Muddy Waters

Frank Casella, Republican candidate for Maine House District 21 in Bangor, joins Chuck Ellis to talk about why he's running and what he'd fight for in Augusta.

Frank moved his family to Bangor for the schools and a safe community, ran for the Bangor School Committee, and works in construction. Chuck and Frank talk about the political binary, why local races matter, media bias, government assistance and the party of empowerment, college vs. the trades, and Frank's top issues: getting kids back to reading, writing and math, a real plan for the drug crisis, and an electric bill that went from about $120 to over $400 in the winter. Find Frank at frankcasella.com.

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Thad Moody, Republican candidate for Maine Senate District 30 (Gorham and part of Scarborough), joins Chuck Ellis to talk about accountability, spending, and why he's running.

Thad shares his path from Cook's Hardware to president of the co-worker-owned Moody's Collision Centers and the Gorham Town Council, and explains why $155 million in $300 checks was the last straw. Chuck and Thad talk about DHHS oversight and fraud, no tax on tips or overtime, the millionaires tax and socialism, the Medicaid vs. Medicare confusion, $27 million in license plates made in Nova Scotia, the failed Gorham–Scarborough connector, and why voters deserve to know where their tax dollars go.

Find Thad at thadmoody4senate.com. muddywaters.us — Follow Muddy Waters Podcast for more episodes.

Brett Raio, a Maine-raised singer, producer, pro-life activist and evangelist, joins Chuck Ellis for a wide-ranging conversation about faith, culture and refusing to stay quiet.

Brett shares how his music shifted from mainstream pop to songs centered on Jesus, even when his streams dropped from 250,000 to 250. He talks about how that same conviction drives his street preaching, his OppScore campus interviews, His Glory, Ray Radio and Bold Studios. Chuck and Brett also get into:

• why so many Republicans want pro-lifers to stop talking
• the Maine State House hearing where thousands showed up and were still ignored
• Brett getting kicked out of Mount Ararat for wanting to write a paper on abortion
• getting handcuffed in Chicago for preaching the gospel
• why clear definitions and real love still matter

Find Brett at brettraio.com and OppScore at oppscore.org. Visit muddywaters.us, and follow Muddy Waters Podcast for more episodes.

Jennifer Navarro, a 10th-generation Brunswick native and candidate for an at-large seat on the Brunswick Town Council, joins Chuck Ellis for her first-ever interview. After years of attending council, committee, and land-use meetings, she was encouraged by neighbors to run in the one-year special election.

Jennifer talks about her family's long history in Brunswick, life as a Marine Corps spouse, mom, and homemaker, and why rising costs and longtime residents being priced out of their hometown convinced her to step up. Her top priority is transparency: a regular two-way forum where residents actually get answers, clear findings on the record, and "disagreement without drama" instead of rubber-stamp votes.

Chuck and Jennifer also dig into overdevelopment and public notice, Brunswick's many TIF districts and impact fees, tax-exempt institutions and nonprofits taking property off the tax rolls, spending priorities like trails versus roads, and why so many residents feel shut out of decisions made in committees and executive sessions.

Find Jennifer on Facebook under Jennifer Nicole Navarro. Look up your conservative and common-sense candidates at MaineBallot.com. muddywaters.us — Follow Muddy Waters Podcast for more episodes.

David Corbett, Republican candidate for York County Sheriff, joins Chuck Ellis on the Muddy Waters Podcast. A Lyman resident, David spent years in Maine law enforcement with the Saco and Biddeford police departments and the York County Sheriff's Office, then about 13 years as a criminal justice professor. He's also a clergyman, and this is his third run for sheriff.

David makes the case that the current approach to addiction in county jails isn't working. He argues the Suboxone program keeps inmates hooked, and he lays out his plan for "community corrections," where clergy, churches, and trained volunteers work with inmates and their families inside the jail and after release. He also talks about ending forced 16-hour shifts for corrections officers, rebuilding staffing and morale, starting a sheriff's cadet program for teens, and getting people with serious mental illness out of jails and into proper treatment.

