Building care infrastructure and economic equity
What types of new or ongoing interventions do you support to address disparities in unpaid and informal care work which often forces women out of the workforce, limiting health insurance, social security benefits, and retirement savings?
“I see that this is a phenomenon that we see over and over and over in public health, which is the failure to properly value certain types of labor in the market leads to that labor not being done, it doesn't disappear. It just gets done without the proper value attached to it, and that, of course, leads to burnout, it leads to the poverty numbers that you noted… I think raising the pay of those who are participating in the care infrastructure is really, really critical… I put out a policy plan about the future for older Mainers, and number one on that list was increasing the reimbursement rates for direct care and long-term care workers. Again, all part of the care infrastructure.”
How would you oversee the implementation of Maine’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave law and program, a critical element of ensuring workers don’t have to choose between a paycheck and caring for loved ones or themselves?
“So, in this situation, I'd be zeroed in on daily numbers of applications coming in, making sure they were being processed in a timely manner. Come May 1st, that claims were being paid, and then, as I mentioned, I'm really zeroed in on the restoration piece. If restoration doesn't actually materialize, then what have we done here?”
“I think raising the pay of those who are participating in the care infrastructure is really, really critical.”
“If restoration doesn't actually materialize, then what have we done here?”
Ensuring reproductive and gender-specific healthcare
What are your top policy priorities to address the barriers to accessing consistent, high-quality perinatal care given the rapid closure of birthing units, especially in rural areas?
“There are already ideas that I've got to create mobile training units. There's already a mobile unit available, etc. The dollar amounts on these things are not significant. $50,000 to $75,000, plus an ongoing amount to pay the trainers, and they could travel around the state so that the remaining birthing centers are lowering their likelihood of closure.
So that's one thing we can do. The other is by creating incentives for more providers to come. I would propose a rural OBGYN midwifery tax credit, so that rural hospitals have a little bit easier of a time recruiting and retaining providers of all stripes, MDs, midwives, NPs, particularly in rural areas.”
“I would propose a rural OBGYN midwifery tax credit, so that rural hospitals have a little bit easier of a time recruiting and retaining providers of all stripes, MDs, midwives, NPs, particularly in rural areas.”
Ending gender-based and carceral violence
What policy solutions do you support to address gun violence in our state / and country, and the disproportionate impact on women and gender-minorities?
“So, my view is, if there are measures that will improve gun safety and reduce gun violence in Maine, I will sign them… I think Governor Mills was incorrect in vetoing the ban on bump stocks, was it high… it was bump stocks. I would continue and sign legislation were it to reach my desk around high-capacity magazines. I would also sign legislation banning assault rifles. And I recognize there's even more that could be done with respect to background checks. My message is that I am open to anything that makes guns less of a public health threat.”
“My message is that I am open to anything that makes guns less of a public health threat.”
Developing equitable & accessible government systems
With ongoing rollbacks and attempts to rollback human rights for Mainers, there are efforts to pass an “Inclusive Equal Rights Amendment” to embed all the Maine Human Rights Act protections into our Maine constitution, including sex and gender. How would you anticipate interacting with these efforts?
“A big predicate reason for why I am running is my view that right now, because of the excesses and abuses of the Trump administration, it will be governors and state governments where our health, our safety, and our rights are protected. Governors are likely to be the first line of defense, and, dare I say it, maybe even the last line of defense against the erosion of these rights. And so this is all the more reason to take a very clear and firm stand, and that's how I think about the Equal Rights Amendment.”
How do you think the tax structure and government budget can be used to create more gender equity and reduce disparities?
“I believe other states have an approach where every sort of internal measure, whether it's a regulation or perhaps even at the legislative level, has to be coupled with a gender impact statement, so the impact of any particular proposed legislation on gender and on minority communities would be at least well understood. I'm open to doing that. I'm not absolutely committed to it, because I also want to make sure when we… it's not a check… a box-checking exercise for agencies. I've seen all too often in state government where these requirements, like, say, for environmental justice, it's just a box that's checked, and it's pro forma. As you all, I hope, know from my time here in Maine, if I'm going to do something, it's going to be real. I'm not going to do it because it's cosmetic.”
What policies or approaches would you support to ensure all eligible voters can participate in elections, and that people who want to run for office are able to do so?
'“I released a plan that broadly is my outline for how I will safeguard Maine from the excesses of the Trump administration. Section one of that plan is on shoring up our… and protecting our right to vote. If that goes away, then our voice goes away. And I detail a number of legislative and policy steps that I would pursue as governor to protect our right to vote… if we want to be real about proper representation, obviously specifically of women, or those who are working people, then we've actually got to make it easy for them and feasible for them to run for office. So, that's just a no-brainer to me.”
If elected, how would you stay connected and accessible to the people you represent?
“I am the only candidate in the gubernatorial race of either side that has been consistently holding public, free town halls for anybody to show up and ask me the toughest questions they've got… I don't make a lot of promises. In fact, I don't make any promises. But this is a promise that I'm going to be making as part of the campaign trail, which is a public promise that when I am governor, I will continue the tradition of accessibility and accountability that Mainers have already seen in me from COVID, this campaign, and going into the future as governor. I'm going to be committing to holding at least two public-facing town hall-type events every single month as governor. One virtual, and ideally the other in person, but maybe not always, maybe two virtual.”
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“It will be governors and state governments where our health, our safety, and our rights are protected... This is all the more reason to take a very clear and firm stand, and that's how I think about the Equal Rights Amendment.”
“ As you all, I hope, know from my time here in Maine, if I'm going to do something, it's going to be real. I'm not going to do it because it's cosmetic.”
“If we want to be real about proper representation, obviously specifically of women, or those who are working people, then we've actually got to make it easy for them and feasible for them to run for office.”
When I am governor, I will continue the tradition of accessibility and accountability that Mainers have already seen in me from COVID, this campaign, and going into the future as governor.
Other notable quotes
“When I was at the U.S. CDC, I oversaw the rollout of literally billion-dollar plans, like the Vaccine Bridge program in 2023, $927 million on the line, that kind of thing, and I oversaw the rollout of those. And I have a way of doing that that drives my staff absolutely crazy, but it makes sure that everybody knows what's going on. Twice-daily meetings, dashboards, metrics, anytime something is remotely not on track, we have a specific meeting to figure out what's wrong and how to get it back on. So, programs like this, if they are not heavily managed, the rollout they just go off the rails really quickly.”