Libby or Elliot?

In my twitter stream, I have seen many people debating Libby Mitchell vs. Elliot Cutler for governor of Maine.
Some are worried that Libby will continue too much of past policies, others think Elliot is a “johhny-come-lately” who is in this for ego purposes, like Meg Whitman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, et al.
I believe the issue comes down to who will be better at working in a government. Too often I hear “Government should be run like a business”. Why? They serve different purposes. Business are to make money, Governments are to provide for the common welfare and defense.
There are some things that government currently does, that I (as a lefty libertarian) think it should not be doing. Farm or business subsidies for example. On the other hand, I think that we should have a single payer health insurance, because profiting off peoples’ illness is not only morally wrong, but inefficient and makes health care cost more.

Back to the Maine elections. Of the five candidates (not including write-ins), I believe Libby Mitchell is the most qualified, albeit not revolutionary. Cutler seems to like to use lots of buzz words, but seems vague on details and I don’t feel comfortable with him. I know a “vibe” or whatever you want to call it is perhaps not the most scientific of reasons (although Malcolm Gladwell would argue differently in Blink), but I do feel that he is in this for the title of Governor, not the job. Below I copied and pasted directly from Libby and Cutler’s issues web pages.
On Economy and Jobs -
Libby:

Mitchell’s plan consists of 6 specific proposals:

Expand and modernize the Seed Capital Tax Credit;
Invest in the green energy revolution to create good-paying and sustainable jobs;
Implement a Farm and Bait to Plate Program to assist local farms and fishermen;
Help small businesses and entrepreneurs develop the management skills for growth by creating the Management for Maine Program;
Construct a Rapid Response Program in the Governor’s Office to help identify companies and small businesses that are in trouble avoid layoffs or those that have great opportunities that need quick turnaround for growth;
Bond for critical transportation, infrastructure, and research and development.
We will focus on the things we do well and build on them to get a competitive advantage. We will direct our economic development resources to focus on those clusters and sectors of business which are succeeding to leverage our competitive advantage, including composites, biotechnology, technology, tourism and the creative economy.

Cutler:

My plan is simple: cut the costs of living and doing business in Maine. We can transform our economy and create jobs by lowering the cost of electricity, lowering the cost of healthcare, and lowering the cost of government services. Once we have done that, we can begin to re-build Maine by investing in education and in our competitive advantages: our people, our quality places, our natural resources and our strategic location.

ON ENERGY -
Cutler:

Lowering the cost of electricity is one of the most important things we can do to create new jobs and attract new investment to Maine. That is why I want to create an Energy Finance Authority – not a big new bureaucracy, but a small commission – that will use low-cost, tax-exempt financing and public-private partnerships to build needed energy facilities, develop our renewable energy resources, invest in energy efficiency and sell lower-priced electricity directly to Maine businesses.

Libby:

Over 20 years, reduce the energy dollars sent out of state by $1 billion through continued and aggressive weatherization and conservation efforts and a continued push for renewable energy including wind, biofuel, tidal, and solar;
Establish a program to weatherize all Maine schools;
Create a public/private partnership to run natural gas lines to Augusta and Waterville;
Merge the office of Energy Independence into the new Governor’s Office of Strategic Initiatives and Jobs
Implement the Great Maine Forest Initiative;
Protect Maine’s forest, farms, and working waterfront with a four year, $100 million in investment in the Land for Maine’s Future program;
Develop a long-term plan to protect our abundant water resources.

EDUCATION-
Cutler:

We will create a climate of excitement, reform and innovation in our schools, colleges and universities, and we will foster better education at lower costs. We will authorize charter schools. We will measure PreK-12 student performance and use those measures to reward excellence and creativity from teachers. And we will maximize the value of our college and university assets by merging our two systems of higher education into one, making sure that we organize higher education around the needs of students, taxpayers and 21st century employer

Libby:

Expand pre-kindergarten services to every school district so that children enter kindergarten ready to learn;
Guarantee a grant for every qualified high school graduate to attend the University System, one of the Community Colleges or Maine Maritime Academy;
Cut the dropout rate in half by expanding the Jobs for Maine’s Graduates program to every high school in the state;
Raise public school standards by establishing benchmarks, maximizing time spent in the classroom, narrowing the focus of the Department of Education to better serve students, and including innovation and entrepreneurship in curriculums.

These are just three examples, but over and over, Senator Mitchell has specific plans and goals for her issues. Cutler uses lots of buzzwords, but rarely any actual specific plans. I think she is far more ready to lead this state than he is.
I do think Cutler is smart, and I would hope that if he is serious about helping Maine, that he could join Libby’s government as International Trade Liaison or something like that. He has lots of experience with international law and China, that could be very helpful in expanding future exports for Maine.

As for the other three candidates here are a few thoughts on why I will not be voting for them.
Kevin Scott is not in favor of equal marriage rights for all citizens but is in favor of a casino.
Shawn Moody is not in favor of equal marriage rights for all citizens, nor in favor of mass transit projects.
Paul LePage is an angry, homophobic, lying, wingnut, tea bagger, creationist, tax cheat who faked his wife residence to avoid paying out of state tuition and thinks drilling for oil in the Gulf of Maine “should not be ruled out” even though there is no oil, and it would ruin the Maine economy to have a spill even half the size of the one that happened this year in the Gulf of Mexico.

the League of Young Voters has a good site with questionnaires for all the candidates.

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