Economy
Even as inflation cools across the country, Mainers are still struggling to keep up with the cost of living, and it's not hard to imagine why. Our tax rates are essentially flat, our minimum wage is not enough to afford basic necessities, and less than one in eight Maine workers are members of a union. Our government is not fighting as hard as it should to ensure that every worker earns enough to get by and has a voice in the workplace. Fortunately, we don't have to sacrifice economic growth or jobs to stand up for Maine workers. In fact, by putting more money in the hands of working Mainers, we incentivize them to spend more and, thus, allow our businesses to grow and expand. Being pro-worker is good for the economy, and we need pro-worker policies to achieve the kind of equitable growth that Maine so desperately needs. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Cut state taxes for working Mainers.
- Raise the minimum wage to a living wage.
- Protect labor unions and incentivize unionization.
- Extend labor protections to farm workers.
- Shorten the full-time workweek.
- Make it easier to start worker co-ops and ESOPs.
- Invest in public infrastructure projects.
- Guarantee child care to all Maine families.
Crime
Maine may have the lowest violent crime rate in the country, but that doesn't mean crime doesn't exist here or affect every single one of us. Research has shown that poverty and crime are linked, and reducing poverty will reduce crime rates. While combatting poverty primarily means expanding the safety net and raising wages, it also means addressing the systemic injustices that perpetuate it. For example, our cash bail system determines whether the accused will be released before their trial based on whether or not they can pay a largely arbitrary amount of money, making it harder for low-income people to win their case and more likely for them to receive harsher sentences. Another example of systemic injustice is the prevalence of private prisons, which profit off of the people they incarcerate and are, thus, incentivized to keep people incarcerated. If we're going to address the root of crime, we need to tackle these injustices. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Expand prison rehabilitation programs.
- Base pretrial release on risk, not wealth.
- Abolish for-profit prisons.
- Make state fines proportional to income.
Healthcare
Mainers pay more per capita on healthcare than any wealthy nation in the world, and more than 77,000 Mainers do not have health insurance. Because of this, more than half of all Mainers forgo necessary care to avoid medical debt. This is a travesty and clear evidence that we are not doing enough to make quality healthcare affordable for all Mainers. To address our broken healthcare system, we need to learn from other systems that do it better than us like, for example, the Danish model. In Denmark, the state provides universal, automatic health coverage to all of its citizens but still allows private insurers to provide complementary coverage. Costs are contained through different accountability measures, including price lists that prevent medical price gouging. On top of paying less than half per capita of what Americans pay, Danish quality of care and wait times are among the highest and lowest in the world respectively. If we want cheaper, faster quality healthcare, we need to do what works. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Create a universal public insurance program for all essential care.
- Regulate the cost of medical services and drugs.
- Require efficiency and accountability from hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.
Voting
Voting rights are under attack in America, and we have to act if we want to preserve our democracy. The fact of the matter is that voter fraud is extremely rare—like, at most, 0.0025 percent of all ballots cast rare—and, if we want to have a voice in our government, we need to make it easier to vote, not harder. One crucial way to do this is to make Election Day a state holiday, which would make it easier for voters to make it to the polls before they close. But protecting democracy requires more than just making sure eligible voters can vote easily. It also means giving voters more quality choices at the polls with ranked-choice voting and less corrupt, more grassroots candidates through the Maine Clean Elections Fund. By making it easier to vote and run for office, Maine can become America's model for democracy. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Expand access to the Maine Clean Elections Fund.
- Make Election Day a state holiday.
- Expand ranked-choice voting to general state elections.
Education
One of the most important aspects of creating a better society is education. Ensuring that our people attain higher levels of education will raise incomes, reduce poverty, crime, and unemployment, and improve public health. However, due to a lack of public investment in higher education, a college education, which is becoming increasingly more essential in our economy, has become remarkably more expensive, forcing many of our students to turn to predatory loans for funding. Despite being the wealthiest nation in the world, this negligence has made the US an outlier in the developed world. It doesn't have to be this way. We can guarantee every Mainer access to a college education by renewing our investments in public education. But the cost of higher education is only one part of addressing Maine's educational shortcomings. We still must ensure that our teachers' salary remain high enough to meet the cost of living and that every student has the support they need to succeed. I believe, with the right investments, we can guarantee a quality, affordable education to all Mainers. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Waive tuition and fees in the University of Maine system.
