Kimberly Fichthorn exemplifies what Maine is looking for. A 47-year-old transplant from Texas, Fichthorn has three young children and operates…
Browsing: News
Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) chief executive officer Matthew Gagnon has sent a letter to Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center is sitting down for detailed policy discussions with the gubernatorial candidates running to replace Governor…
In addition to the ill feelings I shared yesterday regarding the reprehensible partisan behavior exhibited by House leadership this session,…
Have you ever wondered what government officials do all day? I am going to do my best to answer that…
I have been talking about the need to reduce energy prices for nearly eight years. Maine is a manufacturing state,…
Advocates of ranked-choice voting (RCV) commonly claim that their preferred method of deciding elections boosts civic engagement, channels the true…
Despite its relatively minimal impact on Maine workers, the labor issue presently garnering the most attention in Maine politics is…
On Thursday, May 10 in Westbrook, a very unusual thing happened. Thirty students of diverse backgrounds and political perspectives from…
Last month, the Maine Center for Economic Policy posted an article on its website chastising Governor LePage and other Republican…
The Maine people elect legislators to represent them in Augusta. They expect these elected officials to enact good public policy…
Maine’s progressives have been selling the benefits of the minimum wage increase using faulty analysis. Don’t buy the hype. Our…
On Tuesday, April 24, the Portland City Council’s Health and Human Services Committee convened to take public comment on a…
Earlier this year, the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a left-wing think tank, published an article written by its budget…
Americans paid their 2017 federal and state income taxes this week. Filing taxes isn’t a pleasant or easy task, but…
The clock struck midnight, but what did that mean? The second regular session of the Maine Legislature is supposed to…
It’s easy to oppose the recent Republican tax cuts when the mainstream media tells you to do so. Millions of dollars were…
Ever since Cain slew Abel with a rock, human society has struggled with an age-old question: how do we prevent…
Maine still has a chance to fix its broken ballot initiative process this legislative session. In a surprise move, Maine’s…
This article was originally published in The Ellsworth American. The Maine Legislature is expected to adjourn in a few short…
As we wrap up this legislative session, I am making our elderly a top priority. Unfortunately, they are not a…
This article was originally published in the Bangor Daily News Many tax filers use online programs such as TurboTax to…
If you were pushing one of the largest tax hikes in history on Maine citizens, would you want them to know about…
Yesterday, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced that “ranked-choice voting can’t occur in June without legislative action.” This was…
As Governor, it’s my responsibility to make the tough decisions. The upcoming closure of the Downeast Correctional Facility in Washington…
I have been working hard to protect our elderly Mainers and to help them stay in their homes. But Democrats…
The federal tax cuts will provide about $1 billion in tax relief this year and next to Maine families and…
One of my most important duties is to appoint judges to Maine’s district, superior and supreme judicial courts. The Maine…
The Editorial team at the Bangor Daily News (BDN) held onto my recently published Op-Ed just long enough to put…
We need to make sure that employees in Maine do not see the same cut in pay that’s happening to…
The sharing economy, including platforms like Lyft, Uber and Airbnb, present new and unique economic opportunities to the many Mainers…
Milton Friedman, the Nobel-prize winning economist, once said, “It is just obvious you can’t have open borders and a welfare…
It’s been 100 days since voters passed the referendum to expand Medicaid. So far, the legislature has done nothing to…
Advocates claim that by raising the minimum wage, hard-working Mainers working in these positions will be better off, as they…
We need to treat our elderly with respect and let them keep their dignity. And we must let them keep…
This article was originally published in the Sun Journal. Nearly two years ago I decided to run for office with…
Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services recently held public hearing for a flurry of child care bills…
One of the few bills making it through Legislative Council this session that actually rises to the emergency threshold outlined…
When I came into office in 2011, the state workforce had been subject to pay freezes and furlough days, reducing…
Maine employers have been struggling to meet the demands of Question 4 since its passage. The initial swell in 2017…
Obesity is a problem in our nation, and it’s a problem in Maine. But the USDA refuses to prohibit the…
Occupational licensing is intended to safeguard the public from unqualified, incompetent charlatans whose low-quality goods and services put the health…
On Thursday, Jan. 11 the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology met for a public hearing on yet…
In 2016, Maine voters approved Question 4, a measure that incrementally increases Maine’s minimum wage to $12 an hour by…
As American citizens, one of our most precious rights and solemn duties is to vote. The active participation of our…
Legislation in the second session of each Maine Legislature is reserved for the Governor’s bills, budgetary matters and emergency legislation…
Every American citizen should have the right to earn a living and the freedom to pursue the profession of his…
As we look forward to the new year, one of the big challenges facing our state is growing our workforce…
I just received a notice to apply for a license (new city ordinance they slipped through during the summer) to…
At this time of year, we gather with loved ones to celebrate Christmas, count our blessings, remember the past year…
