State Representative District #36
ELIZABETH TOWNSEND, Democrat (incumbent): 2,219votes (84.5%)
MARK CENCI, Libertarian: 408 votes (15.5%)

State Representative District #57
BENJAMIN RINES JR, Democrat (incumbent): 1,713 votes (53.0%)
DONALD JONES, Republican: 1,254 votes (38.8%)
BENJAMIN BARTH, Libertarian: 8.268 votes (8.3%)

State Representative District #62
ROBERT PEABODY JR, Democrat: 970 votes (41.2%)
DEBORAH MCNEIL, Republican: 1,283 votes (54.5%)
SHAWN LEVASSEUR, Libertarian: 101 votes (4.3%)

State Senate District #23
BETHEDA EDMONDS, Democrat: 5,031 votes (38.8%)
PHILIP HARRIMAN, Republican (incumbent): 7,588 votes (58.5%)
JEFFREY WEINSTEIN, Libertarian: 379 votes (2.9%)

Thank you, all of you, for allowing me to participate in this important meeting of the candidates. I ask for your vote on Tuesday, November 3rd, for the fundamental reason that I believe I can bring a new perspective a breath of fresh air to the deliberations in Augusta. Increasingly, Maine State government, in a way scarily similar to the Federal government, has embarked on a mission of rapidly increasing control over our lives. They're tying us up in red tape. They're forcing us to pay for more and more burdensome programs that most of us don't want or need. They're distorting the economic distribution of goods and services. And, in the process, they're trampling on the fundamental rights that we, as individuals, felt were guaranteed and inviolate.
These infringements on our rights and economic opportunities, along with the attendant high taxation, are having a severe negative impact on the future of our State. I feel that a significant roll-back in State power is essential if we are to continue to benefit from the human potential of our citizenry. It's time to recognize that most government programs don't solve problems- they ARE the problems!
For too many years, both Democrats and Republicans have, with a nod and a wink, victimized this State's citizens. I believe the people of Maine have had enough! If you believe that individual rights are not just important but essential, if you recognize that freer markets and lower taxes would accelerate economic growth, if you see growing State government as an inefficient, expensive, and threatening element in your life, then it's time you elect a principled Libertarian to the Maine State Senate. I ask for your kind and serious consideration at the polls. Thank you.

Shawn Levasseur
Whereas much of the state, and the nation, had a low turnout, Rockland had an excellent turnout for an off year election, well over 50% turnout of registered voters, between 2300 and 2400 voters. This was largely due to a hotly contested City Council race. So hot that many of the questions in debates in my race were extensions of issues brought up in the City race, especially with the Democratic candidate being the departing Mayor. This can also stress the importance of Tip O'Neill's saying that all politics is local, as the local issues of a community can easily drive the debate of larger races.
In my closing statement in the last debate I took the time to thank everyone who signed my petition this past spring, the local media for their fair coverage of my candidacy, and my competition for agreeing to the three way debates. I further stated that with about 900 L.P. candidates nationwide, very few of them have been shown the courtesies that I had. I closed with: "In a year in which politics has taken some turns towards the nasty, and a few towards the bizarre, at least here in Rockland, we do democracy right." Shawn Levaseur

Shawn Levasseur radio ad
"It's a free country" may be a common enough saying, but someone needs to remind the government of it. Hello, I'm Shawn Levasseur, and I'm running for the 62nd State House seat representing Rockland. Year after year, government chooses to regulate more and more of our lives. We need to return to a government that has limited powers, reducing the vast bureaucracy that exists today. We are also being overtaxed, funneling our money into Augusta so that politicians can have us beg for it back. we may as well change the slogan on our license plates from Vacationland to Taxationland What we need is a consistent principled voice for individual rights, and a limited government. I can be that voice, working to keep state government in check. This Tuesday you can make a vote for a real change in government by electing Shawn Levasseur, the Libertarian Alternative to represent Rockland in the Legislature.
[The following is read by an announcer... ] Paid for by Shawn Levasseur for State Representative for more about the Libertarian Party Call 1-800-ELECT-US.

