New York and Maine – Trouble in Paradise

New York just elected a communist, antisemitic, Muslim mayor, and Maine is tipping that way. There is plainly trouble in paradise, no matter how you define it.

During COVID, thousands fled New York City for less densely populated Maine. That put pressure on a badly managed state with huge gaps in infrastructure, healthcare, schools, and public safety, high energy costs, and property taxes. With New York veering left, things may get worse still.

Maine has been mismanaged by Democrats for seven years, broadly for 30 of 32 years. Maine is in deep trouble – fiscally, socially, and in serving the needs of year-round citizens. We are in peril.

Taken part by part, Maine has seen a stunning turn. We suffer property taxes doubling to tripling in some counties, based on years of reckless spending, Democrat mandates on municipalities, mismanagement, and out-of-state home buying. Maine tops the nation for property taxes.

To this, add skyrocketing energy costs, a 36 percent jump last year – topping the nation, driven by energy sector mismanagement, leftist politics with the Public Utility Commission, net energy billing, unsustainable subsidies for solar and wind, raw incompetence, and “green ideology.” 

These two factors – property taxes and energy costs – have driven hundreds of businesses out, and made young Mainers and seniors desperate for affordable housing. Median monthly income is 200 dollars below median rental, killing the American Dream, even as employers leave the state.

To this, add other stunning facts. Maine’s “infrastructure” ranks dead last in the nation, now investment according to CNBC’s 2025 business competitiveness study, with massive unmet costs for failing roads, bridges, energy lines, and broadband, with no Democrat plan or money to fix them.

And when you thought it could not get worse, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2025 put Maine schools in freefall, Democrats failing children everywhere, prioritizing union indoctrination, boys in girls sports, “woke” administrators over skills, leaving Maine with “the lowest test scores in three decades” in reading and math, 75 percent of 4^th graders illiterate, 74 percent of 8^th graders unable to do math. Maine is at or near the bottom, a complete failure.

Beyond the highest property taxes, energy jump, impossible housing costs, worst infrastructure and schools, add 10,000 overdoses in one recent year, drug traffickers everywhere, 3.7 million needles handed out, discarded in public parks, on streets, around schools, libraries, and post offices.

Where have “Vacationland” and “The Way Life Should Be” gone? Where is the place that we grew up in, which was hard working, prosperous, honest, safe, affordable, and Norman Rockwell’s America?

Where is the American Dream for Maine’s young, otherwise destined for crime and dependence? Where is peace for seniors, who fear loss of their homes, as they struggle to pay ever-higher taxes?

How does the demographically oldest population in America manage falling access, quality, and affordability for health care, neonatal units pulled from hospitals, Democrats redlining (ending) hospitals, and not paying medical bills when due? And then there are rampant reports of fraud.

What a mess! To this add the burden of illegal aliens, estimated 8000 in the state, getting two years of free housing, no assimilation in a state Democrats want to make a “sanctuary state” – and are inviting another 75,000 illegals to populate.

Bottom line: Maine is in serious trouble, effectively wrecked by one-party control, a Democrat Governor, House, Senate, and constitutional officers, even before COVID. COVID – and a wasted eight billion federal dollars – spread corruption everywhere, and only made it worse.

Now, God forbid, Democrats want to make Maine a “sanctuary state” – they already passed the law, and just await the Democrat Governor’s signature. If New Yorkers flee their communist, what then?

Is there hope? Yes, but it must arrive soon. A Republican Governor – the post for which I am running – and legislature, can stop the carnage, audit everything, end the corruption, cut property and income taxes, drop energy costs by 30 percent, stop net energy billing and solar and wind subsidies, rebuild the infrastructure, replace woke with learning, get boys out of girls sports, restore affordable, quality healthcare, and wire-brush illegal aliens and drug traffickers out of the state.

Once we have our house back in order, once we have an affordable, safe, educationally sound, morally compassed state again, we would be happy to have New Yorkers fleeing communism visit. Right now, objectively – as the leading Republican gubernatorial candidate – we have our work cut out for us. There is trouble in paradise. We need to fix this mess. That is now my life mission.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!