Maine
Maine Democrats find a new Republican villain in an old foe
Politics
Our political journalists are based in the Maine State House and have deep source networks across the partisan spectrum in communities all over the state. Their coverage aims to cut through major debates and probe how officials make decisions. Read more Politics coverage here.
Rep. Ken Fredette was an old foe for Maine Democrats in the State House, but the Newport Republican’s role in this month’s protracted talks over a short-term budget have made him their new villain.
As House minority leader from 2012 to 2018, Fredette helped former Gov. Paul LePage wield power in Augusta. That tenure was highlighted by a brief 2017 government shutdown in which he and LePage aligned against budget deals inked by Democrats and Senate Republicans.
Now back in the Legislature, Fredette wasted no time in gaining attention. He was absent from the appropriations committee when it inked an overnight bipartisan deal on a short-term budget highlighted by $118 million to close a MaineCare funding gap. The next day, he arrived in Augusta to cast his vote against it. Things snowballed, and there is still no budget.
The convoluted process has resulted in both parties trading barbs. Democrats point out Republican appropriators initially agreed to the deal, while the GOP accused their counterparts of using late-night moves to try to pass another partisan budget. It can all get traced back to Fredette, though his caucus insists he was never the sole reason for the snafu.
“Him kind of going in and blowing up an agreement is unfortunately nothing new,” said Rep. Marc Malon, D-Biddeford, who was a House Democratic aide during the 2017 shutdown.
Fredette, 60, left the State House the afternoon of Feb. 4 to attend a high school basketball game with family. He did not know then that votes would happen. After he learned of a meeting, he said Rep. Jack Ducharme, the top Republican appropriator from Madison, texted him around 9:30 p.m. to say they were voting partly that night and partly in the morning.
Ducharme told him to plan to come in at 9 a.m. because there would be no final vote. But one came close to 1 a.m, when all 11 appropriators, including the three Republicans present, approved the budget in a late-night series of votes. Ducharme went on the record expressing appreciation for the bipartisan work that was done.
Ducharme told a reporter via email Republicans wanted to make sure some “MaineCare reform language” was correct before voting the morning of Feb. 5 on the plan. But he said Democratic leadership wanted to vote before leaving that night. Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, the budget panel’s co-chair, has said Republicans should not have been surprised about that.
The next day, it was clear Republicans would not support the budget. They unsuccessfully pushed the appropriations committee to reconsider it. Last Tuesday, Democrats took the budget to votes on the House and Senate floors but stopped short of passing it because they lacked the two-thirds majorities they needed to enact it immediately.
“If this was such a crisis to get done, why aren’t we working on it right now?” Fredette, a lawyer and Maine Air National Guard colonel, asked in an interview.
Legislative leaders are using the break before another supplemental budget vote that could come Feb. 28 to seek compromises largely focused on General Assistance limits that Democratic Gov. Janet Mills initially wanted. She later told lawmakers to seek them in two-year budget negotiations that will continue during the current session that is set to end in July.
The supplemental budget spat is setting up another contentious two-year budget cycle in which Democrats may again likely use their narrow majorities to pass a plan without Republican support, though Mills’ proposed mix of tax increases and health program cuts have dismayed lawmakers in both parties for different reasons.
Before 2021, both parties often reached bipartisan spending deals, which Fredette mentioned as even occurring during several of the “eight very tough years” under LePage, who dealt with divided government in Augusta for six of his eight years.
“Don’t tell me that this can’t be done,” said Fredette, whose conservative caucus forced others to negotiate with the combative LePage by withholding votes necessary to overturn his record number of vetoes.
Fredette has been a main focus of Democrats since his vote. House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, has criticized him on Facebook and at a news conference last week. Rep. Sue Salisbury, D-Westbrook, said Friday it was “frustrating for one person to upend the work of the rest of the committee,” although others have cast wider blame.
“No one forced them to vote the way they did,” Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, said of Republicans, adding he has worked with Fredette as a fellow lawyer and has found him to be “principled” in that arena.
Fredette did not affect the ultimate disagreements over the short-term budget and he has no “disproportionate impact on the caucus,” Rep. Amy Arata, R-New Gloucester, said. House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, added that Democrats are making Fredette into “a boogeyman.”