Chuck pushes back on David's idea of citizen involvement in policing, and they talk through how training and vetting would make it work. David also calls for federal transparency on the fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford.

Find David at sheriffcorbett.com, on YouTube under Sheriff Corbett, and on Facebook at David and Sylvia Corbett. muddywaters.us — Follow Muddy Waters Podcast for more episodes.

In this episode of the Muddy Waters Podcast, Chuck Ellis sits down with Steven Juskewitch, independent candidate for District Attorney in Hancock and Washington counties. Steve shares his background—from a tough upbringing and 28 years of Army service (including the 82nd Airborne and Korea) to decades as a prosecutor, defense attorney, complaint justice, and trial lawyer handling serious felonies. They talk about what a DA actually does, why politics should stay out of the courtroom, problems with how grand juries are used, case backlogs on serious crimes, treating victims and the accused fairly, and how he would run a more efficient, straightforward office. Learn more: juskewitchforda.com Muddy Waters Podcast – helping Mainers understand what’s really going on in our state.

Chuck Ellis talks with Bret Martell, Lewiston City Councilor and Republican candidate for Maine House District 95.Martell grew up in Lewiston-Auburn and says he never planned on running for office until local conditions and COVID-era policies pushed him in. They cover public safety, youth violence, schools, homelessness policy, and what it’s like to be a conservative on a progressive-dominated city council.Martell’s top issues: restore accountability in the justice system, support police, stop policies that he says put criminals ahead of victims, and get education back to academics. He also describes a recent Lewiston City Council meeting over a low-barrier shelter contract he says is failing taxpayers.A straight conversation about Maine’s local problems — and why he believes they won’t be fixed from Washington.

Chuck Ellis sits down with Diana Kushner, Republican candidate for Maine House District 109 in Gorham, on the Muddy Waters Podcast.Kushner shares her family’s journey from Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union, why she left a “bubble” of assuming freedom would always be there, and what pushed her to run when the seat opened. They discuss:- Affordability and government spending in Augusta - Parents vs. schools and the state on raising kids - Local control for growing towns like Gorham - Safety-net “cliffs” that punish work - Family stories from the USSR and why she sees warning signs in current policy - Why close local races actually decide who writes Maine’s rules Kushner’s message: ordinary people should represent their neighbors, votes in House races matter, and there is still hope if people use their voice.Find her: kushnerformaine.com | Facebook & Instagram Muddy Waters Podcast — Mainers telling their stories unfiltered. Hosted by Chuck Ellis.

Chuck Ellis sits down with Joel Furrow, Deputy Director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, to define a term most people only hear as an insult: Christian nationalism.They discuss Joel’s new role and Pray for Maine, then unpack “white Christian nationalism,” competing scholarly definitions, nationalism versus globalism, and whether America should be declared a Christian nation. Joel argues Scripture does not support ranking people by race, that the gospel is an invitation not a takeover, and that “dominion” means cultivating culture through service — not lording over neighbors.Chuck and Joel reject coerced religion and a state church, while making the case that Christians still belong in public life because every voter brings a worldview to the ballot box.Muddy Waters Podcast — helping Mainers understand what’s really going on in our state.

Chuck Ellis talks with Gray residents Susan Fuller and Judy Simino about the MSAD 15 cost-sharing fight between Gray and New Gloucester.Gray pays about 66% of the local school share; New Gloucester pays about 34%. By enrollment, the split is closer to 57% / 43%.

After 50 years of a property-value formula, Gray residents circulated a petition, forced a cost-sharing committee, and now say the process has been hijacked: a skewed survey, state aid mixed into local numbers, and a conflict of interest with a Gray school board member running in a district that includes New Gloucester.

They explain why they want the local share based on students, what the Maine Department of Education told them, and what taxpayers can do before the committee shuts the question down.

Muddy Waters Podcast — helping Mainers understand what’s really going on in our state.