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.