Candidate Q&A: Maine State House – Cheryl Golek

  • Sep 28, 2022
  • Cheryl Golek

“My motivation to run comes from lived experience. My advocacy on issues that affect our state and its people did not just start when I decided to run for office.”

Ahead of the November 8th election, Emerge asked our alums to answer some questions about the changes they’re seeking to make in elected office, their experiences running for office in a post-Roe America, and the effects women of the New American Majority are facing in light of the Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

You can learn more about Cheryl here.

1. Tell us about yourself! Where are you from? What position are you running for?

I’m running for The Maine House of Representatives seat in District 99, Harpswell, and part of Brunswick. I have lived my entire life in this community. I grew up in Cooks Corner Brunswick and now live in Harpswell.

I am one of the founders of The Vicarage By The Sea, a long-term alternative care model for those living with memory impairments. My life partner of 27 years, Johanna Wigg, and I opened the doors of the Vicarage in 1998. We had the vision to create an alternative model of care and create a path for social change by offering a natural home style of care. I have been an advocate for those living with Dementia and a local employer for 25-plus years. We also have four children, 2 Adult sons who attended West Harpswell school and graduated from Mount Ararat, and two young daughters.

I was born into generational poverty and lived in poverty for more than half my life. I am fortunate to be there no longer. Still, because my early life was marked by poverty, this gives me a personal understanding of the economic realities that Mainers face and has fueled a desire to find real solutions to poverty-related issues in our state since my youth. 

2. Why did you decide to step forward and run for this office? Where do you take your motivation from?

My motivation to run comes from lived experience. My advocacy on issues that affect our state and its people did not just start when I decided to run for office. I have advocated for years on issues ranging from raising wages to health care, disability rights, housing, and racial and Indigenous rights, school bus safety, food insecurities, fair taxes, support of our fishing heritage, and much more.

3. What has your experience been like running for office as a first-time candidate?

It has been amazing that I have a great team and outstanding support from the community. As of today, we have knocked on 3,337 doors in District 99. I personally have knocked on 2,775 of them. Over the past months, I have spoken to thousands of people in this district. People took the time to share their concerns with me, and  I learned something from every one of those conversations.

4. If elected, you will become the first LGBTQ+ person to represent District 99 in the Maine State House. What are you hoping to bring to the state legislature?

I think we can do a better job at being a representative government, and one way to do that is to listen to those with firsthand experience.

When creating policies, it is crucial to have the voices of people with lived experiences at the table. When the policy is made with the involvement of those with personal experiences on the issues, we get better, stronger policies. I am committed to being a representative that listens to our diverse community’s needs and will ensure that those with lived experiences always have a voice at the table.

As a woman, a mother, a small business owner, an advocate, and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I know firsthand the importance of representation.

In the words of Marian Wright Edelman, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

5. By 2045, the country will no longer be majority white, and women from the New American Majority (NAM) – Black, Brown, and Indigenous women and women of color, LGBTQ+ women, young women, and unmarried women – will be taking their seats at every decision-making table. How can we support more NAM women in their run for public office during this challenging time when reproductive and so many other rights are at stake?

We must continue to champion policies and structural changes needed to reach gender parity in our politics. The Center for American Progress has listed something we could do to work towards this. We must actively recruit women of color and candidates outside of traditional networks. Reduce the role of big money in elections. Maine has Clean elections that help with this. Improving wages for public service professionals is needed in Maine so our state can become a better representative government. We need to Improve work-family policies and Allow the use of campaign funds for child care. There are many things that we can and need to do to support more NAM women in their runs for public office.

6. What can we do to alleviate the effects the LGBTQ+ community may face due to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization?

LGBTQ+ rights and abortion care are intertwined issues of bodily autonomy. We are fortunate that Maine has an affirmative right to abortion enshrined in state law. Having people in office who will always support reproductive rights has always been extremely important. It is more critical today than ever. 

We have been fortunate in Maine to have Governor Mills’ who has protected reproductive health care and expanded access to it. 

Maine needs to protect the reproductive laws that we currently have and build on them and make legal access to abortion in our state permanent so that a person’s right to choose is not threatened at every election in our state.

On a federal level, Congress needs to enact the Women’s Health Protection Act to enshrine the right to abortion as a matter of federal law.

We have an opportunity to send a strong message in this November elections by re-electing Governor Mills and candidates who will support reproductive rights and make them stronger.

7. Finally, what is the biggest issue facing the communities in the district you’re running to serve? How do you plan to address it if elected?

There are many issues facing our district in our state—things like affordable housing and a severe workforce shortage. Laws and regulations are affecting our fishing community and threatening their lively hoods. The cost of health care and lack of access to all. Support for our educational systems and the threat of losing access to reproductive rights at each election.

As a small business owner, I want to work with small businesses and rebuild our workforce. 

I want to help find incentives to rebuild our affordable housing supply.

I have always been a strong supporter of our fishing community and will always do what I can to protect our fishing heritage.

I want to continue strengthening our healthcare system so that all have access to quality care. 

I am a strong supporter of the educational systems and our teachers.

And I will be a champion for reproductive rights.