In an interview published online last week, recently elected Portland City Councilor for District 2, Wes Pelletier, a longtime member of the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (Maine DSA), praised Maine Gov. Janet Mills for picking a fight with President Trump over the issue of biological males competing in women’s sports.

Pelletier was elected as 2nd District City Councilor in November after winning a plurality of the votes in the first round and clinching the ranked choice tabulation. He joined District 5 City Councilor Kate Sykes, the former co-chair of Maine DSA, as the second democratic socialist on the Portland City Council.

Pines and Roses, an online socialist news and opinion outlet operated by the Maine DSA, published an interview with Pelletier last Wednesday, covering topics ranging from his background working with the Maine DSA, his priorities at City Hall and the spat between Gov. Mills and President Trump over transgender athletes that has brought Maine into the national spotlight.

“Trump has declared that unless the state bans trans athletes from competing, he will defund the state. The number I saw was $256 billion (sic) in federal funding for Maine. How should we respond to this threat?” The Pines and Roses interviewer, Todd Chretien, asked Pelletier. (Editor’s note: the actual estimate is in the millions as opposed to the billions of dollars)

“There are two kinds of tactics,” Pelletier replied. “There is an instinct to keep your head down and not draw attention to yourself. I think that there’s something to be said for that, but I also think that vulnerable people in our community do not benefit from that.”

Pelletier said that while he is “not a Mills fan by any stretch of the imagination,” he does “very much respect holding the line and saying to Trump, you know, f— you, that’s fascist.”

“We’re not going to go along with that. We have to state our values and make sure that people in our community know that they are safe, regardless of what happens on the federal level,” Pelletier said.

“We’re going to be looking after them and we’re not gonna throw them to the wolves,” he said. “We might think sacrificing one part of our community will save us, but it won’t. Trump’s gonna cut funding over one thing or another. We’re a blue state and he’ll punish us for it.”

The socialist city councilor said that another tactic of resistance he supports is “building up the community” through street fairs, block parties, and “building those connections so that when this sh– hits the fan, we don’t resort to fearing each other.”

“That’s what fascism preys on. We have to stand in the way of that and build up our side,” he said.

In describing his decision to enter politics, Pelletier told the socialist outlet that he is a “real news junkie” who “always watched the Daily Show” — the Comedy Central political commentary television show — and decided to get involved with politics after “thinking about climate change.”

During the interview, Pelletier also expressed his frustration with the city manager and city staff, who he said have “taken on a conservative political role, often slow-walking or hampering councilors’ efforts that they either publicly or privately disapprove of through a combination of legal hand-wringing or simply deprioritizing the research and legwork needed to see those efforts through.”

Pelletier criticized the Portland Chamber of Commerce, saying that they have been “poorly managed” and have “staked out a very right-wing stance” while having access to the city manager and city department heads that even he, as a city councilor, does not have.

On the topic of what he most wants to accomplish as a city councilor, Pelletier pointed to possible cuts from the state to the municipal General Assistance welfare program.

“The state, let alone the federal government, is looking to slash general assistance,” Pelletier said. “A lot of things that are now helping people stay on top of a very thin edge. And without those, it is going to be a bit of an apocalypse.”

The socialist said that Portland needs to prepare for possible cuts by “raising local revenue in creative ways,” such as finding a way to “making MaineHealth pay its fair share,” fining landlords who break the city’s rent control ordinances, making cruise ships pay disembarkation fees, and levying additional fees on yacht owners who dock in Portland.