AUGUSTA — Daniel Shagoury and Patrick Wynne, both Hallowell residents, are vying for the Democratic nomination for the state representative seat serving Hallowell, Manchester and West Gardiner.

Both men, who are on the ballot in the Tuesday, June 14 primary election, have experience as elected officials but neither has served as state representative in the past.

The winner will face Republican Phillip Wiseman, of Hallowell, in the general election in November for the District 55 seat. State Rep. Charlotte Warren, the Democrat who currently represents those towns in what was previously known as House District 84, has termed out and is running for the District 2 Kennebec County Commissioner seat.

Shagoury, 64, is now retired after working as an employee of the Maine Legislature for 19 years, with the last seven years spent working at the House Democratic Office. He says this experience makes him particularly suited for the role as a state representative.

“I know how things work at the State House,” he said, “and part of my job was actually helping to train new legislators coming in. So there’s no real learning curve for me; I can walk in right off the bat and know what to do.”

He said the job gave him a great deal of insight into how the state government works. Shagoury was responsible for 12 House Democrats, and would often help them fix issues raised by constituents.

Wynne, 40, also has experience as an elected official, and is currently in his second term as a Hallowell city councilor.

In addition to serving the city, Wynne is a career firefighter and paramedic for the city of Augusta, where he is actively in leadership with his local union.

He attended the College of Wooster in Wooster Ohio and Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield, where he received his state of Maine paramedic license.

He said this experience distinguishes him from other candidates, as his career involves meeting and helping Mainers from all walks of life, “from the most advantaged homes, to the people who are the most vulnerable.”

“When I look at the issues that Maine’s facing, I’m not reading reports or looking at statistics,” Wynne said. “I’m seeing people in their kitchens. I’m kneeling beside them on their bedroom floors. So being an eyewitness to our community and to workforce issues is something that would distinguish me in the legislature, because the boots and helmet workers are an under-represented demographic.”

Shagoury said he was motivated to run in order to address issues raised by constituents that he couldn’t fix as a legislative employee, and that his prior experience will allow him to get to work immediately without needing to learn the ropes.

“I know who to talk to in the various departments to get things done. I know what other legislators to look to, in both parties, for support on different issues,” he said. “I know the cast of characters and staff very well.”

Shagoury’s specific proposals include creating a program that would offer incentives for landlords of underutilized office buildings to convert the spaces into affordable housing.

“They would get essentially the cost of conversion as a tax break spread out over several years if, for that time period, they keep the rent at an affordable level,” he said.

Shagoury said this would address the need for more housing while not requiring new construction.

In terms of environmental issues, he proposed state incentives for solar and electric vehicles in addition to what the federal government currently offers, either in the form of tax breaks or rebates.

Shagoury said his nearly 20 years spent working for the Legislature sets him apart and gives him a unique insight into the state’s legislative process.

He holds a bachelor’s in history from Colby College in Waterville, and also took some graduate courses at George Washington University. He has two grown sons who have decided to settle in Maine. His wife, Juliet, is a school teacher in West Gardiner.

He also served on the then-Maine School Administrative District 16 board of directors representing Hallowell for nine years, but opted not to run again when Hallowell consolidated with nearby towns to form Regional School Unit 2. He said he was part of the board when a new school was built in the city.

Meanwhile, this is Wynne’s first time running for state office, and he said he was inspired to do so because of his experience on the City Council.

“I love serving the public as an elected official on city council, but too often we come up against issues that are larger than we can solve with one community council,” he said.

As a father of three children, he’s concerned about the future that will be left for the next generation, and that as a result, environmental issues are among his main priorities in the state Legislature.

He’s done environmental work with both the city of Hallowell and within the Governor’s Energy Office, where he helped create a policy report showing how agriculture and solar could work with together in the future.

Wynne would propose incentivizing primary care offices to provide transportation options for patients, either by increasing reimbursement rates for offices, creating a shuttle service or providing taxi vouchers.

He would also propose policies that would help the local food network, and said there are several approaches that could be taken to accomplish this, including extending employment tax benefits that are already present in Pine Tree Development Zone to statewide agricultural employment, so those hours would count toward new job creation incentives already available to businesses within those zones.

“That would both help us meet the need for agricultural work, ” Wynne said, “but also provide those agricultural workers the financial benefit of their hard work and provide them with the dignity of being treated fairly.”

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