- Share on WeChat
-
Shenna Bellows is a Democratic member of the Maine State Senate, representing District 14. She was first elected to the chamber in 2016.
Bellows was a 2014 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from Maine. She was defeated by incumbent Susan Collins in the general election on November 4, 2014. Bellows ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 10, 2014.
Bellows was born on March 23, 1975, in Greenfield, Massachusetts. In 1976 her family moved to Hancock, Maine. She graduated from Ellsworth High School located in Ellsworth, Maine, in 1993.
Bellows graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College in 1997. She holds a degree in international politics and economics.
Former Member, Joint Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development, Maine State Senate
Chair, Conduct and Ethics
Member, Judiciary
Chair, Labor and Housing
— Awards:
— Father's Name:
— Father's Occupation:
Favorite Book:
David and Goliath by: Malcolm Gladwell
Favorite TV Shows:
Chopped, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Shark Tank
— Mother's Name:
— Mother's Occupation:
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice
2. Other or expanded principles
- As a leader in the Maine Choice Coalition from 2005 to 2013, I am a strong advocate for women's healthcare and reproductive freedom including access to abortion and contraception. Decisions about abortion and contraception should be between a woman and her doctor, not the government.
1. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- Yes
2. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes
3. Other or expanded principles
- We need to make sure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share and lower the income tax burden on middle and low-income families.
1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes
2. Other or expanded principles
- The Supreme Court decision of Citizens United undermines our democracy, and I will work to overturn it. I support public financing of elections and strong disclosure rules.
1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- No
2. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
2. Do you support lowering taxes as a way of promoting growth in the economy?
- No Answer
3. Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes
4. Other or expanded principles
- Reducing the tax burden on lower tax brackets and small businesses is important to restore tax fairness and grow the economy, but I do not support lowering taxes for the wealthiest Americans or largest corporations.
1. Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants?
- No
2. Other or expanded principles
- Top-down mandates from the federal government as a stick are not appropriate. Grants to states should be awarded on the merits of the individual applications and the demonstrated needs.
1. Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline?
- No
2. Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production?
- No
3. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change?
- Yes
2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes
3. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes
2. Other or expanded principles
- As a former member of the National Rifle Association, I believe in the Second Amendment, and I support bipartisan reforms that make gun ownership safer for all of us. I support background checks for example. I believe reasonable safety measures are congruent with our constitutional freedoms. We should no more sacrifice security for freedom than we should sacrifice freedom for security.
1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act?
- No
2. Other or expanded principles
- I support universal healthcare for all. We need to strengthen the Affordable Care Act to expand coverage. I support Medicaid and Medicare expansion.
1. Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- No
2. Other or expanded principles
- I support comprehensive immigration reform.
1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- Yes
2. Other or expanded principles
- I was one of the leaders of the winning marriage equality campaign in Maine.
1. Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict?
- No
2. Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon?
- No
3. Other or expanded principles
- We should do everything in our power to stop terrorists, but we must adhere to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We need not sacrifice our freedoms for a false sense of security. We can be both safe and free.
Similarly, we should do everything in our power to stop the flow of nuclear weapons to governments hostile to us, and we must be strategic and targeted in our approach to guard against unintended consequences.
1. Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts?
- No
2. Other or expanded principles
- I oppose privatization of Social Security. I believe we need to increase Social Security benefits, and we can do so in a fiscally responsible way by scrapping the cap.
1. Agriculture
- Greatly Decrease
2. Arts
- Slightly Increase
3. Defense
- Greatly Decrease
4. Education
- Greatly Increase
5. Environment
- Slightly Increase
6. Homeland Security
- Slightly Decrease
7. International aid
- Maintain Status
8. Medical Research
- Greatly Increase
9. Scientific Research
- Greatly Increase
10. Space exploration
- Maintain Status
11. United Nations
- Maintain Status
12. Welfare
- Maintain Status
13. Other or expanded categories
- I support decreasing the subsidies to big agricultural corporations. We should be focused on promoting small farmers at the local level.
We cannot afford to be the world's military policeman. We should stop spending so much money on spying on ordinary Americans. We should reduce levels of incarceration and the costs associated with incarceration.
We need to invest more money in infrastructure, public education, renewable energy and research. Our number one focus should be investment in the economy.