- Index teacher salaries to inflation.
- Pay for classroom supplies with public funds.
- Invest in achieving universal pre-K.
- Integrate the BARR method into our classrooms.
Civil Rights
We are not doing enough to achieve true equity in Maine. Maine women still only earn 84 percent of what Maine men earn. In my own city of Waterville, sexual assaults per capita are higher than the national average. And the Wabanaki Nations have been denied the federal protections that more than 570 indigenous nations across the nation rightly enjoy. This has to change and, fortunately, change is possible. To address the gender pay gap, we should take notes from Belgium, which has one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the world and requires large businesses to disclose their employees' incomes. Though sexual assault is a complex issue, evidence shows it can be addressed through consent-focused school prevention programs like Safe Dates and Shifting Boundaries. Finally, we can extend federal protections to the Wabanaki Nations and allow them to prosper as other indigenous nations have. Maine must always pursue equity and justice for all, whether it's for women, BIPOC, or the LGBTQ+ community. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Enforce the Equal Pay Law through income reporting.
- Integrate anti-sexual violence curriculum in our schools.
- Extend federal protections and sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations.
Abortion
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, a person's right to terminate a pregnancy has been under siege across the nation. The fact of the matter is that abortion restrictions do not reduce abortion rates—they just make abortions more dangerous, and caring about life means reducing harm and death as much as possible. And while right-wing pundits would have you believe that so-called "partial-birth abortions" are the norm, in reality, more than 90 percent of abortions happen in the first trimester, and abortions that happen later are frequently the result of lack of access to abortion. Instead of going after abortion rights, we should focus on reducing the number of unintended pregnancies, which research shows can be achieved by expanding access to birth control and integrating age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education into our curricula. Ensuring that people have autonomy over their own bodies and reducing unintended pregnancy rates will be top priorities for me in Augusta. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Protect the right to abortion in Maine.
- Expand access to affordable birth control.
- Integrate age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education in our schools.
Climate Change
The scientific consensus is clear: climate change is real, man-made, and, if not addressed, will have disastrous consequences, especially for those living in poverty. Fortunately, climate change can be halted and reversed by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. One of the best ways we can do this while also raising revenue for key public investments is a tax on carbon emissions. We can also do this by banning hydraulic fracturing or "fracking", the process of injecting pressurized fluid into rock formations to extract oil and natural gas. Fracking has been associated with higher planet-heating gas emissions, health risks, and environmental destruction. On top of all of this, fracking is wildly unprofitable and has relied on public subsidies, funded by your tax dollars, to survive. If we want to mitigate climate change and reduce our tax burden, fracking needs to go. Unfortunately, climate change has already inflicted a good deal of damage—damage that we can't undo but that we can adapt to. While it's crucial that we act to stop and reverse climate change, we also need to address the consequences of the world's inaction. With scientific evidence and research as our guide, I believe Maine can lead the way in addressing climate change and making our whole planet a better place. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Tax carbon emissions.
- Ban fracking in Maine.
- Invest in climate change adaptation programs.
Poverty
Poverty should not be a reality in the wealthiest nation in the world, but it is. In Maine, more than one in ten people live in poverty—leaving one in ten without access to nutritious food and more than 4,200 without access to permanent housing. This issue is particularly bad in Waterville, where more than one in five live in poverty. We can't let this continue. The fact of the matter is that, no matter how much Republicans try to smear public assistance programs, they work, and so do the people who rely on them. And in order to sell the American people on making it harder for people to get the help they need through arbitrary, obstructive measures like work requirements, they spread falsehoods about almost nonexistent welfare fraud. While expanding the safety net may only be one part of addressing poverty in Maine, it is still a crucial one. We need to make it easier, not harder for people in need to get help. As your representative, that's exactly what I'll do. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Expand funding and eliminate obstructive restrictions for assistance programs.
- Invest in and expand access to public housing.
- Expand funding for and access to public transportation.
