Nirav Shah
Progressive
Democrat
N/A
Maine
Current Position: Former Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Running For: Governor
Policy Positions
Economic Policy
- For treating Maine's housing shortage as an emergency requiring immediate government action, including a statewide production target of 84,000 homes
- For opening surplus state land for housing development
- For expanding MaineHousing financing capacity for affordable and workforce housing
- For a State Mortgage Co-Sign Program to help first-time homebuyers
- For expanding down payment and closing cost assistance
- For expanding rental assistance and eviction prevention programs
- For regulating high-density short-term rentals in housing-constrained markets
- Against large-scale speculative purchasing of homes
- For protecting mobile home communities from displacement
- For a Maine-based fund to cover abortion care costs for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured residents
- For smart, dense housing development in existing population centers over sprawl
- For supporting a millionaires tax dedicated to property tax relief
- For expanding the Homestead Exemption for permanent Maine residents
- For Aging-in-Place Innovation Grants to help older Mainers remain at home
- For expanded respite services and Medicaid self-directed care programs for family caregivers
- For supporting the Older Mainers Act with approximately $9.75 million in annual state funding for aging services
- For making childhood hunger a top state priority using Maine's rainy day fund for emergency investment
- For defending SNAP and school meal programs from federal cuts
- For treating housing, childcare, and broadband as economic infrastructure for small business growth
- For investing in community gathering spaces as economic and social infrastructure
Business & Labor
- For a moratorium on new large-scale data center construction until Maine has statewide regulatory standards for water use, electricity demand, ratepayer impact, and emissions
- Against allowing data centers to shift infrastructure and grid upgrade costs onto Maine families and small businesses
- For requiring data centers to bring their own clean energy supply
- For requiring strong labor standards and union jobs at data centers
- For banning secret AI surveillance of workers and requiring employer disclosure of AI monitoring tools
- For bias audits of AI hiring and screening tools
- For a rapid retraining fund for workers displaced by AI and automation
- For a public-private partnership model to make childcare affordable, including employer cost-sharing
- For expanding career and technical education pathways and dual enrollment programs
- For launching a Maine Caregiver Corps to train and retain long-term care workers
- For cutting business registration red tape through a one-stop digital business portal
- For consolidating annual business renewals into a single date and payment
- For a Maine Employee Ownership Center to help business owners transition to employee ownership
- For supporting Maine's defense industry, blue economy, outdoor recreation sector, and clean energy economy as key job creators
Health Care
- For a Rural Health Stabilization Team to prevent rural hospital closures
- For using MaineCare emergency rate adjustments to stabilize at-risk rural hospitals
- For holding health insurance companies accountable through the Bureau of Insurance for rate increases and prior authorization abuses
- For addressing the behavioral health workforce shortage through credentialing and pipeline reforms
- For banning geofencing around healthcare facilities
- For a strategic state-level stockpile of mifepristone
- For protecting Maine's science-based vaccine policy against federal political interference
- For investing in pandemic preparedness and public health infrastructure
- For keeping medical decisions between doctors and patients, free from political interference
- For protecting rural hospitals from federal Medicaid and Medicare cuts
- For a Maine Social Connection Initiative addressing loneliness and isolation among older residents
- For capping insurance copays and deductibles based on income for state-regulated plans
- For giving the Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board authority to set binding caps on essential medication prices
- For ending prior authorization for routine and ongoing care
- For increasing taxes on large health insurance companies to fund rural hospital stabilization
- For expanding MaineCare eligibility
- For expanding clinical training and residency slots at rural Maine hospitals
- For expanded loan repayment programs for healthcare providers who practice in rural and underserved areas
- For universal healthcare as a long-term goal, building toward it through state-level reforms
- For defending Maine's reproductive health clinics' funding from federal defunding efforts
- For protecting and expanding women's health services including maternity care at rural hospitals
Education
- For statewide AI safety standards in schools, including banning AI tools that manipulate or build emotional dependency with students
- For making two years of community college tuition-free permanently for all Maine residents
- For targeted grants and loan repayment programs for students entering high-need fields including healthcare, education, and the trades
- For competitive teacher salaries and additional pay for teachers in rural and hard-to-staff schools
- For universal pre-K and expanded early childhood education access
- For fully funding IDEA for students with disabilities
- For science-based reading instruction and universal reading screeners in schools
- For free school meals and defending Maine's universal school meals program against federal cuts
- For expanding farm-to-school and fish-to-school programs
Environment
- For accelerating Maine's transition to clean energy including offshore wind
- For positioning Maine as a leader in offshore wind infrastructure with union labor standards
- For state-level action to cut greenhouse gas emissions as federal protections are rolled back
- For strengthening Maine water quality protections against federal rollbacks
- For full-scale PFAS contamination cleanup and holding industrial polluters accountable
- For providing immediate safe drinking water to PFAS-affected households without eligibility barriers
- For monitoring emerging contaminants including microplastics
- For protecting farmland affected by PFAS contamination and transitioning land to safe productive uses
- For expanding conservation of Maine's public lands, forests, wetlands, and wildlife habitats
Civil Rights
- For enshrining abortion rights in Maine's Constitution through a constitutional amendment
- For strengthening Maine's reproductive healthcare shield law, including reciprocity protections for care received in other states
- For government-to-government consultation with Maine's Wabanaki Nations before state actions affecting tribal lands, waters, or resources
- For legislation recognizing the sovereignty of Maine's Tribal Nations
- For creating a Wabanaki-State Partnership Council
Voting Rights & Democracy
- For mandatory disclosure when state agencies use AI systems
- For requiring human oversight of all high-stakes government decisions involving AI
- For a State Housing Officer reporting directly to the Governor
- For protecting Maine elections from federal interference through a Maine Election Sovereignty Act
- For prohibiting state agencies from sharing voter data with federal entities beyond legal requirements
- For an Election Worker Protection Act criminalizing threats or harassment against election officials
Immigration & Foreign Affairs
- For ending all voluntary state cooperation with ICE beyond what federal law strictly requires
- For keeping ICE out of non-public state facilities without a judicial warrant
Public Safety
- For requiring body cameras, visible ID, and conduct standards for all law enforcement operating in Maine
- For banning law enforcement officers from wearing masks during public interactions
- For prohibiting license plate readers to identify patients seeking reproductive care