AUGUSTA – State Rep. Tom Winsor, R-Norway, said he wasn’t surprised by the results of a survey sent to about 200 of his constituents in House District 95.

Top concerns for those in his district, which includes Norway, Greenwood, Waterford and West Paris, included problems with the new federal health insurance law and welfare reform for Maine.

“I always like to speak with folks about what’s going on in Augusta when I run into them at the grocery store or at community events,” Winsor said. “The nice thing about these surveys is that it’s like having a couple hundred conversations in one day of reading the results and their accompanying comments. They help guide my decisions at the State House and allow me to better represent my neighbors.”

The results are similar to surveys conducted in other State House Districts held by Republicans.

Winsor mailed a survey to each household in his district. One question asked respondents to rank what they think are the most important issues facing the state. The top issue out of the 10 listed in the questionnaire was health insurance.

“That’s hardly surprising, with the uncertainty surrounding ObamaCare as it is rolled out,” Winsor aid.

The second most important issue was welfare reform and the third was business attraction. Other options given were roads and bridges, constitutional rights, reducing state spending, energy costs, education, tax reform, and “other.”

Based on the survey results, it appears Oxford County residents agree on a number of specific issues, including keeping Maine’s current bear hunting laws the way they are. The result was 62 percent  in support and 27 percent in opposition, according to a release from Winsor’s office.

Meanwhile, one-fifth of those who oppose Maine’s bear hunting laws do so because they believe they’re too stringent, Winsor said the results showed.

Other issues showing strong consensus included support for right-to-work legislation at 78 percent, and support for allowing military recruiters into public schools in uniform at 93 percent.

Eighty-six percent of respondents said they favor protecting the 2nd Amendment and 95 percent support laws that would allow dairy farmers to sell directly to consumers. Meanwhile, 81 percent said they support arming Maine Forest Service rangers.

When asked, “Do you think the state’s budget problems are caused by too much spending or not enough revenue?” 62 percent said spending was the problem, 23 percent said not enough revenue was the problem, and 15 percent said they were undecided.

Meanwhile, 67 percent of those responding support returning the Oxford County Jail in Paris to a fully functional facility and 65 percent said they favor keeping the sale of fireworks legal.

“Serving on the Appropriations Committee and helping to write the state budget, I can say that the biggest obstacle to balancing our budget every year is the growth in medical welfare spending,” Winsor said. “That’s why I have opposed expanding Medicaid in Maine as proposed, especially when other options exist for many people to obtain coverage.”

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