AUGUSTA, Maine – Republican gubernatorial candidate Garrett Mason held a press conference Wednesday at the Maine State House, unveiling what he described as the early framework for the first budget of a future Mason administration while sharply criticizing the rapid growth of state spending under Gov. Janet Mills.
Speaking at the Legislative Welcome Center in Augusta, Mason was joined by lawmakers with experience on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, including Sen. Jeff Timberlake (R-Androscoggin) and Rep. Jack Ducharme (R-Madison).
Mason said the next governor cannot afford to wait until after Election Day to begin preparing a state budget, arguing that Maine’s fiscal direction is already being shaped by the outgoing Mills administration.
“If the next Republican governor is not prepared, if that governor does not understand the process, and if that governor waits until after the election to begin, Maine will not get a conservative budget. Maine will get Janet Mills’ fifth budget. That is not acceptable,” Mason said.
The former Maine Senate Majority Leader pointed to the dramatic growth of the state budget over the past several years, noting that Maine’s budget has expanded from roughly $7 billion during his time in the Legislature to approximately $12 billion today.
“Maine families did not get 70 percent richer. Maine small businesses did not become 70 percent more profitable. Maine workers did not see their paychecks grow by 70 percent. But state government grew by 70 percent. That is not sustainable, and it has to end,” Mason said.
Mason said his administration’s first budget would focus on three core priorities: lower income taxes, reduced spending, and smaller government. He also identified MaineCare and the Highway Fund as two major areas where reforms would be pursued.
On MaineCare, Mason said the program should remain focused on serving vulnerable Mainers, including children and individuals with disabilities, while becoming more financially sustainable for taxpayers. He called for tighter enrollment discipline, increased oversight, and a renewed focus on fraud, waste, and abuse.
Timberlake echoed those concerns, describing MaineCare spending as one of the clearest examples of unchecked government growth.
“MaineCare is spiraling out of control. The program cost taxpayers about $2.5 billion in the last biennium, was already projected to grow, and then the Mills Administration came back, needing hundreds of millions more to plug the deficit. MaineCare will now cost taxpayers over $3.3 billion this biennium. That is simply unsustainable,” Timberlake said.
Mason also outlined proposed changes to the Highway Fund, including dedicating all vehicle-related sales tax revenue to highway purposes, reserving bonding for large infrastructure projects, and moving State Police funding into the General Fund.
He argued that Republican lawmakers have helped restrain state borrowing in recent years because bonding packages require a two-thirds vote in the Legislature.
“The debt load of the state is roughly half of what it was eight years ago because Republicans in the Legislature used the only tool available to them. They stopped Democrats from maxing out the state credit card,” Mason said.
Mason said more than 50 current and former legislators are supporting his gubernatorial campaign because they believe he has the experience necessary to deliver a conservative budget.
“The first budget of the next administration will define the direction of Maine,” Mason said. “It will either continue the same path of higher spending, higher taxes, more bureaucracy, more borrowing pressure, and more government, or it will mark a new direction.”
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