Pitch in to solve Maine's economic challenges, state official tells business forum
Photo / Renee Cordes
Quincy Hentzel, left, president and CEO of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, interviewing Hannah Pingree, director of Maine's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, at a chamber event on Thursday.
From housing to workforce challenges, Maine policymakers need input from the state’s businesses to come up with solutions, a top official said Thursday.
“There is no issue we’re working on that the government should solve alone or could solve alone,” Hannah Pingree, director of Maine’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, told a roomful of business representatives at a Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce event. “There’s honestly so much you can do.”
Of housing in particular, Pingree noted that many decisions are made at the local level, encouraging housing advocates to get involved in their communities.
“Your engagement will make a difference,” she said.
The plea comes after residents of Cape Elizabeth and Cumberland rejected proposals for build affordable housing developments, as noted by Quincy Hentzel, president and CEO of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce. The conversation took place at the University of Southern Maine's Hannaford Hall.
Those examples of “extreme pushback,” Hentzel said, “were very eye-opening to us,” joining Pingree’s call on business representatives to push back against the “Not In My Backyard” mindset often referred to as NIMBYism by speaking up in favor of housing.
“If we don’t speak up and talk to the need for more housing,” Hentzel said, “we will never get to where we need to go.”
Reiterating her own request, Pingree said, “When Quincy asks you to go to a planning board meeting or to go Augusta, please say ‘yes.’ ”
Pingree, appointed by Gov. Janet Mills in 2019, leads cross-agency efforts to develop policies to address long-term challenges for Maine including housing, workforce and economic development, climate change and energy.
She is also tasked with coordinating federal infrastructure investments as well as supporting children and older residents.
Speaking a day after Wednesday night's wind and rain storm that caused power outages and flooding in several counties, Pingree admitted that Maine is not ready for the storms that are hitting the state. She also said the state faces an uphill battle reducing pollution from transportation.
In response to a question from the audience, Pingree said that Maine has had underinvestment in new business and innovation, "and we are trying to up our game in that area."
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