Brewer quoted in Press Herald article on referendum campaigns
Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine, was quoted in the Portland Press Herald article, “Referendum push a plus, and risk, for Maine Republicans.” The effort to pursue referendum campaigns on eliminating Maine’s income tax and cutting welfare spending will likely provide short-term benefits for the Maine Republican Party’s candidates for election, but poses long-term risks for future legislators and the next governor, according to the article. However, Brewer said much will depend on how the ballot question on eliminating the state income tax is written, when it goes into effect, and whether it offers a plan for dealing with the lost tax revenue. He added ballot questions on the income tax and welfare could benefit Republican candidates, in a year when a presidential election and likely referendums on legalizing marijuana use will attract more liberal voters, the article states. “You have a presidential race in 2016 that generally puts Republicans at a disadvantage in terms of the electorate that comes out (to vote),” he said. “If I were the Republican Party leader, I would want something on the ballot that could counter that, especially if marijuana is going to be on the ballot.”