Paul LePage probably shouldn’t start apartment shopping in D.C. just yet.
Steve Collins
Columnist
Steve Collins became an opinion columnist for the Maine Trust for Local News in April of 2025. A journalist since 1987, Steve has worked for daily newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Maine and served as the State House reporter for the Sun Journal since 2016. The Maine Press Association named him Maine's Journalist of the Year in 2022. Among his other awards are the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2016 Ethics in Journalism Award, the I.F. Stone Whistle-Blower Award in 2015 and the Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. Steve is a founder and board president of Youth Journalism International, a charity that teaches students around the globe about news writing, media literacy and issues of the day. His wife, Jackie Majerus, serves as its executive director. Born in Massachusetts, he grew up in a military family that took him to Norway, Ohio and Virginia, where he earned a degree in history from the University of Virginia. He and Jackie live in Auburn. They have two adult children, two collies and not enough time.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Auburn debate was a sad display of Maine’s broken politics | Steve Collins
The clash between Republican Bobby Charles and Democrat Troy Jackson only occasionally put issues ahead of insults.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Rockport tree poisoning case reminds us you can’t put a price on reputation | Steve Collins
When money doesn’t act as a deterrent, what does?
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
If we fail to preserve Maine’s history, we will lose it | Steve Collins
We can’t just assume that the records of preceding generations will exist for our descendants as they have for us.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Maine’s minor parties finally have a fair shot at the ballot | Steve Collins
The state now allows unenrolled voters to sign candidate petitions. It’s a small — and needed — victory for democracy.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
If Lincoln had stuck with Hannibal Hamlin, we’d be in a better place | Steve Collins
His 1864 decision to drop his vice president from the ticket is a regretful one in American history.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Wrong to challenge support for a still-recovering Lewiston | Steve Collins
Those disputing the allocation of funding donated in response to the 2023 mass shooting are taking a narrow view of how a community begins to heal.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Public response to ICE makes me proud to live in Maine | Steve Collins
The fight against the agency’s ‘enhanced activities’ is inspiring.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Hard to sift through Maine’s jam-packed race for governor | Steve Collins
There’s one gubernatorial hopeful for every hour in the day — so far. Where to start?
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
The persistent slop of the Maine Wire is paying off | Steve Collins
It’s clear to anyone watching that leading members of Maine’s Republican Party — among many others — have fallen in line with the website’s mission.