Democrats across Maine gathered during caucuses Sunday to meet candidates and to elect delegates to represent their cities, towns and communities at the upcoming state Democratic State Convention that will be held in Lewiston May 21-22.

“The rest of the Democrats need to pay attention to what’s happening,” said Ed Desgrosseilliers, committee chair of the Auburn Democrats, who convened Sunday’s caucus at the Auburn Middle School. “You don’t want just a few people shaping the entire party image.”

Democrats held caucuses in 387 cities and towns in preparation for the May convention and the gubernatorial races leading up to the November election. 

Like their counterparts in Lewiston and throughout the county, Desgrosseilliers and his fellow Democrats welcomed Gubernatorial candidates and their representatives, as well as state and local elected officials during the after-caucus. The main objective of the January meeting was to elect delegates.

During the caucus, Desgrosseilliers asked Democrats to approve a letter that will be sent to state endorsing the expansion of rail service to the Lewiston-Auburn area. The state recently announced rail plans that leave out the Twin Cities.

“When you vote for governor in this election, please keep in mind that government has long overlooked this area for economic development and why we’re in the shape we’re in,” Desgrosseilliers told the crowd.

Democrats in Auburn elected 35 delegates out of the 57 eligible to represent the city. Desgrosseilliers said that anyone else interested in representing the city at the state convention would be able to sign up at the convention, which puts them into a pool of potential delegates.

One of the occurrences that most excited party members at the Auburn
caucus was that neighboring Turner formed its own Democratic committee
Sunday. Turner elected four delegates and one alternate to fill their 12
eligible spots. Cheers went up among the crowd when Auburn committee
member Mary Roussels came in and told the crowd that Turner formed a
committee with the seven people who attended the afternoon caucus.

Individuals wishing to serve as delegates had to either be present or have submitted their paperwork by Sunday to be approved during the caucus. Turnout in Lewiston was also low as only about 60 people sat in the audience at Lewiston Middle School on Sunday, compared to the 88 eligible delegates the city could approve.

“It’s not bad considering the cold weather,” said Stan Pelletier, chair of the Lewiston Democratic Party. “We need to have caucuses to get to know the candidates.”

Pelletier was unable to be reached Sunday night to get the results of how many delegates were elected to represent Lewiston.