Maine
Service, not ideology, is why I’m running for the Maine House | Opinion
Corey Bouchard is a Democratic candidate for the Maine House of Representatives in District 88.
As an Army veteran, I was taught that effective leadership is defined not by how loudly you speak, but by the tangible results you achieve. Our community in Maine House District 88 deserves a representative who is focused on solutions, fiscal discipline and the hard work of lowering costs for working families — not advancing an extreme, divisive ideology.
That is why I am running for the Maine House, and why the current direction under my opponent, Rep. Quentin Chapman, must change.
We face serious challenges in Maine: a crippling workforce shortage, high energy costs and a community struggling with the opioid crisis. These problems demand sober, strategic action. Unfortunately, Rep. Chapman’s record demonstrates a troubling priority: consistently putting his personal ideological agenda ahead of pragmatic solutions.
Rep. Chapman has shown where his focus lies through his votes and the legislation he chooses to sponsor.
While working families desperately need relief, Rep. Chapman has spent his time supporting measures that divide our community and waste legislative energy. For example, in a vote that demonstrates a fundamental neglect for the safety of our most vulnerable, Rep. Chapman voted against the bill that increased punishment for doxxing a child. This type of action signals a clear failure to prioritize basic public safety.
Even more concerning is his dedication to advancing radical social positions. He actively sponsored LD 1230, “An Act to Abolish the 72-hour Waiting Period for a Gun Purchase,” demonstrating a commitment to eroding common-sense safety measures that are proven to reduce impulse violence and suicide. This divisive posturing does not make our streets safer or our economy stronger. It simply serves to alienate segments of our community and distract the Legislature from its core mission.
His record further underscores this ideological commitment. This is not the voice of service; it is the voice of exclusion. We need a representative committed to the constitutional principle that the rule of law applies equally to all Mainers, without exception.
My approach is rooted in discipline and facts, not chaos and rhetoric. I am running because I believe in a Maine where governance is about common sense and accountability. My policy agenda focuses on core principles that will benefit everyone in District 88:
- Workforce investment: I support universal voluntary pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds as the smartest long-term economic investment to address our workforce crisis.
- Small business support: We need a Small Business Apprenticeship Tax Credit to reward local companies for closing the skills gap and creating jobs.
- Honoring veterans: We must cut bureaucratic red tape by implementing MOC reciprocity to ensure veterans and their spouses can work in Maine immediately upon moving here.
- Affordable energy: We must reduce heating bills through long-term infrastructure. I will expand weatherization tax rebates for low- and middle-income families, providing relief that pays for itself.
- Health care transparency: We need a competitive marketplace. I will fight for pharmacy benefit manager reform and a Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act to stop secretive price-gouging by middlemen.
- Smarter public safety: We must fund Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRTs) to free up our police officers to focus on violent crime, reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and incarceration costs.
- Taxpayer protection: I support the Government Contract Transparency Act to ensure public money is not subsidizing corporate negligence or low wages.
- Political accountability: I advocate for State House leadership term limits to prevent entrenchment and ensure a continuous influx of new ideas and better representation.
- Equality under the law: I will fight for a state constitutional amendment to explicitly secure non-discrimination protections for all Mainers because equality is a founding constitutional principle.
My campaign is a mission for common sense. We cannot afford another term of a representative who prioritizes national political theater over the pressing needs of our neighbors. The stakes are too high.
I urge the voters of District 88 to choose service and solutions over ideology and division. Send a representative to Augusta — like me — who will put the dignity of every Mainer and the health of our economy first.
When BDN shines a light, policymakers act. Make a gift to help our reporters keep Maine’s leaders informed. Make a donation now.
This story will be updated.
The Maine Department of Transportation is moving to slash up to $400 million in projects from its agenda, a shocking and abrupt cutback that is rattling the state’s construction industry at the start of building season.
Roughly $50 million across six pavement projects have already been delayed, according to a memo exclusively obtained by the Bangor Daily News. The agency plans to cut or delay another $150 million in bridge, highway, intersection and multimodal projects later this month. A further $200 million or more in cuts are planned in the next three-year work plan.
Those figures were outlined by Transportation Commissioner Dale Doughty in the May 18 memo to Gov. Janet Mills that has since circulated widely in the transportation sector, which has been getting drip-by-drip details on the wide scope of the cuts over the past three weeks.
It comes at the beginning of the state’s relatively narrow construction season. Companies have hired workers and ordered materials for projects they expected to begin this summer. The severity of the transportation budget problems was not raised to lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session.
Kelly Flagg, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Maine, called the shortfall “deeply troubling” in a statement.
“We stand ready to work with policymakers, stakeholders, and industry partners to identify both immediate and long-term solutions,” Flagg said. “Maine cannot afford to fall further behind.”
Insiders saw this first.
This story was broken in Maine Politics Insider, the BDN’s daily premium newsletter for the most ardent political news followers. If you are a new BDN subscriber, you can sign up here. Current subscribers can contact our customer service team to upgrade.
The cuts stem from a structural funding gap of at least $130 million in the state’s current work plan, according to Doughty’s memo. Losses are magnified because state money from the gas tax and other revenue sources is matched by federal funds. Lawmakers have long grappled with politically difficult long-term problems with the state’s transportation budget.