Gun Violence
After what happened last year in Lewiston, Maine will never be the same. That abhorrent, senseless act of violence overwhelmed us all with a grief many of us didn't expect to ever have to feel in a state like ours. We cannot let it happen again. We must utilize the sorrow and anger that we justly feel to act against this tragic failure of public policy. And to be clear: this was a failure of public policy. Maine has some of the weakest gun laws in New England, despite the fact that research consistently shows that gun safety legislation reduces the incidence of gun violence. In study after study, we see that background checks and red-flag laws both reduce gun violence, but our government still refuses to act. To be clear, a person's right to defend themselves is crucial, and Maine has a long tradition of hunting that should be protected. But our right to defend ourselves must come with common-sense limits, and no person who wants to harm themselves or other people should have access to firearms. Furthermore, addressing gun violence in Portland requires different solutions than doing so in a town like Winslow. But the state still prohibits local governments from enacting gun laws in their own jurisdictions. This is both counterproductive and contrary to our American belief in devolution. If we want to honor the lives we lost in Lewiston, now is the time for evidence-based, common-sense gun laws. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Require universal background checks for all gun purchases.
- Replace Maine's yellow-flag law with a red-flag law.
- Repeal Maine's preemption law.
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse is a public health crisis and should be treated as one. In Maine, overdoses are skyrocketing, indicating a tragic failure on the part of public institutions to address this crisis. Clearly, our punitive, stigmatizing approach to this issue has not addressed it—it's worsened it. Fortunately, we can solve this crisis—not through harsher sentencing but—through evidence-based treatment. One of the most crucial aspects of getting those struggling with substance use disorder the help they need is expanding access to treatment. On top of making treatment more affordable, we need to ensure that Mainers all over the state have access to treatment facilities. But addressing substance use also means reducing overdoses and disease transmissions, both of which can be achieved through needle exchange programs and safe use sites, both of which have shown to be effective in keeping those struggling with substance abuse safe. Addressing Maine's substance abuse crisis requires a multi-faceted approach—one that's rooted in empathy and evidence, not stigma and ignorance. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Invest in treatment programs for those struggling with addiction.
- Expand needle exchange programs.
- Invest in creating safe use sites to prevent overdoses.
Housing
Maine is experiencing a serious housing shortage, and it's pushing already-high housing costs even higher. To make matters worse, the legislature recently repealed the state's property tax stabilization law, raising Maine homeowners' tax burdens. When working Mainers are already struggling to afford a house, the last thing they need is higher taxes. We need to raise Maine's housing supply, investing in "missing middle" housing development and issuing a moratorium on short-term rental development. We also need to invest in making Maine homes more energy-efficient, which would then reduce upkeep costs and make housing more affordable. Finally, we need to reduce the burden of property taxes for Maine homeowners by pursuing relief programs like the stabilization law. By raising supply and cutting costs for homeowners and tenants alike, we can make housing more affordable in Maine and ensure that every Mainer has a roof over their head. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Invest in more "missing middle" housing development.
- Invest in making homes more energy-efficient.
- Issue a statewide moratorium on short-term rental development.
- Provide property tax relief for Maine homeowners.
Tax Reform
I am aware that my agenda is ambitious, and I imagine you might be asking yourself an important question: how will we pay for all of this? My philosophy when it comes to taxation can be boiled down to one concept: people who can afford to pay more should, and those who can't should pay less. In Maine, our income tax brackets are essentially flat, with low-income earners paying only slightly lower rates than high-income earners. This is a travesty, especially when we are failing to meet some of our most important obligations like improving public health and fighting poverty. Contrary to popular belief, raising taxes on high-income earners and large corporations does not harm the economy, but it does raise a lot of money. That's why I believe we should raise income taxes on Maine's highest earners and corporate taxes on Maine's largest corporations. We also need to undo LePage-era estate tax reforms and ensure that all large estates are taxed fairly by reducing the exclusion amount. Finally, to address the use of tax havens to avoid taxation, we need to enact Worldwide Combined Reporting to ensure that the wealthy and the large corporations they control pay their fair share. The wealthy elite need to be held accountable, and as your representative, I will fight tooth and nail to make our tax code fairer and to secure funding for investing in Maine's future. If elected to the Maine House, I will fight to:
- Raise income taxes on Maine's highest earners.
- Raise corporate taxes on Maine's largest corporations.
- Reduce the estate tax exclusion amount.
- Enact Worldwide Combined Reporting in Maine.