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Dan Ankeles (Democrat)
Dan Ankeles (Democrat)
General Information
General Information
By way of background, I am running for my second term in the Maine House, and my district happens to include almost all of the Bowdoin campus. I also served on our local Town Council for five years and worked as a legislative aide in the Maine House Democratic Office for nine years. I’ve been a field organizer for various legislative races and progressive issue campaigns, including a referendum campaign to protect same-day voter registration, which is a big deal for student voting rights. I got my start as a journalist in public radio before I switched into a more activist role.
On Abortion....
On Abortion....
On reproductive freedom, I am a rock solid ally and unabashedly pro-choice. At every single opportunity during my first term, I voted to protect both patients and caregivers, especially from conservative out-of-state attorneys general who have felt free to target us in a post-Roe world. One piece of unfinished business for next term is guaranteeing health insurance coverage for over-the-counter family planning medication.
On Affordable and Accessible Housing....
On Affordable and Accessible Housing....
I am a star supporter of expanding access to affordable and accessible housing. One of the committees I serve on is the Appropriations Committee, which writes the entire state budget. I joined that committee in January, and by the time we adjourned, we had guaranteed that Maine would put an additional $72 million torrid various types of housing, including the states very first rent-relief pilot program and a fund to help address student homelessness - a problem in several of our school districts. We must continue to adjust our zoning laws, invest in transit oriented development, and improve the bargaining power of mobile home owners who would like to form a co-op to prevent out of state venture capitalist from taking over a park and jacking up rents and lot fees. It also wouldn’t hurt if we fundamentally changed our tax code so that it better reflected peoples ability to pay. We don’t do that with property taxation right now and it creates friction between local government/school districts and residents struggling to stay in their homes.
On The Climate Crisis and its implications in Maine....
On The Climate Crisis and its implications in Maine....
I serve on the transportation working group of the Governor’s Climate Council, so I do a lot of work with electrification. It’s been really important to build out charging station networks, invest in offshore wind, protect solar incentives and support storm relief that includes money for improved climate resilience. During my work in local government, I established a long track record of land conservation and have participated in laying the foundations for future ordinances that will better protect trees, reduce sprawl, and prevent harmful fertilizers from entering Maquoit Bay. Most recently, and this is more climate adjacent than actual climate science, I have been working around the clock to guarantee the removal of toxic firefighting foam from the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. In August we had the worst spill in the history of Maine, and the result is that PFAS has run amok in our waterways. The damage will be lasting and we must hold those responsible accountable and ensure that this never happens again and that all of this poisonous foam is removed from our community.
On Gun violence...
On Gun violence...
In terms of gun safety, I have voted for every gun safety measure that has come before the legislature. I sincerely hope that we try again with a true Red Flag law and a ban on bump stocks. Nobody needs to be able to convert their gun into a machine gun.
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