#niravshah — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #niravshah, aggregated by home.social.
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Alrighty then... Switching gears back to #USPol and #Doomposting. In #MainePol news, #TroyJackson is the presumptive #Democratic candidate, as both #ShennaBellows and #NiravShah dropped out. So, there you go!
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It looks like #JanetMills took the hint from the primaries and will NOT be appointed by the #Maine dems. The two top contenders seem to be #TroyJackson and #NiravShah.
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So, #NiravShah came pretty close to winning the June primary (if there weren't #RCV, he would have won). Though #TroyJackson would be the logical #Progressive choice. The plot thickens...
Democrats Begin to Clash Over Who Replaces Platner Even Before He Exits
#Progressives and #moderates are gearing up for a fight over an as-yet-undecided process in #Maine to name a Senate nominee to replace #GrahamPlatner after a rape accusation. He still wants a say, too.
Shane GoldmacherReid J. EpsteinKatie Glueck
By Shane Goldmacher, Reid J. Epstein and Katie Glueck
July 7, 2026Updated 12:50 p.m. ETExcerpt: "A range of candidates are being discussed, with some early attention on those who ran and lost the primary for governor this year. Those Democrats include #TroyJackson, a former president of the Maine Senate; Nirav Shah, a former director of Maine’s public health agency; and #ShennaBellows, Maine’s secretary of state. But some Democrats were concerned about elevating someone who just lost.
"Supporters of Mr. Jackson, who had backed Mr. Platner in the primary, created a Draft Troy website and he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission for a Senate exploratory committee. Mr. Shah put out a statement that said he had received 'hundreds of encouraging messages,' adding that anyone who ran for the nomination should commit to a televised debate and 'multiple town halls across every corner of the state.' "
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/us/politics/graham-platner-maine-replacements-democrats.htmlArchived version:
https://archive.ph/bfxGG -
From #MaineMorningStar: Governor, #Maine Democratic Party on Health Care, Immigration Enforcement, Housing, Energy, Taxes, #TribalSovereignty
"Tribal Sovereignty
What is your position on tribal sovereignty?
#ShennaBellows (D)
Shenna Bellows supports restoring full sovereignty to the #WabanakiNations.#TroyJackson (D)
Troy Jackson supports restoring full sovereignty to the #WabanakiNations, a position reflected in his legislative record. Despite the setbacks, he said he is proud that Maine was able to pass laws to support economic development, improve access to clean drinking water, recognize the exclusive jurisdiction of tribal courts, and enshrine protections for Wabanaki children and their families into state law.#AngusKingIII (D)
No response. [NO SURPRISE!]#HannahPingree (D)
Hannah Pingree supports restoring full sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations and believes the Wabanaki Nations deserve the same rights and opportunities as every other federally recognized tribe. She said she has partnered with Tribal leaders and governments on issues like climate resilience and clean energy, and she would work to expand collaboration on economic development, health care, infrastructure, natural resources, and environmental protection.#NiravShah (D)
Nirav Shah supports restoring full sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations. At the Maine CDC, Shah said he worked side by side with #WabanakiLeaders, including on #PFAS and #EnvironmentalThreats, and saw firsthand that our state does its best work when it listens first and #collaborates with the Tribes in good faith and in true partnership.#MaineGovernor #MainePol #Elections2026 #TribalRights #Wabanakik #WabanakiSovereignty
#LandBack #Dawnland #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #WabanakiConfederacy -
#Maine - Gubernatorial Candidates Take Part in #WabanakiAlliance Forum
"Eight gubernatorial candidates and more than 150 people attended the Wabanaki Alliance 2026 Gubernatorial Forum March 19 at the Houlton Community Resource Center. Hosted by the #HoultonBandOfMalisset Indians, the forum included eight candidates who responded to questions from moderators and forum attendees about nonpartisan issues and policy affecting the #WabanakiNations.
"Candidates received questions from #MaulianBryant, citizen of the #PenobscotNation and executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance; #MalleahBrown, a citizen of the #PassamaquoddyTribe at #Motahkomikuk and youth lead with the #WabanakiYouth Policy Initiative; and #OsihkiyolCroftonMacdonald, #HoultonBand of Maliseet Indians Ambassador and president of the Wabanaki Alliance Board. #ClarissaSabattis, Tribal Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, made opening and closing remarks.
