Newly sworn-in state Rep. Michael Beaulieu of Auburn has plenty to be proud of.

Not only is he a new member of the Legislature, he’s also got a new granddaughter.

Beaulieu’s daughter gave birth to her third child last week. Unfortunately, Beaulieu missed the delivery.

He was in Augusta doing constitutionally mandated ethics training for a new lawmaker and taking his oath of office.

From campaigner to chief of staff

Jesse Connolly has scored three big campaign victories in Maine; now he’s making the transition to the State House.

Connolly was Gov. John Baldacci’s campaign manager for his successful re-election this year. He also managed the campaign that defeated a people’s veto of the state’s antidiscrimination law, which adds sexual orientation to the Maine Human Rights Act. And he was the state director for Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004.

Last week he officially joined the office of new Maine House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a North Haven Democrat, as chief of staff.

Connolly and his wife, Nicole Clegg, are also expecting their first child.

Prayer for partisan peace

Lewiston state Sen. Peggy Rotundo, a Democrat, delivered the invocation at last week’s legislative dinner for new members of the House and Senate.

“As we come together, we give thanks for the possibilities that lie before us over the next two years.”

“We give thanks for the love, support and sacrifice of our families that enable us to serve and acknowledge with gratitude the honor and privilege given us by the people we represent, who depend upon us to govern well and successfully.”

“May we remember every day that we are here to serve in particular the most vulnerable within the state, those who would otherwise be voiceless, recognizing that we are all strengthened and our communities made more vibrant and prosperous when all people are given the opportunity to prosper.”

“May we as legislators be open to one another’s gifts and humanity and acknowledge that we will govern more effectively when all perspectives and ideas are considered and valued; remembering that more unites us than divides us.”

“May we also acknowledge at this moment the excitement and anxiousness we feel as we contemplate the start of this legislative session, remembering that we can find any help we need from one another and any courage we need to do the right thing from deep within ourselves.”

“Let us now embrace the challenges ahead with humility, purposefulness and hope so that at the end of the 123rd session everyone can say that as legislators we worked respectfully, honestly and diligently to improve the lives of all the people of this magnificent state.”

An early start …

This year’s elections are barely over – the new U.S. Congress hasn’t even convened yet – and campaign 2008 already is stirring.

Last week, Roll Call newspaper, one of the insider sources for information about Congress, reported the building speculation that Maine U.S. Rep. Tom Allen will challenge U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in two years.

The story quotes some of the usual suspects who talk about Maine politics, including Bowdoin College professor and political consultant Christian Potholm. The story also tosses out two Democratic names that might try for Allen’s seat if he looks to move up: former Portland state Sen. Michael Brennan and Attorney General Steven Rowe.

That list is thin. It leaves out state Sen. Ethan Strimling of Portland, who’s already laying the groundwork for a possible run; incoming Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings, who will be termed out of his current post; outgoing Speaker of the House John Richardson; incoming Senate President Beth Edmonds, who will also be termed out; and York County District Attorney Mark Lawrence. Of course, nobody has announced.

If Allen runs for the Senate, Democrats will come out of the woodwork for a shot. With term limits restricting Maine legislators to four consecutive terms, there won’t be a shortage of candidates in the primary.

… to campaign 2008

The Hill newspaper, another influential paper in Washington, reported last week that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins might have helped return U.S. Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi to a leadership role in the party.

Lott was run out of leadership four years ago after making a racially insensitive comment during a party for then-U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond. Thurmond ran for president in 1948 as a segregationist; Lott said that had he won, the country would have been better off.

The comment cost him his role as Republican leader in the Senate.

According to The Hill, Collins and U.S. Sen. John Warner switched their votes in the secret balloting from Tennessean Lamar Alexander to Lott, giving him the post of assistant Republican leader.

Collins’ office wouldn’t tell The Hill how she voted. The paper cited unnamed sources who said she voted for Lott.

The senator’s office wouldn’t tell the Sun Journal how she voted either.

Maine Democrats, however, wasted no time trying to tar Collins with The Hill story.

“It is ironic that on the same day that Sen. Collins is talking to the Navy about a new contract with Bath Iron Works, is negotiating bills to help the Lewiston Maineiacs with its ongoing visa problems and extend the term of the special inspector general in Iraq, these guys are engaging in this political foolishness,” said Jen Burita in Collins’ office. “The elections are two years away, and the people of Maine want us to focus on the serious business of governing, not partisan bickering. “

If you want to know why Maine Democrats care about a national Republican leadership vote, see “An early start” above.

Election 2008 has started.

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