AUGUSTA — Earlier this month, the assistant House majority leader took some heat for getting reimbursed more than $2,100 to attend a pair of conferences this summer in New Orleans. Critics were upset that taxpayers paid for Rep. Andre Cushing, R-Hampden, to participate in a conference held by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a national […]
Maine Legislature
Posted inLocal & State
Coalition: LePage, lawmakers who repealed same-day voter law have used it themselves
AUGUSTA — The coalition seeking to restore the state’s 38-year-old, same-day voter registration law announced Tuesday that several Republican lawmakers who voted in June to repeal the law have registered on Election Day or in the period that could soon be illegal. According to the coalition Protect Maine Votes, Gov. Paul LePage also registered the […]
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LURC fate: Reform, abolish or return to the ’60s wildlands?
In 1969, Republican state lawmaker Harrison Richardson attempted to bring some order to Maine’s “wildlands.” Richardson, and many other political leaders, felt the handful of large corporations that owned most of Maine’s North Woods were putting profits ahead of public interest. The largest contiguous forest east of the Mississippi and the 10.4 million acres of […]
Posted inLocal & State
Despite ruffling feathers, Poliquin vows to remain ‘activist treasurer’
AUGUSTA — When the Republican-controlled Legislature elected Bruce Poliquin state treasurer last December, the Georgetown resident promised to spread the word about the state’s fiscal problems. The past nine months have shown that Poliquin suffers no shortage of words, or ways to deliver them. In the past, the public rarely heard from the state treasurer […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine GOP chair questions 19 voter registrations in 2004; probe reveals displaced medical students voted legally
AUGUSTA — In the latest twist in the debate over same-day voter registration, the chairman of the Maine Republican Party on Friday questioned why 19 individuals staying in a South Portland hotel were allowed to register to vote on Election Day in 2004. As it turns it out, the individuals were American college students, who […]
Posted inLocal & State, Op-Eds
Political Pulse: LePage, MHPC converge on welfare despite different rhetorical paths
Just over a month ago, a pair of conservative advocacy groups released an undercover video of an actor attempting to apply for MaineCare benefits at a Department of Health and Human Services office in Biddeford. The two organizations, the Maine Heritage Policy Center and Americans for Prosperity-Maine, held a press conference promising “explosive” and “shocking” […]
Posted inLocal & State, Op-Eds
Political Pulse: Presidential implications for Maine’s redistricting fight?
The national media is starting to take interest in Maine lawmakers’ thus far futile attempt to reach a consensus on a new congressional redistricting plan. This week the Pew-funded Stateline filed a report focusing on how the redistricting plan advanced by Republicans could impact the 2012 presidential race. If the GOP plan is enacted in […]
Posted inLocal & State
Commission approves Democratic redistricting plan; GOP ready to approve its own plan
AUGUSTA — The legislative commission charged with redrawing Maine’s congressional boundaries on Tuesday voted 8-7 to support a Democratic proposal that pushes additional towns in Kennebec County into the 2nd Congressional District. Michael Friedman, the lone independent on the commission and chairman of the panel, cast the deciding vote, arguing in part that the Democratic […]
Posted inLocal & State, Op-Eds, The Franklin Journal
Political Pulse: LePage channels Jimmy Carter with zero-based budgeting
Nuggets from the notebook while waiting to see if Gov. Paul LePage’s attempt at zero-based budgeting will fare better than that of former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter … The concept of zero-based budgeting has been bandied about, in some cases attempted, for decades. ZBB burst into the American nomenclature in 1976 when Carter, a Democrat […]
Posted inLocal & State
GOP to unveil new redistricting map; Androscoggin County would move to 1st District
AUGUSTA — Republican lawmakers say they’ll unveil a new compromise map when the Legislature’s bipartisan reapportionment commission meets Tuesday to vote on proposals that redraw boundaries for Maine’s congressional districts. The GOP announced Friday evening that the new proposal was designed to appease Democrats’ concerns, including keeping Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree’s hometown of North […]