"Participating candidates included (in alphabetical order)
- #ShennaBellows (D)
- #RickBennett (I)
- #JohnGlowa (I)
- #TroyJackson (D)
- #DerekLevasseur (I)
- #HannahPingree (D)
- #NiravShah (D)
- #AngusKingIII (D)"The primary election for Democratic and Republican candidates is Tuesday, June 9. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3."
Source:
https://wabanakialliance.com/gubernatorial-candidates-forum-2026/Recording of the forum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLzaxN-YE7k&t=29s#MaineGovernor #MainePol #Elections2026 #TribalRights #Wabanakik #WabanakiSovereignty
#LandBack #Dawnland #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #WabanakiConfederacy -
#Maine - Democratic Governor Candidates Break with Mills on Data Centers
Four out of five candidates running to replace #JanetMills said she was wrong to veto a temporary moratorium.
By Alex Seitz-Wald, April 28, 2026
"Four of the five Democrats running to replace Gov. Janet Mills said she was wrong to veto a first-in-the-nation moratorium on large data center construction at candidate forum moderated by the #MidcoastVillager Saturday.
All but one candidate on the June 9 primary ballot — clean energy executive #AngusKingIII — said they support the temporary moratorium, citing data centers' potential impacts on electricity rates, water usage and limited job creation, among other concerns.
"Mills, locked in a Democratic U.S. Senate primary against oyster farmer Graham Platner, said she largely supports the goals of #LD307. But in her veto message, she said felt compelled to nix the ban because it could have killed a proposed $550 million data center to a former mill complex in #JayME. [Mills has since dropped out of the race]
"At the forum, sponsored by the Knox and Lincoln County Democratic Parties at Watts Hall, the Democrats looking to replace Mills said the Jay project was not worth the sacrifice of the entire moratorium.
" 'I think the governor’s veto on Friday was unfortunate,' said former Maine House Speaker #HannahPingree, who left a top role in Mills administration ahead of her run for governor. 'We have seen in Virginia and in Texas, the kind of significant damage that these centers have been doing. And I think it's incredibly urgent that Maines passes the moratorium and then we put the kind of guardrail in place that will protect Maine people, protect our environment, but especially protect rate payers.'
"Dr. #NiravShah, the former head of the Maine Centers for Disease Control who is seen as frontrunner in the primary, said data centers do not create enough jobs to outweigh their potential negative impacts.
" 'I think Governor Mills's veto was in error, and I would have signed the legislation had I been governor,' Shah said. 'If we are going to have data centers in Maine — and that’s a big if, I want to be clear — then my general approach is let's do it, right, not do it fast. If we are going to do it. And right now, there are just too many unanswered questions about the impact of data centers on rural electricity rates, which are already high enough. On our water use, which is a precious resource. And on our health.'
"Secretary of State #ShennaBellows was more blunt, calling data centers 'a #boondoggle perpetrated by #CryptoBillionaires who are gobbling up everything in sight.' She said the moratorium is 'prudent' and that the legislature had constructed it thoughtfully.
"Former Maine Senate President #TroyJackson, who is closely aligned with labor unions, said he supports development that creates good-paying jobs — but does not see data centers as delivering on that promise.
" 'It's a false narrative what she’s telling us about jobs,' Jackson said of Mills' justification for the veto.
"Pointing to a pin on his lapel for a local electrician union, Jackson said: 'There's a lot of #UnionWorkers that are electricians in the state that do want jobs, but not really those jobs.'
"And Jackson, who clashed with Mills at times when he led the upper chamber of the Legislature, said Mills should have found another way to protect the Jay project. 'I would have signed that bill and I think the governor should have gotten involved way, way before to try to make her points known or at least come up with a compromise,' Jackson said.
"King, the son of independent U.S. Sen. Angus King and the only candidate not to back the moratorium outright, declined to say whether he would have signed the bill. When pressed, he called the question a 'hypothetical' and argued the measure would not have passed as written if he were governor."Archived version:
https://archive.ph/8gpML#MainePol #Datacenters #DatacenterMoratoriums #MaineCandidates
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TBH, while I like #ShennaBellows and #NiravShah, I think they better serve #Maine in their current and former positions (Bellows, Secretary of State; Shah, head of the Maine CDC). @BrambleBearGrrrauwling
#TroyJackson #MainePol -
Claudia Sheinbaum is a scientist. You know who else is a scientist? Dr. #NiravShah -- and he's thinking about running for governor of Maine! Boy, if there is anyone I trust, it's Dr. Shah. He was really upfront when he was the director of the #MaineCDC during the #Covid pandemic, and if he didn't know something, he admitted it -- and then would follow up at the next press conference! More of this, please...!