1. Capital gains taxes
- Greatly Increase
2. Corporate taxes
- Greatly Increase
3. Excise taxes (alcohol)
- Maintain Status
4. Excise taxes (cigarettes)
- Slightly Increase
5. Excise taxes (transportation fuel)
- Maintain Status
6. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Greatly Decrease
7. Income taxes (middle-income families)
- Slightly Decrease
8. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Greatly Increase
9. Inheritance taxes
- Slightly Increase
10. Payroll taxes
- No Answer
11. Other or expanded categories
- We should increase payroll taxes on the highest income earners by scrapping the Social Security cap on taxable income. We should decrease payroll taxes for low-income and middle-income families.
Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- My number one goal is jobs and the economy. We need more jobs and better pay for workers. We need to invest in technology infrastructure like universal broadband access to create jobs now and lay the foundation for the economy to grow.
I?ll work hard to increase Social Security benefits for our seniors and fix the student loan crisis for the next generation.
I?ll defend the Constitution. I will work to repeal the Patriot Act and place checks and balances on NSA spying.
Type: joint resolution Chamber: lower
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: joint resolution Chamber: lower
By Shenna Bellows One of the moral questions of our time is whether we will muster the political will to reduce carbon emissions and confront climate change as the grave threat that it is. Or will we give up in the face of the big money and short-term energy gains offered by big oil interests? In Maine, just as in New York on Sunday, the grassroots are siding with the next generation to acknowledge the threat of climate change and do something about it. While attention has been focused on the Keystone XL pipeline proposal, oil companies have sought approval to reverse two existing pipelines to potentially transport tar sands through the northeast -- without even requiring new pipeline construction. ExxonMobil and a Canadian pipeline company called Enbridge want to reverse the direction of two existing pipelines that currently pump oil west, so they can send Alberta tar sands crude to the Maine coast. The first goes from Ontario to Montreal. The second is called the Portland-Montreal Pipe Line and runs from Montreal through Vermont and New Hampshire to South Portland, Maine. The dangers of these proposals to our local economy and environment are significant. The pipeline crosses through the Sebago Lake watershed, the water supply for greater Portland. The shipping plans would have tar sands shipped out of Casco Bay, threatening our tourism, fishing and lobster industries. Given the record oil spills we've seen stemming from pipeline disasters, it is not a question of if but when there will be an accident and not whether but how much damage will be caused. Not only is tar sands oil one of the dirtiest to produce and to consume, it's also one of the most difficult to clean up, and the companies involved do not have a good safety track record. A 2007 fire that erupted during an Enbridge pipeline repair in Minnesota killed two workers. In July 2010 -- less than two weeks after the leaking BP oil well was capped in the Gulf of Mexico -- one of the company's pipelines spilled 840,000 gallons of crude oil into Talmadge Creek, which flows into Michigan's Kalamazoo River. The Kalamazoo cleanup cost more than $765 million, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration hit the company with a record $3.7 million in civil penalties. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said that in reviewing the company's slow response to the initial break, "you can't help but think of the Keystone Cops." Do we want the Keystone Cops piping one of the world's most polluting substances through our state or our ports? Not here, we don't. South Portland residents and the city council passed a Clear Skies ordinance this past summer to prohibit the bulk loading of crude oil onto marine tank vessels necessary to complete the tar sands project, sending a clear signal that these dangerous activities are not welcome here. It's an important stand to take and one that deserves support from Maine's entire Congressional delegation. As a candidate for federal office, I'm proud to let Mainers know that I oppose the transport of tar sands across Maine, and if elected Maine's next senator, I won't need to be lobbied on the Portland-Montreal Pipe Line or Keystone XL. Everyone will know where I stand, and they can be sure my principles won't change. My opponent, Republican Susan Collins, has not taken a position on the Portland-Montreal Pipe Line project despite the enormous stakes for our state and the nation. She has, however, voted for the Keystone XL pipeline twice and has given no indication that she's changed her mind about tar sands. That's a shame because Maine has a long history of conservation and environmental leadership that needs to be upheld. We're the home of Acadia National Park and Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. Our license plates read "Vacationland" and our state motto is "Maine: the Way Life Should Be." But that's only true as long as we're willing to stand and fight to keep it that way.
Wed 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Tue 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT
