Matt Jacobson for Governor | GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Jacobson Stresses Jobs,

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Jacobson Stresses Jobs,

Date: January 18, 2010
Author: Fred Hastings, Downeast Coastal Press

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Jacobson Stresses Jobs, Creating Smarter and Better Government

Popular GOP Governors in Democratic Strongholds Offer Advice and Ideas for Replicating Their Successes in Maine

By Fred Hastings

In an election year where Americans appear to be increasingly uneasy if not angered by the state of the economy and the country’s political direction, southern Maine businessman Matt Jacobson, whose professional career focuses on recruiting potential employers to Maine, believes he’s the man to lead the state in the coming years.

One of seven Republicans vying for his party’s nomination for governor, Jacobson stumped Down East last week, and met with the county committee January 14 in Machias.

“The stakes have never been higher,” said Jacobson during an interview at the Blue Bird Ranch Family Restaurant in Machias. “The state’s top-down approach is not working. For the first time, our kids won’t have the same opportunities we had. We’re leaving less of a place than we got. We have a responsibility to create a brighter future for the next generation.”

A first-time candidate for elective office, one of Jacobson’s tasks will be to increase his name recognition with state voters amidst a crowded field of candidates. In addition to the seven Republicans, eight Democrats, one Green Independent and seven politically unaffiliated or “unenrolled” candidates are in the running. Jacobson said a similar situation existed in 1994, when eight GOP candidates vied for the nomination eventually won by Susan Collins with only 19,000 votes out of 90,000 votes cast in the GOP primary.

While he expects to win the nomination in the June 8 primary, Jacobson believes that whoever gets the nomination will get the backing of the other GOP contenders. Jacobson contrasted those vying for the GOP nomination—ski mogul and former Red Sox part-owner Les Otten, recently retired Husson University president William Beardsley, Waterville mayor and Marden’s executive Paul LePage, former chief aide to Sen. Susan Collins Steve Abbott, developer Bruce Poliquin and state Sen. Peter Mills—with those seeking the Democratic nod to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. John Baldacci. “Three are former speakers of the Maine House, one a former attorney general and two former state commissioners,” he said, people more experienced at “maintaining poverty than creating opportunities and jobs.”

Jacobson is president and chief executive officer of Portland-based Maine & Company, a consulting firm that works with companies investigating business opportunities in the state. According to his campaign literature, Jacobson has delivered more than 2,000 jobs during the past five years.

Earlier in his career, Jacobson was president and chief operating officer of St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad based in Auburn. During his 15 years with the railroad, the firm tripled its revenue and attracted 23 new businesses to its line, creating hundreds of jobs.

Jacobson is a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force, where he piloted C-130 aircraft and served as a flight instructor at the Air Force Academy. A resident of Cumberland, Jacobson is married to Kate McQuillen, M.D., and the couple have two children ages 8 and 3.

Learning From Successful GOP Governors

During the past year, Jacobson has spent a lot of time, through the auspices of the Republican Governors Association, talking with GOP governors around the country, sounding them out on their achievements in their states with an eye to replicating them in Maine.

Among the governors he’s talked with are Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, whose success in a Democratic state has put him on the short list for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, and Gov. Linda Lingle of Hawaii, who in 2006 won re-election to a second four-year term in the Democratic stronghold by the highest margin for a gubernatorial candidate in the state’s history. Lingle has introduced economic and other initiatives in a state in many ways similar to Maine, said Jacobson, noting Hawaii’s isolation and its heavy dependence on tourism.

Jacobson has also had significant one-on-one time with Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, a one-time GOP national chairman, and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

“I will go anywhere and talk with anyone,” said Jacobson, whose visit Down East completed his initial forays into all 16 Maine counties.

Noting his experience working with labor unions, Jacobson recently met with leaders of the Maine State Employees Association. The union being strongly aligned with Democratic politicians, Jacobson didn’t expect his overtures and calls for change to be embraced. But neither did he find the labor leaders hostile. If elected, he told them they would be key participants, given their knowledge of the workings of government, in a restructuring he would propose early in his administration in an effort to make Maine government smarter and better so that it can compete and win in the new economy.

More information on Jacobson is available on his Web site, www.JacobsonforGovernor.com.

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Jacobson Stresses Jobs,

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