By David Farmer,Staff Writer
Two Democrats prepared to break with state party on TABOR while battling one another for nomination.

LEWISTON – The names running in the Democratic primary for state Senate in District 15 should be well-known, especially in Auburn.

Donald J. Bernard, a former state lawmaker, and Ed Degrosseilliers, chairman of the United Citizens of Auburn and a Democratic Party stalwart, are vying for the opportunity to take on incumbent Republican Lois Snowe-Mello this fall.

Snowe-Mello successfully moved from the House last year when she defeated Democrat Neria Douglass for the seat representing Auburn, Durham, Poland and New Gloucester.

Desgrosseilliers, 64, is part of a power tandem with his wife, Sheila, who’s running to fill the open House seat that was held by Rep. Thomas Shields, R-Auburn. Neither has held elective office before.

Bernard, 71, is a longtime member of the Democratic Party and a retired local businessman, trying to return to Augusta after an absence of more than 30 years. He challenged Douglass during a Democratic primary in 2000 but was unable to unseat the incumbent, losing by a wide margin.

In 2004, Snowe-Mello ousted Douglass in a tight race, beating the incumbent by fewer than 1,000 votes, 10,641-9,611. In 2002, Douglass won more easily in District 22, which became the 15th after redistricting. That year the district included precincts in Lewiston.

In a possible twist to this year’s race, a remnant from 2004 could affect the way Democratic voters feel about Bernard.

In a letter to the editor to the Sun Journal in 2004, Bernard endorsed Republican Snowe-Mello for the seat he’s now seeking. In that letter, Bernard wrote: “Due to her attention to her large constituency, she has voted in the best interest of the citizens and the state. She has supported the towns in her district by opposing unfunded mandates and costly regulations, which help keep property tax down. She has proven her ability and experience. That’s why I’m supporting her.”

In an interview last week, Bernard attributed his support for the Republican to “friction” with Douglass dating back to 2000. Bernard said that Snowe-Mello avoided term limits by switching from the House to the Senate, and that now it’s time for her to go, despite his support just two years ago.

When asked if he thought the public support for Snowe-Mello would hurt him, he answered succinctly and simply: “No.”

Desgrosseilliers, who’s retired from the Postal Service and the Navy, didn’t jump on the letter when given a chance, but neither did he dismiss its significance.

“It sends a message that he’s certainly a free thinking Democrat,” Desgrosseilliers said. “It doesn’t put him on any lower level with me. … I wouldn’t hold it against him, but it’s possible other people will. If people are voting a strong party line, like a lot do in a primary, it could hurt him.”

The voting patterns from 2004 show the swing district is made up of two distinct parts: The in-town Auburn precincts and the out-of-town precincts in Durham, New Gloucester and Poland. Douglass collected 790 more votes in Auburn than did Snowe-Mello, who made up the difference and claimed victory with her support away from the city. Snowe-Mello was particularly strong in New Gloucester and Poland, her hometown and part of the House district she represented for eight years. In a replay of 2004, both Bernard and Degrosseilliers have built their political bases in Auburn.

Breaking down some of the issues facing the state, both Bernard and Desgrosseilliers said they lean toward support of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which will be on the November ballot. The position puts them at odds with much of the Democratic establishment.

For both men, their feelings on TABOR are informed by their frustration with Auburn and its increasing property taxes.

Bernard said that TABOR might be the only way to get local governments to control spending. “The city of Auburn is not listening,” he said.

And Desgrosseilliers said that “it looks like one hell of a dynamic piece of legislation” and that the people of the state long for something to bring property taxes under control.

Bernard emphasized his experience in the Legislature during the 1960s and 1970s, saying that the problems that the state is dealing with are the same now as they were then and that he wants to work for change within the Democratic Party.

“I think we’ve voted too many tax increases,” Bernard said. “I don’t think we’re doing quite enough for the veterans. We’re not doing enough for the senior citizens. And when you want to do something about education, it becomes a bargaining chip and that’s not the way to get things done.”

Desgrosseilliers counters that having experience in the government isn’t a prerequisite for being a good state senator.

“I think anyone who brings new wind to an old storm creates troubles,” Desgrosseilliers said. “If it better serves this district, I’ll bring those winds and face the consequences.”

Bernard said that he supports the Dirigo Health Reform although it needs some work around the edges.

“I’ve talked to some people who are in it, and they said its godsent and they’re saving money. That’s really what the bottom line is about. … There are some things, maybe, that are wrong with it and need to be fixed. It’s the only game on the table for some of these people.”

“So many people don’t have any insurance, they can’t afford it. And the gap is growing all the time,” Bernard said. “When you walk around Lewiston and Auburn and visit some of these houses, these people are living on the edge.”

Desgrosseilliers echoed those ideas about Dirigo.

“DirigoHealth and DirigoChoice are tremendous assets to our state. They’re not perfect. They need someone with a screw driver and a pair of pliers to get in there and tinker. What we really need is to put the rhetoric aside and sit down and work on this issue.”

“In primaries, the candidates don’t really shoot at each other,” Desgrosseilliers said. “Don and I, at least, our differences aren’t so great.”

Bernard and Desgrosseilliers are running as Maine Clean Election Act candidates. The primary is June 13.