Perhaps the most inaccurate narrative being pushed by lobbyists and special-interest groups in Augusta is that the Maine Legislature is…
I have laid out four basic principles to guide the Legislature’s decision on how to pay for Medicaid expansion. We…
How much would you pay someone to invade the privacy of your home? Or to search your premises continuously, breaching…
Proponents of Medicaid expansion have not been honest with the Maine people. They claim it’s free because the federal government…
The October 12, 2017 edition of the Bridgton News had a front-page article entitled Your thoughts on land use? The writer, Wayne…
Mainers are generous people, and we are known to help our neighbors when there is a need. Whether it during…
Mainers enjoy their private property rights. That’s why you should be on the lookout if you are a resident of…
It took a lot of work to balance Maine’s budget, bring fiscal responsibility to state government and restore our rainy…
Leaders in Washington are seeking ways to stabilize the health care system and lower premiums next year. Deep divisions have…
In 1865, President Lincoln asked Americans to remember soldiers and veterans. He urged them: “To care for him who shall…
I had the privilege of spending some time in your state earlier this year and I truly enjoyed spending time…
Maine voters will decide tomorrow at the ballot box whether to expand Medicaid coverage to childless, able-bodied working age adults…
In response to a newsletter put out by Maine Medical Center CEO Richard W. Petersen and other hospitals that are…
For conservatives, the need to reduce taxation and curtail government spending are immutable truths. The national debt will surpass $20.5…
The Maine people are being told that if Medicaid is not expanded, children and the elderly will suffer. Folks, it’s…
The Maine Legislature voted on Monday to delay the implementation of ranked-choice voting until December 2021, meaning ranked-choice voting could…
For those who attended or streamed the public hearing for LD 1646, “An Act to Bring Maine’s Ranked-Choice Voting Law…
The Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs will convene on Monday, Oct. 16 to hold a public hearing on LD…
Special-interest groups are using the ballot box to push initiatives that are bad for Maine. For seven years, I have…
When it comes to Medicaid expansion, at one time, Maine was ahead of the curve. In 2002, long before the…
Despite being rejected five times previously, once again, a push to expand MaineCare—the state’s Medicaid program—will be debated. For the…
If you (and your wallet) are fed up with progressive tax-and-spend ballot initiatives, don’t expect them to end any time…
The word came down just days ago. Uber is going to lose its licenses to operate in London. The official…
As the debate continues to rage in Congress over the final push to repeal and replace Obamacare, Maine has…
In July, the city of Sanford enacted a rental registry program that has local landlords at odds with city officials.…
If we are going to save the American healthcare system, we need your help—and we need it now. I have…
What if Washington DC were bankrupt? What if Washington politicians spent a million dollars a minute, racking up $20 trillion…
Maine has become the first state in the nation to enact a “food sovereignty” law allowing local communities to exempt…
This November, Mainers will be asked a familiar question: should our State expand the Medicaid welfare program? Not only has…
After accepting feedback from Maine citizens throughout a 30-day public comment period, Democratic Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap made minuscule…
Sen. Eric Brakey received the endorsement of former Maine Senate President and Maine Republican Party chairman Rick Bennett on Thursday.…
Two leading conservative lawmakers, Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason of Lisbon and House Minority Leader Ken Fredette of Newport, are…
Residents of Paris, Maine exited their homes on Aug. 18 in the humid summer heat to discover a peculiar flyer…
Medicaid: Is it welfare or insurance? Those who have actually read the legal definition of insurance are baffled at how…
There is not a group of like-minded thinkers as counterproductive as liberals. With grand ideas like Medicaid expansion (which did…
The violent behavior in Charlottesville was more than despicable—it was deadly, causing the deaths of three people and injuries to…
It’s easy for politicians in Washington, D.C. to make promises to the people, especially when they don’t have to deal…
On Wednesday, the editorial board at the Wall Street Journal penned an enlightening piece that critically examines the traditional Medicaid…
It’s imperative that government spends public funds in the best interest of its citizens. With this in mind, the people…
The Office of Fiscal and Program Review released the fiscal note for the Medicaid expansion referendum Maine voters will consider…
This November, Maine voters will be asked whether they want to expand Medicaid eligibility to able-bodied, childless adults between the…
Proponents of Medicaid expansion often assert that expansion insures more people and leads to a healthier population. As Maine knows…
As a conservative trial lawyer, one of my favorite parlor games is to ask fellow conservatives: “What is the Seventh…
After Question 4 passed at the ballot box last November, an organization called the Restaurant Workers of Maine was formed.…
The Maine Legislature voted to override Governor Paul LePage’s veto of LD 1170 on Wednesday, raising the legal age to…
An important bill offering ballot initiative reform will be reconsidered by the Senate on Wednesday in what will be Maine’s…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) released its newest original research report, Reject Medicaid Expansion, on Monday morning during a…
Dedicating more public funds to a government program is not a measure of successful policy. It never has been, and…
According to Gov. Paul LePage and his administration, the state of Maine has finished the fiscal year, ending on June…
After years of fixing Maine’s balance sheet, now is the time to make investments in our economy. During this past…