Mark Cenci
I went kicking and screaming into my campaign and came away planning the next one. The Cenci in 2000 Campaign has begun! One day I casually mentioned to Jeff Weinstein that no Republican was running in my House District race against the incumbent. He didn't miss a beat and advised me to run. "You'll enjoy it", he said. "It will be one of the most worthwhile things you'll ever do." At the time I thought, "Yeah, right up there with the extraction of my wisdom teeth." But he was right!
I waited until the last moment to collect my petition signatures, enlisting the assistance of Shannon and Saavik Leary. We went door to door and I found that I enjoyed it! We got the signatures and I was on the ballot.
I didn't think much about the coming election during the summer. Not having run before, I didn't realize that a few tasks done in the summer would help immeasurably in the fall. Eventually I started thinking about the election. Other people started thinking about it too. I got calls from people, asking how they could help me and people offered me contributions. Furthermore, I saw the relentless efforts of candidates Ben and Shawn and realized there was a race to be run.
But I was still inexperienced and reluctant. Kicking and screaming, I filled out the State paperwork, opened a bank account and planned a funding letter. I had never written a fund raising letter before, but I knew I had to do it. When the letter was finally sent and the response from the membership was so immediate and generous I went into high gear. Still I dreaded it. I had never put up signs before. But I found I liked seeing "CENCI SAYS FREEDOM WORKS!" festooned all around Washington Avenue on my way to and from work. And I found I liked putting up replacement signs when they were knocked down. Knowing my message was causing some Statist Portlander indigestion was great! And I liked participating in the round table discussion at the Portland Press Herald and delivering a verbal pummeling to the assembled Statist Twinkies.
I was pleased to receive Mary Adams' e-mail endorsement and pleased again to see it printed and mailed to 1600 Republicans in my district. I enjoyed asking, rhetorically, on the John MacDonald Show, "Why in the world do you need a libertarian in the State House?" And the sound of the assembled Republicans laughing to the answer, "For the same reason you need a designated driver in a bar!" was quite nice. Knowing that message was sent on a post-card to 2200 unenrolled voters was a reason for great mirth.
And walking my district proved worthwhile and enjoyable too. Everyone treated me with courtesy. Many people were curious about my ideas and several people expressed admiration for the Libertarian Party. I can definitely see myself walking door to door again. Next time earlier and more thoroughly.
Now that I've run, I understand the process much better. I have a sense of the length and breadth of the campaign season. I now know what tasks must be done before the clocks are turned back in late-October and it is dark at 6 PM. Now I know how long it takes to walk a block. I know better how to schedule that task and what would be useful information to tally as I go. I know better how to phrase my platform in a brochure, on the street and before the media. And more importantly, I now know that I enjoy it. And that the people I meet enjoy me enjoying it. They are affected by enthusiasm, hope and new ideas. We must find ways of communicating to them. The traditional media sees us as the enemy and we cannot rely on them to communicate to the voters. A direct appeal on a front porch, by a Libertarian Party candidate, asking for a petition signature to lower taxes would be a better way.
Can you picture this: "Hello. Will you sign a petition to lower the "XYZ" tax? I am a Libertarian Party candidate for office and I want you to know that even before I am elected to office, I am working to lower your taxes. Here is my brochure. Thank-you." We just have to work smarter and harder than the other parties. Mark Cenci

Wiscasset Newspaper October 29, 1998, page 1 by Susan Gray
Candidates Respond to Issues
...Two candidates got rounds of spontaneous applause from about 60 people gathered at the Wells Hussey American Legion Hall. The first time, spectators broke into enthusiastic agreement when Libertarian Ben Barth of Alna spoke with apparent anger about money wasted by an education bureaucracy in Augusta. Describing a letter written by a Maine Civil War soldier, Barth said the spelling and sentence construction was correct and the thoughts reflected keen observation of his surroundings and the ability to put events into broader perspective. That soldier, Barth said, was educated in a one room school house. After asking rhetorically what good it has done to give taxpayer money to an education bureaucracy, Barth said vehemently, ``They have made a mess of it.'' Barth is running for representative in House District 57, which includes Alna, Somerville, Whitefield, Windsor, and Wiscas-set. One of his opponents, Don Jones, Republican of Wiscasset, elicited the only other audience reaction as he was explaining what should be done to support small businesses economically. Jones said taxes should be lower and the workers compensation process changed to compete with other states. Then he added that business needs to have free flowing traffic, and Wiscasset needs a bypass. The reaction evidenced apparent frustration with continuous traffic problems, particularly in the summer at the height of tourist spending. In response to the question about how to foster area jobs, Ben Rines Jr. (D-Wiscasset), running for reelection to the house from District 57, said it is important to protect the jobs we have. He said a bill is pending in the legislature to repeal state financial support for the Bath Iron Works, which employs more than 7,000 people and does business with small entrepreneurs statewide. Rines opposes the anti-BIW legislation. Jones agreed that pro-tecting the ship building plant is important. Responding to what would help support jobs, Barth, clearly the candidate farthest from the mainstream, said there should be less gov-ernment interference with the free market. ``Raising the minimum wage makes unskilled teenagers unemployable,'' he said, citing ex-amples of government getting in the way of business. He mentioned the Department of Labor harassing a boat builder for taking on an unpaid apprentice, even though both agreed to the arrangement.... Jones, Barth and Rines differed on de-creasing the sales tax. While Jones joined the majority of candidates in saying the tax should go down, Rines brought up instead the impor-tance of reducing the property tax. ``The tax burden in this state is too high, but it is the property tax that is the hardest to pay and the most unfair,'' Rines said. ``I am not sure I would reduce the sales tax.'' Barth said he would allow businesses to bill the state for bookkeeping and accounting costs associated with paying the sales tax. Then he aimed at the income tax. ``I will work for repeal of the state in-come tax. Augusta takes money for special interest and boondoggles. The power to tax is the power to destroy,'' Barth said....

Lincoln County Weekly; October 29, 1998,
page 1 by Kris Ferrazza
Candidates sound off at forum; Debate re-veals differences
Damariscotta- Candidates running for public office in Lincoln County got to distinguish themselves from their opponents at a forum Oct. 21. Benjamin Barth, a Libertarian candidate for the House District 57 seat, received the most crowd support for his comments. He garnered loud applause for his strong views on education. The Alna man asked what Maine has to show for taking millions of dollars from its taxpayers and spending it on school programs. "I say they've made a mess," he con-cluded, bringing loud applause from a portion of the 75-member audience. Barth's opponent, incumbent House District 57 Rep. Ben Rines (D-Wiscasset) disagreed. He said he is reluctant to lower the state's sales tax because Maine needs more money for it schools.
Republican challenger Don Jones of Wis-casset said his focus is on jobs and the economy. He pointed out Rines received a poor favorability rating from a group of small-independent business owners. He pledged to be a friend to businesses, if elected... Rines said the state should protect the jobs it already has, by supporting companies like his employer, Bath Iron Works (BIW). Jones said the cost of workers compensa-tion and taxes has to be competitive with other states, and a Wiscasset bypass must be built to aid transportation. The comment brought ap-plause. Barth was skeptical the state could play any role in enhancing the business climate, com-menting "For years Augusta has been telling people how to run their businesses.... We are now reaping what we have sown...."