Fredette said lawmakers are constantly balancing family needs with their work in Augusta. Asked if he wishes he had made the committee meeting, he instead expressed a desire for reaching a budget deal with two-thirds support while alluding to criticism.
“A lot of relationships get damaged in the process by doing this sort of thing,” Fredette said, “and that’s not helpful.”
Erin Evans is a Portland-based master beekeeper and small business owner, She previously served as director of finance and administration at Maine Audubon and as CFO/COO of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
Honey bees are Maine’s official state insect and a keystone species in our ecosystem. Like tiny flying dustmops, they sample their surroundings, collecting pollen, nectar and contaminants that reveal what’s in our soil, our water and our air.
As a local beekeeper measuring PFAS in my own hives, I stand with the Maine farmers,
families and advocates on the front lines of this issue, and it’s why I support Dr. Nirav Shah as our next governor.
The Rutgers-New Brunswick Eagleton Institute of Politics recently shared a 2025 database on scientists, engineers and healthcare professionals leading our nation in state legislatures. Out of more than 7,000 lawmakers, there are just over 200 legislators who are also scientists, engineers or healthcare professionals.
While Maine was among the highest representation, with 11 members, I can’t help but wonder how different our response will be to present and emerging environmental crises if we have someone trained in both law and scientific thinking as our next governor.
As a public health leader, who’s already guided us through a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, Dr. Shah understands that PFAS isn’t just “out there.” It’s in our soil, food, water and in our bodies and will have a public health impact for generations. Best of all, he’s already been doing the work.
During his time as director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Shah recognized how widespread PFAS contamination is in Maine’s soil and water. Now, at a time when science-informed leadership is more essential than ever, he’s made PFAS protection a top priority.
Maine has made real strides in addressing forever chemicals by becoming the first state to launch an emergency relief fund, ban sludge-based fertilizers loaded with PFAS and create a permanent PFAS response program. We’ve also tested hundreds of sites, identified 34 high-priority towns and awarded $3.5 million in grants for research.
But even with this progress, the real challenge is how Maine deals with problems that last longer than any one administration.
It’s time we see PFAS and other environmental contamination crises not as political hot potatoes but as persistent issues affecting ecosystems across all of Maine. Do we continue to follow the status quo where politically entrenched candidates, beholden to the legacies of prior leaders and corporate interests, dictate the response? Or do we choose science and a leader familiar with critical outside-the-box thinking? Who should sit at that table as we create policies and laws to study, analyze, manage and reduce the threat of harmful chemicals to Mainers and the environment we all love?
In her recently released book “Inescapable: Facing Up to Forever Chemicals,” journalist F. Marina Schauffler reminds us that Maine’s taxpayers have already paid hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to PFAS contamination, and we’re nowhere near done.
PFAS chemicals will stay around for a long time, and so will the government systems that we set up to respond to these crises. Dr. Shah’s background in law and public health, especially in responding to exposure risks, makes him the leader we need in the Blaine House.
Most of all, he knows that in Maine and across the nation, climate change, water safety, soil health and human health are all interconnected, and part of the same sets of challenges. Our solutions will need to be well planned and well coordinated. Just ask the bees.
WATERVILLE, Maine (WABI) – Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, traveled to Waterville Monday to tour the Mid-Maine Technical Center.
At MMTC, high school students from four districts get hands-on experience in job-focused classrooms across 15 different programs.
Collins toured several of those programs, including nursing, media, and culinary arts.
She highlighted the more than seven hundred thousand dollars she secured in federal funding in 2024 for machine tooling and 3D printing equipment.
Also adding the importance of schools like this to not only fill critical workforce gaps, but do so right here in the state.
“Programs like this help encourage students to stay in the state of Maine once they’ve finished their education,” answered Collins. “It gives them a real boost if they’re going on to higher education, but it also equips them with the skills that they need if they’re going directly into the workforce.”
Collins also mentioned cooperative agreements in some programs that allow students to start earning college credit. Many students she spoke with also spend part of the week working for local businesses in their field.
Copyright 2026 WABI. All rights reserved.
They were built decades ago in some of the most picturesque spots across Maine — manmade mountains of granite and brick, concrete and steel, rising beside rivers that powered the state’s booming textile industry through the 1800s and 1900s.
