A self-described conservative Democrat from Chesterville is challenging the Republican incumbent from Wilton in the race for House District 114 this election.

Two-term state representative Russell Black, of Wilton, is running for another term against Chesterville selectman Guy Iverson in the district for Chesterville, Industry, New Vineyard, Strong, Temple and Wilton.

Iverson said he became interested in running because, at the town level, there was little he could do to relieve their financial problems he sees as stemming from a decrease in sales taxes distributed to towns through the municipal revenue sharing program.

“I realized how little wiggle room we had financially without raising taxes,” said Iverson.

His interest in politics grew from three years ago, when during one of his frequent trips to the town office the town clerk recommended that he run for a vacant selectman seat. Iverson said one of the highlights of his political career so far was supporting an ordinance that increased regulations to protect the town’s water supply from contamination.

Iverson said politics have been shaped by experience both with the challenges of growing up in poverty and with working in a variety of businesses including as a self-employed sound engineer, a store operations manager and as a Jay police dispatcher.

Black, a self-employed logger and farmer, has a long history of government involvement, serving on the Franklin County budget committee, the Wilton planning board, the Wilton Selectboard and two terms as a state representative.

Because he represents a rural region, Black said he focuses much of his time in the Legislature on protecting natural resources vital to rural industries like tourism and hunting.

“A lot of my efforts go into protecting our natural resources, because we need to hang onto the jobs we’ve got there,” said Black.

The two both said they would like to restore cuts in municipal revenue sharing this session, with Black adding that one of the challenges will be to find a way to retain money shared with the municipalities without making harmful cuts or tax increases somewhere else.

“If you’re going to return revenue sharing, you’ve got to decrease something else or increase the revenue coming in. Somewhere, somehow, you’ve got to pay for everything,” he said. “I fought hard to keep revenue sharing. In the end, it got cut because it was cut by a bipartisan budget in the 125th (Legislature). We restored more than a third of it in the 126th.”

When it comes to whether to expand MaineCare under the Affordable Care Act, Iverson said he is in favor of the expansion.

“We need to fully implement Obamacare. Are there areas that could be fixed? Yes, but in those three years, you don’t wait until it expires. You get to work and see how can you fix this before it expires,” he said. “Let’s not wait until the financing runs out.”

To address issues of poverty, Iverson said he would also be interested in a two-tiered minimum wage requirement, where a smaller business could pay a lower minimum wage than a larger corporation.

He said if they can’t find ways to increase the wage, then the state will have to continue to pay out government benefits for those who can’t get by on their low incomes.

“If you’re making 15,000 a year, you’re just not going to make it,” he said.

To help shore up the state budget, Black said he is interested in looking for ways to reform welfare in a way that keeps spending under control but doesn’t cut from those most in need.

He said he is not sure at this point how he would vote if a plan for MaineCare expansion is again brought for a vote. Black voted against expansion in the last session, but he said not before weighing costs and benefits of the bipartisan proposal.

“I looked at it long and hard. I was one of the last ones to vote against it,” said Black. “I struggled with that vote. I thought it was moving in the right direction, and I would look at a plan again if it came up for a vote.”

Kaitlin Schroeder — 861-9252

kschroeder@centralmaine.com