss said he learned a lot from the campaign: “It doesn’t really matter whether I win or lose. It’s an incredible experience.” q
Steve Cartwright is a freelance writer living in Waldoboro.