There’s less than two weeks until November’s election, and Maine’s three governor candidates had a chance to drive their priorities further home during Wednesday morning’s Portland Chamber of Commerce Gubernatorial Forum at the University of Southern Maine.
The forum was part of the Chamber’s “Eggs & Issues” breakfast series, designed to connect Greater Portland’s business leaders with policymakers and candidates.
Democrat Hannah Pingree, Republican Bobby Charles and Independent Rick Bennett were asked by chamber members to articulate their thoughts on pressing issues in Maine, including the housing crisis, high energy and heating oil prices as winter sets in, spiking health care costs and Canadian tariffs.
Among other things, Charles reiterated his call to lower the state income tax.
“I’m mocked regularly for that,” said Charles. “But the truth be told, there are 11 states that have done it effectively by bending the cost curve down. In a state where we’ve had a jump from 7.2 billion to almost 13 billion in our overall budget, that’s not sustainable over time.”
Bennett, the independent candidate, said President Trump’s characterization of Somali people as garbage is offensive, and harshly criticized the actions of immigration enforcement.
“Policing works when it’s done at the community level, not when it’s outsourced to federal agents who are masked without names, no body cameras, who are creating more harm than they’re solving,” said Bennett.
Democrat Pingree, who’s had a sizable lead in all polling so far, stressed the need for universal health care with skyrocketing insurance costs, but outlined her interim plan to bring relief at the state level.
“The state negotiating on behalf of those folks who can no longer afford insurance in the marketplace-that is a stopgap measure that I think we need to put in place as soon as possible,” said Pingree.
The Gubernatorial Forum Wednesday morning was another chance for the three candidates to trumpet their messages after four televised debates earlier this month.
Polling shows Pingree with a consistent double-digit lead over Charles, with Bennett trailing far behind.
