Support for municipalities and data-based decisions are at the heart of Charlotte Nutt’s campaign for House District 48.

Nutt, D-Edgecomb, faces Erik Hobson, R-Boothbay, in the race for the district, which consists of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, South Bristol, and Southport. Rep. Holly Stover, D-Boothbay, is serving her fourth and final term in the seat.

Nutt grew up in Edgecomb, where she lives today. She graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. in 2019 with degrees in earth sciences and economics. She later earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

After graduating, Nutt worked for the Midcoast Council of Governments, a nonprofit municipal planning organization, as a data specialist. She is now self-employed, working as a consultant for various data and policy organizations.

Improving data accessibility is a priority for Nutt. She said the state government has made progress on digitizing data, but that data quality is not standardized statewide. She pointed to municipalities’ assessor data as an example.

“I was doing a comprehensive plan for one of our towns, and their assessor data just wasn’t correct,” Nutt said. “So having correct and complete data really supports the towns and planning for their own futures. And we’re a home rule state … so that really is absolutely necessary for towns to have access to that data.”

All “good policy” begins with data, Nutt said. With this, she said she believes accessible data is a way to make a big difference for rural communities.

The biggest issue Nutt is focused on is housing. She said there is a shortage of housing units – both affordable and luxury – and that property tax increases are pricing people out of her district, discouraging young families from moving in, and preventing longtime residents from staying.

If elected, Nutt said she would prioritize building housing units while considering the different situations and “community cultures” of municipalities statewide. She said this exemplifies how good data can foster effective policy.

Her plan is to look at the supply and demand in each of the towns to form an understanding of how many housing units are needed.

Nutt said supporting the preservation of existing housing could also ease some Mainers’ housing woes. She references what she called the “classic story,” in which a resident might have be what is considered a “nice, big house” but is not making enough money to keep up with maintenance.

“Their house is their main asset, and that asset is slowly going away because they are not able to keep that up,” she said.

Nutt supports increasing state subsidy given to towns for education. She said voters need to support schools in a way that “doesn’t push our Mainers out of their homes.”

Schools are community pillars, Nutt said, educating but also providing essential resources to students.

“It’s where our coat drives happen, where our boot drives happen, where people get support,” she said.

Healthcare is another key issue for Nutt. She has family members who work in the healthcare industry, and she said their stories have informed her perspective on what changes need to occur.

“My fiance works in the emergency room … the cases that are hardest for him aren’t like the intense, classic emergency room cases,” Nutt said. “It’s more the ones where it’s been years or decades of the state failing someone, and now they’re unhoused, underfed, going through a mental health crisis, and they’re now in the ER.”

She said Mainers need healthcare that is accessible from their homes and that is affordable.

“People, at this point, are trying to make the decision between going to the hospital and being in debt, or just continuing to suffer with their illness,” Nutt said. “That’s simply not OK.”

Nutt also expressed concerns about transparency in MaineHealth’s decision to close the labor and delivery unit at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta. She said despite the low number of births, the labor and delivery unit is an important resource for the community, and that Maine needs improved healthcare systems for residents of all ages.

“We are the oldest state in the nation, population-wise, and yet we still need labor and delivery units,” Nutt said. “We need healthcare for older adults as well and that healthcare needs to be in-hospital and also in-home, because people are aging at home.”

Nutt said addressing climate change is another one of her goals, pointing to recent years’ storms that led to severe flooding across Lincoln County. She worries about the impact of sea level rise, ocean acidification, and warming on Maine’s marine industries.

“(There) aren’t going to be as many lobsters in the Gulf of Maine in the future, and I think that we really need to support all of our industries that are dependent on our environment,” Nutt said.

She said climate change policy can enhance infrastructure as well. Nutt suggested expanding bike lanes and pedestrian options as a way to lower carbon emissions and to provide more commuting options. From her house in Edgecomb, she said she could bike to Damariscotta but chooses not to because the “roads are so dangerous.”

While talking about infrastructure, Nutt said that the Legislature also needs to dedicate funding toward improving roadways. She said she has heard from voters whose vehicles have sustained damage from bad roads.

In approaching these issues, Nutt believes the Maine Legislature must keep municipalities at the forefront. She said her previous work with towns including Belfast and Monhegan Island shaped this belief because she saw the varying needs of each municipality.

“We’re made up of a lot of rural communities that are all very unique,” Nutt said. “We at the state can’t forget that Maine is a home rule state, and that so much happens at the local level, and the more that we can support our municipalities through training, through data access … that can make a huge difference in people’s lives.”

For more information, go to charlottenuttformaine.com or email charlotteformaine@gmail.com.

The general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

This article appears through a content-sharing agreement with the Lincoln County News.