SCARBOROUGH, ME – Sean Flaherty, candidate for the Maine House of Representatives in District 127, has scheduled a public meeting on Tuesday May 13th to discuss the recent technology break down that affected Hannaford customers around the state. Flaherty says he has received some good suggestions from people on the campaign trail about what ought to happen in future situations – to protect both Maine businesses and shoppers. As a result, he has expanded the forum to include discussion of how best to move forward.

“This issue has become a difficult one,” Flaherty said. “On one hand, people are very nervous about their financial information. On the other hand, they don’t want to see this issue bog the state of Maine down, or bog businesses down. They don’t want to see Hannaford punished for it, as long as it is clear that Hannaford was taken by surprise as much as the rest of us. There are some things the Legislature could do, it seems.”

Flaherty says, if elected, he would want to make sure that Maine businesses were able to keep plowing ahead with technological advancement. Maine businesses generally have the interests of their customers in mind, and as long as they continue to implement available consumer protections, they should not be punished for things out of their own control. In fact, Flaherty said the legislature should do more to help businesses protect their customers.

“I have heard from various sources, that what happened to Hannaford could have happened to any business,” Flaherty noted, “so we have to take this as a lesson, and find out the best way to make sure it is an isolated incident. I want to bring people to the table and find the best possible solution. A formal piece of legislation may not be necessary, but if it is, you can be sure that I will be a leader on this issue in Augusta,” Flaherty said.

Flaherty said the forum will still cover the Hannaford issue, but will be expanded. What type of things should Maine be doing to help its businesses? What technology should state government help develop or help provide to small businesses? How can we help small businesses when it comes to computers systems and security software to ensure that they can compete with others around the nation?

“We will still highlight what happened and how it has affected folks in our town,” he said, “and we will talk about what Hannaford has done in response to help ensure that this won’t happen again. But people are clearly ready to talk about the bigger picture – what can we do moving forward to prevent this from happening to another business and what can we do reassure the confidence of Maine consumers.”

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