Now, these old mills are increasingly being converted to housing and other purposes. In Biddeford’s sprawling mill district, a variety of housing projects have been completed or are underway, including 154 apartments in the former Pepperell Mill that are being leased or sold as condominiums.
Two of the most recent conversions are Picker House Lofts, a mixed-income rental property in Lewiston, and The Spinning Mill, a housing and commercial project in Skowhegan. Both opened last year.
The Spinning Mill, including 41 apartments, a boutique hotel and a restaurant, received a 2026 Honor Award from Maine Preservation for excellence in historic preservation and rehabilitation.
Here’s a look at those three mill conversions.
The Spinning Mill
Location: Skowhegan, Somerset County
Waterfront: Kennebec River
Year built: 1922
Year renovated: 2025
Number of units: 41
Monthly rent: $1,510-2,750, utility and amenity fees vary
In its peak years, the Maine Spinning Co. employed 300 people and produced 2 million pounds of wool yarn annually in the heart of the downtown district, closing in 2005. High Tide Capital of Bangor purchased the site in 2019 and began a $20 million residential and commercial redevelopment project.
The conversion suffered a major setback in December 2023, when the storm-churned Kennebec fooded the first floor, causing more than $3 million in damage. An economic recovery grant from the state helped the developers clean up and continue.
The adaptive reuse respected the building’s history, preserving wooden floors and high ceilings, oversized windows and exposed brick walls. Modern plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling systems were installed, along with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.
The four-story building includes studio through three-bedroom units, ranging from 630 to 1,300 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, mini movie theater, coworking space, resident lounge and art studio. The property also includes The Skowhegan, a 20-room boutique hotel, and the Biergarten, a German-themed restaurant and event space with riverside patio.
Contact: Yates Murphy, The Spinning Mill, 207-951-6475
Picker House Lofts
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Location: Lewiston, Androscoggin County
Waterfront: Androscoggin River
Year built: 1855
Year renovated: 2025
Number of units: 72
Monthly rent: $1,495-2,000 (26 market-rate units); $801-1,332 (46 subsidized); heat, hot water and basic Wi-Fi included
Part of the 7-acre Continental Mill complex, Picker House Lofts is a 79,000-square-foot, mixed-income rental property developed by The Szanton Co. of Portland. The remaining 481,000 square feet of former factory space is being developed to include more than 300 additional apartments along with office, retail and light industrial uses by Chinburg Properties of Newmarket, New Hampshire.
Named for its original function, the five-story building is where workers called “pickers” removed seeds, twigs and other debris from raw cotton before it was woven into cloth.
It includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with 46 reserved for households with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income, which ranges from $35,880 for a single person to $51,240 for four people, according to MaineHousing.
The developers preserved historic features where possible, including wood floors, huge operable windows and 13-foot ceilings with exposed overhead carrying beams, while adding modern fixtures, utilities and appliances.
Amenities include a fitness center, indoor bike storage, landscaped courtyard with picnic tables and a communal lounge with adjoining roof deck that overlooks the Androscoggin River. It’s located downtown near a farmers market, museums and a park with a fitness court.
Contact: Saco Falls Management, 207-228-8800
Pepperell Mill
Location: Biddeford, York County
Waterfront: Saco River
Year built: 1845
Year renovated: 2008
Number of units: 154
Monthly rent: $1,695-2,995, utilities and wifi included
Originally converted by local developer Doug Sanford, apartments in the Pepperell Mill Campus retain many historic features from its textile-weaving past, including 10- to 18-foot ceilings, exposed brick walls and beams, and honey-colored maple floors.
Now owned and managed by Texas-based Presidium, the property is available to lease or purchase residential units as they come on the market, providing what the company calls a “try before you buy” opportunity. It’s part of a 17-acre complex in the heart of a downtown that includes a variety of small businesses, artists, restaurants, breweries and coffee shops.
Apartments range from economical studios to luxury two-bedroom, two-bathroom units that include washer-dryer hookups. Available condos are priced from $325,000 to $1.5 million, according to Portside Real Estate Group.
Units feature modern finishes and oversized, industrial-style windows, many with views of the Saco River. Amenities include smart laundry facilities, green spaces with seating areas and gas grills, riverside picnic areas and a dog-washing station.
Contact: Pepperell Mill Campus, 207-282-5577, Ext. 201
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