His little red truck has been recognizable to most of mid-coast Maine for the better part of 30 years. As a small business owner who restores old houses, buildings and barns, Maine state Rep. Les Fossel (R-53) has traveled all over the state, getting to know his clients and almost everyone else along the way.

Fossel has been active in the community for nearly as long as he’s resided in Maine. He has served on the Alna, Maine Board of Selectmen, the Capitol Planning Commission, the Alna School Board, the Commission for Maine’s Future, the Union 48 School Board, and is a board member of the Morris Farm Trust.

Given his community involvement, it wasn’t much of a leap for him to seek elected office. Fossel first ran for state Senate in 2000, where, after numerous recounts, he lost by seven votes. Undaunted, he ran for the state House in 2004, where again he lost by a very narrow margin of less than thirty votes.

Then in 2008, after the Republican candidate in his district backed out of the race for a House seat, Fossel was recruited to run in his place. Using the Maine Clean Elections system for the first time, Fossel quickly gathered the necessary qualifying contributions, a process that he found simple and relatively easy. “Ordinarily I’d collect them at the county party caucus, but since I was a fill-in candidate, I asked my friends, then sent emails to all the addresses I had in the district asking for online donations (a new feature in 2008). It was easy and over one third of my donations came from members of the Democratic Party,” said Fossel.

Once qualified, his all-volunteer campaign staff then did what most Clean Elections office seekers do; they hit the streets. “Maine districts are small, so campaigning means knocking on doors. I did about 3,400 doors through the course of the campaign, putting up yard signs in supporters’ lawns as I went. I also attended a few public events, did two-district-wide mailings, but the vast majority of the work was done the old fashioned way, talking to voters,” said Fossel describing a typical day of campaigning.

After having run as a traditional candidate in previous campaigns, Rep. Fossel found that running as a Clean Elections candidate freed up the time needed to maintain his small business, in addition to allowing more time for voter contact. “I don’t think I would have been able to run again as a traditional candidate. I run a very active business and am involved in numerous community groups. It was hard enough to find the time to go door-to-door, let alone fundraise…I neither have the extra time nor the money I’d need to run a traditionally funded campaign.” This sentiment has been echoed by many lawmakers in Maine and has helped fuel the popularity of the public financing program among those who use it.

Since it’s first implementation in 2000, the Maine Clean Elections program has been an unqualified success, and judging by the numbers, the norm for candidates seeking office in the state legislature. Last election cycle, 85 percent of Maine lawmakers ran and won using the Clean Elections program. “Virtually everyone in Maine running for the legislature goes ‘Clean’ and I plan to run using the system again,” said Fossel.

Given the widespread usage and overall popularity of the Clean Elections program, it’s no surprise that Maine lawmakers recommend that other states institute a similar system. “I’d recommend it. It allows a wider variety of people to run for office who are not indebted to special interests,” said Rep. Fossel.

Rep. Fossel is currently serving in his first term in the Maine legislature and sits on the Insurance and Financial Services committee.