BOBBY CHARLES: MAINE'S CRIMEFIGHTER
Bobby Charles is not a career politician promising to get tough on crime. He has actually done it. From the Reagan White House to leading global counter-narcotics operations as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Bobby spent decades dismantling drug cartels, securing America's borders, and protecting communities from organized crime. After 9/11, he volunteered for active duty as a Naval Intelligence Officer. He has personally overseen anti-trafficking programs, worked with allied governments to break international drug networks, and written the book — literally — on narcotics and terrorism. When Bobby says he will cut crime in Maine within 24 months, he has the record to back it up.
"Within 24 months, I can get organized crime out of this state. Within 24 months, I can shut down most of the fentanyl coming into this state." - Bobby Charles
1. END GOVERNMENT FRAUD & CORRUPTION IN AUGUSTA
Maine taxpayers deserve a government they can trust. Bobby Charles will make accountability Job One.
- Launch an Independent Accountability Task Force: By executive order on day one, establish a task force of professionals from outside state government to investigate fraud, waste, and abuse across every state agency, reporting directly to the Governor and the public, not to career bureaucrats.
- Zero-Tolerance Policy for Public Officials: Any state official or contractor found committing fraud against Maine taxpayers will be immediately referred for criminal prosecution. No settlements, no quiet resignations with pensions intact.
- Audit the Mills Budget Expansion: Janet Mills doubled Maine’s state budget. Bobby will order a top-to-bottom audit of where that money went and make the findings public, so Mainers can see exactly how their tax dollars have been spent.
- Strengthen Transparency in Government Contracting: Build on and reinforce the transparency and oversight measures enacted in 2025 by ensuring all state contracts are consistently published in a clear, searchable public database. Close loopholes, enforce compliance, and make it easier for Mainers to track how taxpayer dollars are being spent—so insiders can’t game the system.
- Prosecute Benefits Fraud: Partner with federal authorities to aggressively prosecute those defrauding Maine's social services, Medicaid, and public assistance programs. Fraud against Maine's safety net is theft from the most vulnerable Mainers.
2. SUPPORT, RECRUIT & RETAIN LAW ENFORCEMENT
Janet Mills gutted law enforcement funding while crime climbed. Bobby will reverse every cut and make Maine the best state in the nation to be a cop.
- Restore Law Enforcement Funding: Fully restore all law enforcement budget lines cut under the Mills administration in Year One. Public safety is not a line item to be balanced against woke priorities.
- Maine Law Enforcement Recruitment Initiative: Launch a statewide recruitment campaign targeting veterans, military-trained personnel, and out-of-state officers with relocation incentives and signing bonuses.
- Law Enforcement Retention Pay: Implement a retention bonus structure rewarding officers at the 5-, 10-, and 20-year marks to stop the exodus of experienced law enforcement from Maine's communities.
- Expand the Maine State Police: Increase Maine State Police trooper headcount by a minimum of 15% over four years, with priority deployment to rural counties currently underserved by local departments.
- Upgrade Training & Equipment: Fully fund the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and enhance its curriculum to integrate, normalize, and standardize best practices for officer wellness, alongside modern training in de-escalation, anti-trafficking, and fentanyl response. Ensure every patrol officer is equipped with naloxone so no department falls short when it matters most.
- Back the Blue — Legally: Ensure proper legal defense for officers acting in good faith in the line of duty. Maine's law enforcement will never be left to fight the radical left's lawfare alone.
- Community Policing Grants: Fund direct grants to local police departments for community policing programs, school resource officers, and neighborhood crime watch partnerships.
3. SHUT DOWN THE FENTANYL PIPELINE & END NEEDLE PROGRAMS
Maine has one of the highest overdose death rates in the nation. Feel-good programs have failed. Bobby's approach will save lives by stopping the drugs, not enabling addiction.
- End Taxpayer-Funded Needle Programs: Immediately defund and discontinue Maine's needle exchange programs. These programs do not reduce addiction, they enable it, spread disease, create public health hazards, and make our neighborhoods unsafe.
- Redirect Funds to Proven Recovery: Redirect all needle program funding to faith-based rehabilitation, residential treatment, and long-term recovery support programs with demonstrated success rates.
- Northern Border Security Partnership: Having personally patrolled Maine's 611-mile northern border, Bobby will establish a dedicated Maine-federal border security task force with CBP, DEA, and Maine State Police to intercept drug shipments before they reach our communities.
- Anti-Trafficking Strike Force: Create a dedicated Maine Fentanyl and Drug Trafficking Strike Force combining state police, county sheriffs, and federal partners, modeled on the federal counter-narcotics operations Bobby led as Assistant Secretary of State.
- Mandatory Minimums for Fentanyl Trafficking: Work with the Legislature to enact mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl distribution and trafficking. Dealers who kill Mainers with fentanyl will face murder-level accountability.
- Target Drug Supply Networks: Use the intelligence-gathering frameworks Bobby pioneered at the federal level to map and disrupt the organized crime networks supplying Maine's drug market.
4. REMOVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS & SECURE MAINE
Maine is not a sanctuary state under Bobby Charles. Every illegal immigrant taking resources from Maine families and taxpayers will face consequences under the law.
- Full Cooperation with Federal ICE: On Day One, sign an Executive Order directing all Maine state agencies, including DHHS and law enforcement, to fully cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Maine will not obstruct federal law.
- End Sanctuary City Policies: Prohibit any Maine city, county, or municipality from adopting sanctuary policies that shield illegal immigrants from federal law enforcement. Municipalities that refuse will lose state funding.
- Cut Off Benefits for Illegal Immigrants: End state-funded welfare, housing assistance, and non-emergency healthcare for those who have entered Maine illegally. Maine's resources are for Maine's citizens and legal residents.
- Prosecute Human Smuggling Networks: Direct the Attorney General to prioritize prosecution of human smuggling operations bringing illegal immigrants into Maine, in coordination with federal authorities.
- Audit Migrant Program Spending: Conduct an immediate audit of all state spending on migrant programs and report findings to the Legislature.
5. SHUT DOWN CHINESE DRUG HOUSES & ORGANIZED CRIME OPERATIONS
Maine has seen a dramatic rise in Chinese-linked criminal enterprises operating drug distribution networks in our communities. Bobby will bring his counter-narcotics expertise to bear on this specific and growing threat.
- Intelligence-Led Policing: Direct the Maine State Police Intelligence Unit to specifically map and track Chinese criminal organizations operating in Maine, using the same intelligence-gathering methods Bobby used to dismantle cartels at the federal level.
- Coordinate with FBI and DEA: Establish formal coordination protocols between Maine law enforcement and the FBI's organized crime and DEA task forces targeting Chinese criminal syndicates operating in the Northeast.
- Money Laundering Prosecutions: Pursue aggressive money laundering charges against anyone profiting from drug house operations in Maine, including property owners who knowingly rent to criminal enterprises.
- Asset Forfeiture Reform: Strengthen Maine's asset forfeiture laws so that property and cash used in drug operations is seized and directed to law enforcement funding, not back to the criminals.
- Community Warning Systems: Work with local law enforcement to establish rapid-alert community notification systems when drug operations are identified in neighborhoods.
Bobby Charles has spent a lifetime fighting crime at the highest levels of American government.
It's time to bring that fight home to Maine.