Dr. Nirav Shah says he’s considering run for Maine governor
Shah was the face of Maine’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and went on to become a top federal health official during the Biden administration.
Joe Lawlor, August 15, 2025
BRUNSWICK — "Maine’s former CDC director, Dr. Nirav Shah, is considering a run for governor.
" 'I think we are in a moment where all of us should be considering running for something,' Shah said in an exclusive interview with the Press Herald Friday. 'I’m considering throwing my hat into the governor’s race.'
"Shah said that if he ran, it would be as a Democrat.
" 'I’m considering, but have not yet committed to running,' he said. He said he didn’t have a timetable for when he would make a final decision.
"Shah, 48, became the face of Maine’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and went on to become a top federal health official during the Biden administration. He recently launched a #PublicHealth education program at #ColbyCollege, where he is a visiting professor.
"Shah had a high-profile role as the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the pandemic, when he often appeared on TV and online explaining the coronavirus to the public and answering journalists’ questions. Chocolate bars were named after him, coffee mugs were inscribed with the words 'In Dr. Shah We Trust,' and he enjoyed a large online fan club.
"As a result of the state’s response to the pandemic, Maine had one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the nation, at more than 80% fully vaccinated.
"Shah left Maine in 2023 after being tapped by the Biden administration to become principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. While at the U.S. CDC, Shah helped lead the response to the #BirdFlu.
"Shah also helped during the transition from the Biden to the Trump administration, where his last day on the job was Feb. 28.
Source:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/08/15/dr-nirav-shah-says-hes-considering-run-for-maine-governor/Archived version:
https://archive.md/4W5GK -
The #CDC is losing someone who #TellsTheTruth! Not good!!!
"#NiravShah, the CDC’s acting principal deputy director, has informed staff at the agency that his last day is Feb. 28, STAT News reported"
#HPAINews #Influenza #PublicHealth #BirdFlu #CDCCensorship #USHealth #Pandemic #HPAI #AvianInfluenza #USPol #AuthoritarianRule #Censorship #USFail #DrShah
#DrNiravShah Former #MaineCDC Director -
Oh, this isn't good... At all! Visited the #MaineCDC website, and most of the #Covid19 links are DEAD! And the site from the referring link seems to have security issues? YIKES! Dr #NiravShah, formerly of the Maine CDC, now Deputy Director of the CDC, has been FIRED! (I wish he hadn't left #Maine. Dr. Shah rocked!!!)
#CovidIsntOver #DrNiravShah #DrShah -
YIKES!
#Colorado #BirdFlu cases show how #ExtremeHeat may be complicating efforts to control the virus
Searing heat may have played a role in the infections of five workers who fell ill last week while culling a large flock of chickens infected with the #H5N1 virus in Colorado, health officials said Tuesday.
By Brenda Goodman, CNN
Published Jul 17, 2024"Searing heat may have played a role in the infections of five workers who fell ill last week while culling a large flock of chickens infected with the H5N1 virus in Colorado, health officials said Tuesday.
“'At the time transmission is thought to have occurred, Colorado was experiencing 104-plus-degree heat,' and it was probably hotter inside the barns, said Dr. #NiravShah, principal deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is investigating the outbreak along with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
"This made the use of personal protective equipment (#PPE) a challenge, Shah said.
"In addition, to bring down temperatures in the sweltering barns, large industrial fans were blowing, moving air as well as dust and feathers. #Feathers from infected birds are known to carry the H5N1 virus.
“'We understand those large fans … were moving so much air … the workers were finding it hard to maintain a good seal or a good fit either between the mask or with eye protection,' Shah said.
"Four of the Colorado cases have been confirmed by the CDC. A fifth tested positive at a state lab and has been sent to the CDC for confirmation.
"The incident has quickly doubled the number of #FarmWorkers known to be infected with H5N1 virus in the United States, and it is the largest number of workers known to be infected in connection with a single farm.
"In 2022, a poultry worker tested positive for H5N1 in Colorado. This year, four other farm workers have tested positive — one in #Texas, two in #Michigan and another in #Colorado — after working with infected #DairyCattle. Cases are believed to be undercounted because farm workers are often reluctant to be tested for fear of losing work and income."
#MigrantWorkers #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #BirdFlu #ProtectFarmWorkers