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Committee recommends confirmation of governor’s nominees to MERA and FAME
Summary
The Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development voted to recommend confirmation of multiple gubernatorial nominees to the Mid Coast Regional Redevelopment Authority and the Finance Authority of Maine, forwarding the recommendations to the Senate under Title 3, Section 157.
The Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development voted to recommend confirmation of several gubernatorial nominees to the Mid Coast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MERA) and the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) after brief presentations and questions on each candidate.
The committee recommended confirmation of Marco Melendi of Brunswick to MERA and recommended Monnique Marie Cornet of Buckton to MERA. It also recommended four nominees to the Finance Authority of Maine — Eric Kingsley (South Portland), Frederick A. "Fritz" Onion (Wayne, reappointment), Dr. Steven C. Shannon (reappointment), and Jean Hoffman (Peaks Island, reappointment). The recommendations were forwarded to the Senate in accordance with Title 3 MRSA §157.
Committee chairs opened the session by calling member introductions and explaining the statutory hearing and voting process. Joe Bushy, director of boards and commissions for Governor Mills, spoke for each governor’s nominee, summarizing their backgrounds and urging the committee to confirm them. ‘‘I’m here today on behalf of the governor to speak in support of the nomination,’’ Bushy said when introducing nominees on the governor’s behalf.
Marco Melendi told the committee he has a bachelor’s in zoology and a master’s in biology and aquaculture and described years of volunteer service on local coastal resource bodies; he said stewardship of land and water informs his interest in MERA. "Being good stewards of land, water, and air can only complement the overall mission of redeveloping the former base properties," Melendi said.
Monnique Cornet, deputy director of economic and community development for the city of Westbrook, described her work on brownfield redevelopment and tax-increment financing and said she would bring community engagement and redevelopment experience to the MERA board.
At the FAME hearings, Eric Kingsley emphasized the finance needs of forest-product and natural-resource enterprises. Asked about the sector’s top challenge, Kingsley said, "The top challenge is attracting capital, which FAME is uniquely positioned to help support." Carl Smallow (identified in the transcript as the Finance Authority CEO) also spoke in support of Kingsley, noting the forest products industry’s contribution to Maine’s economy.
Frederick A. Onion described his entrepreneurial and philanthropic background and his work on workforce and investment initiatives; Dr. Steven C. Shannon outlined his higher-education leadership experience and his role chairing FAME’s education-related work. Jean Hoffman’s written statement, read for the record, summarized an international-business background and prior board service.
Votes were taken by roll call after each hearing. The committee recorded the following recommendations (committee vote counts as recorded in committee): Marco Melendi — recommended (8 yes, 0 no); Monnique Marie Cornet — recommended (8 yes, 0 no); Eric Kingsley — recommended (8 yes, 0 no); Frederick A. Onion — recommended (8 yes, 0 no); Dr. Steven C. Shannon — recommended (8 yes, 0 no); Jean Hoffman — recommended (7 yes, 0 no, per the committee clerk’s count in the transcript).
The chair noted statutory timing rules for voting under Title 3 MRSA §157 (the committee may not vote sooner than 15 minutes after close of a public hearing unless all members agree) and in some cases members agreed to proceed. The committee will send written notice of its recommendations to the president of the Senate.
Next procedural steps: the committee distributed language-review packets for other pending bills, scheduled a final language review Tuesday, and adjourned the hearing.
Votes at a glance — committee recommendations forwarded to the Senate: Marco Melendi (MERA) — recommend confirmation; Monnique Marie Cornet (MERA) — recommend confirmation; Eric Kingsley (FAME) — recommend confirmation; Frederick A. Onion (FAME) — recommend confirmation; Dr. Steven C. Shannon (FAME) — recommend confirmation; Jean Hoffman (FAME) — recommend confirmation.
The committee meeting was live-streamed and will be archived pursuant to Title 3, Section 157 of the Maine statutes. The Senate will receive the committee’s written notifications of recommendation for each nominee.
