Keeping True North: Justin Chenette’ 09
As she retires from politics, Maine State Senator Linda Valentino’ 74 pointed toward her mentorship of another alum, Representative Justin Chenette’ 09( Lyndon State College’ 12), as contributing to the legacy of her political career. Lauded as the youngest member of the Maine House of Representatives and a two-time recipient of the( U. S.) President’ s Volunteer Service Award, Chenette is a Democratic member of the Maine House of Representatives for District 15 representing the City of Saco who has a very clear sense of the link between politics and responsibility. As a sitting Representative, Chenette is running for Senator Valentino’ s office. I asked his opinion of the general political climate in this election year.
Rep. Chenette at the State House after the Secretary of State certified his petitions to officially enter the State Senate race.
BY PATRICIA ERIKSON
Chenette said,“ In one sense, this is an extraordinary election year, but in another sense, it’ s not unlike previous ones. We still have people frustrated with how things are going at all levels. People want to see action. I don’ t blame them. I get frustrated, too. We live in an era of Snapchat and Instagram; we expect things instantaneously. There is frustration inside government, too, seeing how it moves so slowly. The processes get in the way of progress. Government is not the most streamlined, nor the most effective. In an environment where authenticity is a hard trait to find, politicians must be open and honest. Transparency in how you do businesses not only leads to better accountability, but also an increased understanding of how governing works. Thirty second sound bites don’ t do that. The prism of the sound bite leads to an appearance of fakeness. You can send out a mailer, but you don’ t really get to know that person. It’ s easy to see the superficial.”
I asked Representative Chenette to describe more about the importance of transparency and authenticity to him in his career. He said,“ I have always had to rise to the occasion and stick to my true self. Politics lacks that so much. People yearn to know that you understand and that you have their back. My own personal journey has helped me be inclusive and get more people to the table. Maine is tight knit. We know each other. Thornton Academy is a microcosm of that. You can run into a TA alum anywhere in the world. No matter what, something unites us. There’ s always a way to connect and unite with another, to find mutual respect.
“ There’ s a spectrum in politics for why people are in politics. Everyone cares, but there’ s a spectrum. You could be the best legislator in Augusta, but if people don’ t know what you’ re doing, it’ s not going to work. How I spend my time working with people, it shows my character. It bubbles to the surface. It matters to people what they can tangibly see. Show them what you care about through your actions. We need to roll up our sleeves and help inspire people. We need to involve people in the process. We need to cultivate that communication and community, not for superficial reasons, but because we can work toward a better outcome.”
Political service requires withstanding a lot of pressures. Representative Chenette described how he keeps his sense of true North,“ Why would I want to be a public servant in the face of personal attacks against me, the negativity, and the exposure of my family? There are so many negative check marks against serving in politics. But if you believe in missions, you can create change. I’ m driven to create that potential change. I believe in positive outcomes in peoples’ lives. The more who are elected who feel this way, the better.
“ We have responsibility as officials to stand up for people, even if doing so impacts you negatively. I’ m most proud of the comprehensive campaign finance and PAC reform. I’ ve been talking about this issue for years. I had to go against my party leadership and it made waves. Lobbyists have greater access. I held firm. I thought, people elected me for this and I’ m going to do it. Finally, I got concessions to close a loophole in the clean elections system. You should not be able to be“ clean,” but also collect thousands from a PAC. We passed this law that applies to the campaign fundraising mode, but now we need to close the next loophole that applies to sitting legislators e. g., accepting money for a pharmaceutical firm that you’ re regulating. I’ m proud of this work.
“ Elected officials have the responsibility to help people. There’ s a reason to run, a reason to serve, and a reason to enact laws. If that’ s not the objective of
being a politician, you should not be in politics.”
“ Elected officials have the responsibility to help people. There’ s a reason to run, a reason to serve, and a reason to enact laws. If that’ s not the objective of being a politician, you should not be in politics. That’ s what public service is. We’ ve confused the negative, the smearing, the partisanship with‘ politics.’ All of that gives a bad impression of government. Combining that with the lack of tangible results, people ask: is responsibility being upheld? People need to know that elected officials care. You don’ t have to have a title to make a difference. You can still be passionate. Being in the military, working in a soup kitchen, and teaching are also ways to make a difference. Treat people with respect. Our human experience is shared.”
Those interested in following Representative Chenette’ s volunteer service can find him at: http:// www. sacobaycenter. org /
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