Collamore Statement

“I intend to run for Maine House District 45 because many constituents asked me to represent them,” Clinton Collamore of Waldoboro said in a statement.

Collamore was elected to the seat in 2022 but resigned after making a mistake with Clean Elections paperwork. He said he collected some $5 donations from community members and later filled out the paperwork himself not realizing that wasn’t allowed. “It was an honest mistake for which I have paid dearly.” All the campaign money was paid back, and Collamore says he felt a great deal of embarrassment.

“The hardest part was having my constituents go unrepresented while the issue was sorted out, but they still believe in me and know I care about our communities and our state.”

This time, Collamore is running unenrolled. “Mainers are independent, so it feels like a good fit.”  He is also running a traditional campaign this time and has a team on board to help.

“I plan to be present for all votes,” Collamore said, “just as I always try to be present in my community through volunteering and as a former select board member.”

Collamore is both a lobsterman and a clam digger, so he is acutely aware of the environmental concerns around Maine’s traditional fisheries. He also understands the concern for inland waterways and farmlands.

There is a lot of pollution in our waters from old, leaking leach fields and animal waste.  “I will work with the EPA to end the pollution that closes our clam flats and affects the other water critters as well.

“The Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), is surveying drying wells that are causing Mainers to conserve water, have to purchase bottled water, and even drill new or deeper wells,” Collamore said. “This is a huge and sometimes unmanageable cost for homeowners.”

Besides environmental concerns, Collamore said, “I have a few issues that are very important to me. I want all Mainers to have access to the healthcare they need.

“We also need to make some changes in property taxes so that elderly and fixed income adults are not forced out of their homes because they cannot pay their taxes,” Collamore said. “It is a tricky issue where there must be income guidelines, and it has to be done in a way that doesn’t shift the burden to younger taxpayers. This needs to be a state program in order to accomplish that.”

 “As a father and a grandfather, good education and affordable housing are important to me as well,” Collamore said. “We need our young people to be able to afford to stay in the communities they grew up in. Right now, that is hard in each of the towns I would be representing.

“I want to work together with others to find common sense solutions that respect our state’s heritage and keep us moving forward in a positive direction.”