PERU – Peru resident and former Selectman Bill Hine is announcing his candidacy as an independent for Maine House District 93.

“These are unusual times,” Hine said in a statement announcing his decision to run.

“We are sliding into an economic trough that might be described as once-in-a-lifetime, more severe than what most of us have ever experienced.”

Hine said he believes the next Legislature must set private-sector job creation as its highest priority, a goal best accomplished through tax reform, work force training and discipline in government spending.

Hine, a 1971 graduate of Yale University, has considerable experience in municipal government, having served on Peru’s Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, Planning Board and Appeals Board.

He was instrumental in helping to draft Peru’s first comprehensive plan, which was adopted in 2006.

Hine has declined public financing of his House campaign, opting instead to rely on small private donations.

“Maine taxpayers spend millions on legislative campaigns each cycle,” Hine said in his statement, “most of it for placards and print media that wind up as landfill. There must be a better way.”

He vowed to limit his campaign expenditures to half of what his publicly financed opponents will each be authorized to spend.

Hine has lived in Peru for 26 years. He is married to Cathy Hazelton.

For more about the candidate and his campaign online go to: www.billhine.org.