Both candidates for state representative from House District 99 say they hope to improve the discourse in the state capital if elected.

Incumbent Rep. Brian Jones, D-Freedom, said political discourse in Augusta has become “toxic and destructive to the productive working of our state government.”

His challenger, Republican MaryAnne Kinney, said she thinks its time to become involved, rather than just talk about the issues at the dinner table.

Jones declined to comment on his September arrest in West Gardiner on charges of indecent conduct and failure to give his correct name.

“I’ve said publicly all I’m going to say about that,” he said.

That case is still pending in court. Jones was charged after a state trooper allegedly came upon him having sex with a woman in a van at the West Gardiner commuter parking lot, and then Jones gave the trooper a false name. In a public statement after the incident, Jones attributed the incident a long-term struggle with alcoholism.

First elected in 2012, Jones decries what he called “sound bites and hackneyed partisan phrases” while taking a liberal stand on most issues.

“We have allowed complex policy discussions to be reduced to sound bites and hackneyed partisan phrases,” he said.

Jones’ platform calls for more money for the state’s schools. He said he will not support any state budget that does not cover 55 percent of local education budgets and does not distribute 5 percent of general fund receipts to municipalities. He also calls for repeal of income tax cuts enacted four years ago.

Noting that an increase in the state sales tax was followed by an increase in property taxes in many communities, Kinney said lawmakers need to “stop the blame game” to “find a solution that benefits all people in Maine.

“I have been disappointed with the partisan games being played in the Legislature,” she said. “It’s time for a change and (I) realize it’s my turn to do something rather than just talk about it.

Kinney said she supports Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of an expansion of Medicaid coverage in Maine under the Affordable Care Act.

“The state expanded Medicaid a few years ago with a federal exemption to do so,” Kinney said. “When this occurred, our hospitals went unpaid until the current administration fulfilled this debt.”

Jones is solidly in favor of Medicaid expansion.

“Everyone deserves to see a doctor,” he said. “I support increasing access (to) health care for 70,000 Mainers. … It’s the right thing to do.”

On the issue of allowing undocumented adults to work and receive welfare in Maine, the candidates are similarly split.

“Too many legal citizens are going without because of undocumented people taking advantage of our system,” Kinney said.

Jones, on the other hand, noted that many undocumented aliens are “fleeing genocide, violence and political oppression.”

He called on Mainers to “listen to their better angels and welcome the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” quoting the words of poet Emma Lazarus as inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in New York.

The Democratic incumbent warned that requiring local government employees to perform roles now restricted to trained immigration agents could backfire, by increasing the cost of local government bureaucracy.

Jones, 57, has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from University of Southern Maine and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Maine. He was a teacher for 17 years at Mount View High School. Now he occasionally teaches mathematics and statistics at Unity College.

Kinney, 42, is a farmer who says her experience with the Maine Farm Bureau Federation has taught her about the Legislature’s work.

Evan Belanger — 861-9239

ebelanger@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @ebelanger