Augusta, Maine — In a new Bangor Daily News op-ed, a longtime labor advocate and finance professional tears apart Bobby Charles’ reckless and mathematically impossible budget scheme.

Charles is campaigning on slashing $4 billion from the state budget which would lead to massive cuts to schools, health care, roads, public safety, and other essential services. As Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Drew Gattine put it during a recent Maine Democrats press conference, “The math doesn’t work… Frankly, I think it’s ludicrous.”

Keith Mestrich makes the same point: “I work in finance. Budgets are not wishful thinking… Bobby Charles’ numbers don’t add up to me, and Mainers would pay the price.”

Even Republicans running against Charles in the primary couldn’t defend the plan, with Garrett Mason warning that Charles’ proposals would tank Maine’s economy.

Bangor Daily News: Mainers can’t afford Bobby Charles as governor

By Keith Mestrich, June 25

• My career began in the labor movement, where worker issues were never abstract policy debates or campaign slogans. They were about real people trying to keep a roof over their heads, afford groceries, and build a decent life for their families.
• Later, I served as CEO of Amalgamated Bank, a bank focused largely on supporting nonprofits. Today, my work continues to center around helping people who are living paycheck to paycheck access the tools and support they need to manage their finances and get ahead.
• I also serve my community as a member of Bristol’s Budget Committee, on our regional ambulance committee, and as chair of the Lincoln County Democrats. As the father of three adult children and someone who has spent a lifetime believing that government should make life better for ordinary people, I care deeply about the well-being of my community and of working Mainers across this state.
• That’s why I think that Republican Bobby Charles as governor would be a disaster for Mainers.
• When I look at the challenges facing our state, I see the same concerns families talk about around kitchen tables every day. That’s housing costs, health care bills, grocery prices, energy costs, and whether their paycheck will stretch far enough to make it to the next month.
• Those are the problems that deserve our attention. But Charles seems to want to make them worse.
• His campaign has centered on division, culture wars, and political fights — and plans that will just make everything more expensive. I believe his proposals are reckless and dangerous and won’t help lower costs, strengthen communities, and keep our state moving forward.
• Democrats have put forward solutions on affordability. What we have seen from Charles is alarming support for President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.
• Trump’s tariffs are raising costs and hitting the people who can least afford it. Maine farmers feel it and our families see it every time we check out at the grocery store. Health care is unaffordable in part because Trump and Republicans in Congress refuse to renew Affordable Care Act subsidies. Gas prices are too high because Trump dragged us into war with Iran. Mainers are paying more and getting less, while Bobby Charles continues to stand with Trump.
• And apparently that is not enough. Charles has his own reckless economic plans, starting with eliminating the state income tax.
• The state income tax makes up a major share of how we fund schools, roads, emergency services, and the basic services that communities depend on. Without the state income tax, how will we pay for these essential services? How will we pay for MaineCare and support hospitals in rural communities? I don’t think Charles has thought any of this through.
• Where will the supplemental money come from? Even some Republicans in the primary who ran against Charles called him out on it.
• I work in finance. Budgets are not wishful thinking. You cannot eliminate a major source of revenue without explaining how the state continues to function. Families understand this every month when they sit down and balance their own budgets. We should expect our leaders to understand it too.
• My years in the labor movement taught me that working families cannot afford politicians who gamble with their future. My years in finance taught me that numbers matter.
• Bobby Charles’ numbers don’t add up to me, and Mainers would pay the price. I believe Charles will always stand with Trump and the special interests that shaped his career as a Washington lobbyist rather than with Mainers.
• We deserve a governor who answers to us.