Halting property taxes, deterring migrants and dedicating $100 million to fund construction are among the ideas Maine’s gubernatorial candidates have to improve the state’s housing market.

Most of the 16 people vying to be Maine’s next governor agree the state’s housing market is suffering due to high prices, limited availability and slow construction. But their plans for how they’d immediately improve that if elected vary drastically.

Many candidates’ ideas centered around the same general themes: build more units and hasten construction. Doing this, they believe, will lower prices and make it easier for Mainers to buy a home.

The state’s tight housing market has been a burden on many Mainers — and a focal point for voters — since the pandemic, during which home prices skyrocketed due to a rush of demand while inventory plummeted. Since then, more homes have become available but prices remain high, which keeps homeownership out of reach for many, especially first-time buyers.

Roughly a dozen candidates agreed local and state permitting processes and regulations should be reformed to speed up the building process and allow more projects to be approved. A statewide study completed in 2023 found the state has a dramatic housing shortage due to years of underproduction, which will take at least 76,400 new units by 2030 to solve.

Three Republican candidates — Ben Midgley, Owen McCarthy and Bobby Charles — proposed addressing “red tape” that’s holding back development as part of their plan. Two others, Republican Jonathan Bush and independent Richard Bennett, want to perform statewide audits to identify where and why housing development projects are stalling.

Democrat Hannah Pingree proposed directing $100 million in state funding annually to fuel construction and preserve existing affordable units.

Both Angus King III, a Democrat, and John Glowa, an independent, outlined plans to build 10,000 new units, which King wants to complete by the end of his first term. However, King believes the 10,000 new units should span income levels while Glowa wants all the units to be low income rental housing.

Two other candidates, democrat Troy Jackon and republican Robert Wessels, described groups they plan to form with the explicit goal of improving housing in Maine. Jackson’s Department of Housing Affordability would be tasked with “tackling the housing crisis with the speed, scale, and focus working families deserve.”

Wessels’ team, meanwhile, would “dig into our housing regulations and figure out what ones we need to keep.” Regulations the group deems unnecessary would be repealed or altered to “allow our homebuilders to do their job.”

A few candidates offered entirely unique ideas, such as Democrat Shenna Bellows, who proposed freezing property taxes for Mainers while doubling those for out-of-state owners.

Republican David Jones, meanwhile, said he wants to make housing and other welfare programs accessible to U.S. citizens only, thus deterring “migration from foreign nations to Maine.”

Find the answer each gubernatorial candidate provided below when asked the first thing they would do to improve the state’s housing market if sworn in. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

A Massachusetts woman appeared in court on Tuesday, accused of faking her own cancer death in order to avoid having to face a judge for drunk driving and shoplifting charges.

Shannon Wilson shook her head in Plymouth District Court as prosecutors laid out the indictment against her.

“This is a defendant who was willing to fake her own death,” Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Alex Zane said.

Wilson is charged with one count each of furnishing false identifying information, obstruction of justice, forgery, uttering of a public record, and failure to appear after release on bail.

Woman accused of faking own death

Prosecutors said the 45-year-old woman orchestrated the scheme to evade cases from 2022-2023. The first came in 2022 when she was arrested on a charge of operating under the influence.

“And this is when she first raises that she has terminal brain cancer,” Zane said, adding that Wilson told a Hingham judge at the time that she was dying.

They argue that she did the same thing during an arraignment for a shoplifting charge in Plymouth.

Then, prosecutors said Wilson stopped appearing in court. Defense attorneys reported that Wilson was in hospice care as her condition deteriorated.

“And ultimately, the counsel representing the defendant gives the court a screen grab or a print out of a text message that he received from that number he’s been communicating with that he believes is the defendant’s family of a death certificate from Rhode Island saying that she had passed away,” Zane said, saying the claim that Wilson died happened in May 2023.

Investigators looked at the grainy copy of the death certificate. The doctor whose signature was used, the hospice center listed, and the funeral home all had no record of Wilson’s death. Prosecutors determined the document was a fake.

Shannon Wilson charged in Massachusetts

In August 2023, the person who previously posted Wilson’s $400 bail recovered the money after being informed she was dead. Several weeks later, prosecutors say Wilson showed up at the person’s house and allegedly admitted she had faked her death.

Wilson allegedly also duped her ex-fiancé, who she lived with in a Plymouth home.

“He indicated a week or so after the Hingham matter was dismissed, he actually thought that she was dead,” Zane said.

Wilson’s defense attorney argued that she was not the architect of the plan.

“She’s not the one who made these phone calls. She’s not the one who prepared the document that Mr. Zane referred to and she’s not the individual who submitted that to the court,” defense attorney Josh Werner said. Werner did not say who he believes sent in the fake death certificate. 

Wilson pleaded not guilty and is being held on $50,000 bail.

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Downtown will again turn its focus to families next month when Pro Portsmouth presents Children’s Day on Sunday.

The annual event, planned across downtown Portsmouth, with a block party and live performances on Pleasant Street, will be held from noon to 4 p.m.

Families will be able to use an activity map and legend to follow the alphabet through downtown. Along the way, children can take part in crafts, games, and interactive activities hosted in shops and restaurants.

Entertainment scheduled for the Pleasant Street block party includes Bryson Lang, Juggler Extraordinaire!, Musical Fun with Friend Andrea, and Movin’ & Groovin’ with musician, TJ Wheeler. The announcement describes Children’s Day as a “kid-friendly” event for Seacoast families.

The Children’s Day map will be available at the event and can also be downloaded or printed from the Pro Portsmouth website. Information about street closures and parking is also posted online as families make plans for the downtown event.

Support for Children’s Day comes from 2026 Program Partners, Mass General Brigham/Wentworth Douglass Hospital, Lonza, and Ocean Properties, along with event sponsors Treehouse Toys, G.Willikers, ad cetera, Blue Dolphin, and the Kiwanis Club of the Seacoast. The org also thanked the city of Portsmouth, City Manager Karen Conard, and city departments for supporting the event.

Pro Portsmouth, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization serving the Seacoast area. According to the group’s description, its mission is to promote the arts, culture, history and community of the area through events including Children’s Day, the Market Square Day Festival & 10K Road Race, Summer in the Street and First Night Portsmouth.

Children’s Day information, including the event map, street closure details, and parking information, is available through Pro Portsmouth online ahead of the May 3 event.