Though Republicans haven’t won a U.S. House seat in the region since 2016, it’s not because district lines are unfair. It’s because they have lousy candidates and unpopular policies.
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
Bobby Charles is wrong to make a bogeyman of the ballot | Steve Collins
Hoping to win without a second round, Charles is urging voters to pick him — and nobody but him.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Civil rights pioneer Gerald Talbot’s legacy is a better, fairer Maine | Steve Collins
Our state’s first Black legislator will be remembered for a remarkable record. Maine should renew its commitment to the reforms he championed.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
National Democratic backing may be Joe Baldacci’s undoing | Steve Collins
Gaining the support of Capitol Hill insiders is more likely to hurt than help his bid for the 2nd District congressional seat.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Jackson and Platner are right to be thinking about Mainers’ time | Steve Collins
It would be hard to find somebody who disagrees that we deserve more time, more freedom, to explore our state with people we care about.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Susan Collins no longer even pretends to be a moderate | Steve Collins
Maine’s senior senator once held up the late Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecuticut Democrat, as a role model. I knew Lieberman, and I know Collins falls well short of his commitment to centrist politics.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Can we take a moment to appreciate Janet Mills? | Steve Collins
Maine’s first woman governor has been consistently courageous and compassionate in tough times.
Posted inOpinion, Steve Collins
By looking to the past, Maine’s philanthropists can brighten its future | Steve Collins
To help philanthropy repair historic wrongs, a new report urges for more transparency about the origins of wealth.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Ranked-choice voting has three of Maine’s gubernatorial hopefuls in cahoots | Steve Collins
Civility encouraged by the system offers candidates a chance to speak well of each other and avoid negative campaigning. What a relief.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Steve Collins
Don’t be fooled by Republican trickery in Maine Senate races | Steve Collins
In four state Senate contests, GOP-aligned candidates switched their party registration to unaffiliated, allowing them to appear on the ballot as independents.