Lower the Cost of Living

Over the past five years, the cost of living in Maine has risen faster than almost anywhere else in New England. While wages have inched upward, the price of everyday necessities — housing, groceries, and energy — has climbed far faster, leaving too many Mainers feeling squeezed.

• Housing costs have surged by more than 50% since 2020, with the median home price jumping from roughly $235,000 to over $350,000. Nearly four out of five households can no longer afford a median-priced home.

• Grocery prices are up about 25% since 2020, hitting rural families especially hard where fewer stores and longer drives mean higher costs.

• Energy and household essentials have risen at an annual rate of around 7% in recent years, compared to about 6% nationally, stretching family budgets during Maine’s long winters.

  
  

This isn’t sustainable. The cost of living crisis is not just about numbers — it’s about whether working people and seniors can afford to build a life here. Families shouldn’t have to choose between heating their homes and saving for the future.

My Plan to Lower the Cost of Living

• Cut property taxes for homeowners. I will fight to double Maine’s Homestead Exemption, providing immediate property tax relief to people who own and live in their homes. I’ll also continue working to reform Maine’s school funding formula so rural communities aren’t forced to rely so heavily on local property taxpayers to fund their schools.

• Lower energy costs and demand accountability. Maine families deserve reliable power at a fair price. I support greater regulatory scrutiny and accountability for CMP, investments in grid upgrades that make our communities more resilient to extreme weather, and new energy technologies that can reduce Maine’s dependence on expensive imported fuels. Our energy policy should focus on reliability, affordability, and making Maine more energy independent.

• Create better-paying jobs here at home. The best way to create lasting wage growth is to grow our local economy and give workers more choices about where they work. I’ll fight to redevelop sites like the Androscoggin Mill, support local entrepreneurs and small businesses, and attract new employers to our region. When employers have to compete for workers, it creates upward pressure on wages and gives working people more opportunities to get ahead.

Making Maine more affordable means lowering property taxes, bringing down energy costs, and creating good-paying jobs here at home. My goal is to make Jay, Livermore, and Livermore Falls communities where working people can build a good life, seniors can afford to stay in their homes, and the next generation has the opportunity to stay and build its future here.