A Mills spokesperson said Wednesday morning that the administration was working on a response to questions from the BDN. The department says it needs roughly $240 million more in state capital funding annually to maintain the existing system, and that anything less than $200 million will erode it over time.
Doughty’s memo the only near-term solution is a series of bonds beginning as soon as possible. Lawmakers would have to return to Augusta to authorize that if one is going to appear on the November ballot.
The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Michael Capeci is the former chairman of the Bangor GOP.
Let’s be honest about Maine’s current state.
For many families, the cost of living has become unsustainable. Housing is out of reach for many young people. Energy bills keep rising. Many small businesses are struggling under taxes and regulations that make it harder to grow. Rural hospitals are under strain and despite years of increased state spending, the results are not showing up in people’s daily lives.
Concurrently, Maine continues to lose young workers to other states. That is not a statistic, it is a warning sign.
To me, the question in this Republican primary for governor is not about slogans. It is whether we continue with a political approach that has failed to reverse these trends, or whether we nominate someone with new ideas. I think that someone is Owen McCarthy.
Owen is not a political insider. He is an entrepreneur from Patten, a small town where opportunity is not assumed, it is built. He grew up in a working-class family, became the first in his family to graduate from college graduating from the University of Maine, and founded MedRhythms, a healthcare technology company focused on neurological treatment.
He didn’t just talk about opportunity. He built it. That distinction matters, because Maine’s problem is not a lack of debate it is a lack of results. We have seen the trajectory: higher costs, slower growth, and a steady outmigration of young workers. I believe Owen McCarthy represents a break from that pattern.
His Maine 2040 plan focuses on creating 50,000 new jobs in sectors where Maine has real advantages — maritime and defense, advanced forest products, and life sciences. These are export-driven industries tied directly to Maine’s workforce, geography, and institutions. What sets Owen apart is not only what he proposes, but how he approaches governing.
He prioritizes modernizing permitting so projects do not stall. He supports using technology to reduce costs and increase efficiency. He focuses on making it easier to build, hire, and expand in Maine.
That same practical mindset extends to healthcare. Expanding telehealth, strengthening EMS systems, improving provider flexibility, and shifting toward earlier intervention are not abstract reforms. They are system upgrades designed to improve access while controlling costs.
Maine voters consistently respond to competence. They reward candidates who understand problems and present plans to solve them. I believe they are tired of rhetoric that does not translate into results, and skeptical of politics that prioritizes messaging over execution.
Owen’s approach is grounded in solving the issues that shape daily life — affordability, healthcare access, job creation, and government efficiency. That is not just policy positioning. It is a governing model that speaks directly to voters.
Some will point to his lack of political experience. But I believe Maine’s core problems are not the result of insufficient political experience; they are the result of policies that have failed to deliver measurable improvement. Experience inside a broken system, by itself, is not a solution.
If Republicans want to win, this primary must be taken seriously. From my perspective, it is not about choosing a nominee for governor who can energize the base. It is about selecting someone who can compete in a broader electorate that is frustrated and looking for change.
That requires a candidate who can speak beyond the base, not by abandoning principles, but by demonstrating competence and a credible plan to address Maine’s challenges. I believe Owen McCarthy offers that combination. He represents a shift away from managed decline and toward economic execution.
This is not just another primary. It is a decision about whether Republicans position themselves to win Maine or whether they remain trapped in a cycle of repeating the same strategies and expecting different outcomes.
If Republicans want to compete for Maine’s future, they cannot afford to nominate a candidate who only motivates part of the electorate. They need someone who expands it.
I believe Owen McCarthy is that candidate.
And if the goal is to win Maine, then the choice should be unmistakable
The only notable change in the top-seven of the Varsity Maine baseball poll is that Gorham now has eight first-place votes, two more than last week. The order of the seven teams is identical. In fact, the only change in the top-seven over the past three polls is the swap at the top after Gorham’s win over South Portland on May 19.
Furthermore, Gorham, South Portland, Oxford Hills, Cheverus, Bangor, Mt. Ararat and Fryeburg have been ranked in the top seven for four straight weeks, and six of those squads have been among the top seven in every poll this spring.
Meanwhile, Scarborough is ranked for the first time since May 5, and Ellsworth and Thornton swapped spots.
The Varsity Maine baseball poll is based on games played before June 2, 2026. The top 10 teams are voted on by the Varsity Maine staff, with first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points.
1. Gorham (8) 89
2. South Portland 79
3. Oxford Hills (1) 75
4. Cheverus 55
5. Bangor 42
6. Mt. Ararat 41
7. Fryeburg Academy 30
8. Ellsworth 27
9. Thornton Academy 25
10. Scarborough 12
Also receiving votes: Washington Academy 8, Monmouth Academy 4, Cony 4, Leavitt 2, Falmouth 2.
-
News21 minutes agoHouse votes to rein in Trump on Iran as war loses GOP support
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoPolice investigate deadly stabbing in Tarzana; suspect in custody
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoDetroit Tigers sweep Tampa Bay Rays in win as Dillon Dingler stays hot
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoRetired San Francisco firefighter dies from lung cancer after Blue Shield denies treatment claims
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoTrackdown: Dallas 7-Eleven robbery suspect wanted
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoThis new Italian restaurant in Brickell only has 10 items on the menu
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoVisiting Boston this summer? Here are 8 navigation tips you need to know.
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoDenver-ish Central Market? RiNo food hall vendors claim they’ve been pushed out
