Before formally entering the gubernatorial race, Rep. Barbara Merrill put down her policy prescriptions in a detail-oriented book about how she would move Maine forward.

The book has been mentioned often during the campaign, and the candidate, a former Democrat from Appleton, usually has a copy with her or at least nearby in case someone is looking for it.

But Merrill isn’t the only candidate for governor with a book out. Green Independent Pat LaMarche also has a book out. “Left Out in America: The State of Homelessness in the United States” was released this month.

LaMarche isn’t talking about the book much on the campaign trail; she says she doesn’t want to shill for it while campaigning on taxpayers’ dollars. The book, she says, is not related to her campaign for governor.

While running as the vice presidential nominee for the Green Party in 2004, LaMarche spent 14 consecutive days and nights in homeless shelters around the country.

The book tells the stories of the people she met and the hardships they face.

In Cambridge, Mass., LaMarche describes the scene as people wait for free medical treatment delivered by some whacked-out version of an ice cream truck: “Emaciated, filthy, sore-covered, pleading individuals whose appearances made me gasp approached for help. Some of them amazingly managed to stand and wait. They looked so frail. And in spite of the fact that they didn’t seem strong enough to hold themselves up, the clientele waited and did so, politely.”

LaMarche also recognizes the limitations of her experience living among the homeless.

“There never came a day, or more importantly, a night that I couldn’t walk away. Each moment, no matter how unbearable, I knew that I had a bed, a shower, a roof over my children’s head and food in my cupboard. The clothes on my back got dirtier and dirtier, but I had a washer at home. Home. I had a home,” LaMarche writes in the introduction.

Numbers, numbers

A Rasmussen Report poll released Oct. 19 shows Democratic Gov. John Baldacci with a 10-point lead over Republican Chandler Woodcock.

Baldacci’s support comes in at 44 percent while Woodcock is at 34 percent. When people who are leaning toward one candidate or another are included, Baldacci leads 46 percent to 38 percent. The poll also describes Baldacci’s support as “soft.”

Green Independent Pat LaMarche and independent Barbara Merrill account for 16 percent of the vote.

The same poll has Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe leading Democrat Jean Hay Bright 70 percent to 24 percent. Independent William Slavick is also running in the Senate race.

Conserving his support

The Maine League of Conservation Voters has endorsed Baldacci.

It’s the first time the 21-year-old organization has made an endorsement in a gubernatorial campaign.

“Maine’s natural resources are critical to our health, economy and quality of life,” said League Board President Caroline Pryor in a statement. “The next governor will shape our future at a critical time, and we believe that John Baldacci is the best choice for voters concerned with protecting our environment.”

Class act

The Media and Politics class from L-A College will hold a forum for legislative candidates at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at 51 Westminster St. in Lewiston. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m.

All candidates running in districts either wholly or partially in Androscoggin County have been invited to participate. After opening statements, a student moderator and student panel will ask questions of the candidates. Questions from the audience will be taken if time permits.

The forum is open to the public and will be held in Room 170.

Going nuclear

Independent congressional candidate Dexter Kamilewicz says that the United States is being hypocritical for its tough talk against North Korea and Iran for their pursuit of nuclear weapons while the United States maintains an arsenal with thousands of nuclear weapons and is helping India to develop its own stockpile.

Kamilewicz is running against Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Allen and Republican state Rep. Darlene Curley in Maine’s 1st Congressional District.

“I am against nuclear weapons, period. The U.S. should dismantle its entire stockpile of nuclear weapons and instead should work for a nuclear weapons free world, including North Korea and Iran,” Kamilewicz said in a news release that also demanded that his opponents speak out against America’s nuclear hypocrisy.