While the leaked communications of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have dominated headlines, another embarrassing disclosure was recently made in Maine. Financial disclosures filed this month with the Maine Ethics Commission show that the state’s leading minimum wage political-action committee, Mainers for Fair Wages, is overwhelmingly funded by non-Mainers. An analysis of the disclosures indicates […]
Question 1
Posted inLetters
Marijuana a safer alternative
I am voting “yes” on Question 1. Marijuana can help Mainers get off of addictive, deadly opiates, just as it did for me. I am a lifelong Mainer and a 22-year veteran of the Navy. I loved my time in the service, but returned with PTSD and excruciating pain from an accident on a submarine. […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine AG denies politics motivates her Question 1 opposition
BANGOR — The Maine attorney general said Saturday that her recent declaration that the state’s marijuana referendum, if passed, would let children use the drug legally was based on extensive research. Attorney General Janet Mills rejected suggestions that the timing of her statement last week was politically motivated. “I wish [proponents of Question 1] had […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine AG says Question 1 will let kids have marijuana
AUGUSTA —Maine Attorney General Janet Mills says a proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use would have the effect of making pot legal for children. Mills told WCSH-TV the referendum to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older removes the existing legal language that makes possession of small amounts of marijuana a civil infraction for […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legalized pot referendum to be Question 1 on November ballot
The campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Maine drew the coveted Question 1 spot on the statewide 2016 ballot during Secretary of State Matt Dunlap’s random drawing on Monday. The November ballot will be a crowded place for referendum efforts, with five citizen-initiated ballot questions and a bond question. The marijuana legalization question will be followed on the ballot by efforts […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
$1.7 million spent to raise public campaign financing
PORTLAND — Political committees spent a collective $1.7 million to campaign for expanding the state’s publicly financed election system, battling vocal but frugal opposition. A group working to defeat the measure raised just more than $44,000. The battle over proposed changes to Maine’s public campaign financing system was the most hotly contested of three state […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine voters pass campaign finance reform, $100 million in bonds
PORTLAND — In a victory for advocates of clean elections, Maine will bolster public campaign finance laws weakened by a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court ruling because of voters’ passage of a referendum on Tuesday. State voters also decided to authorize $100 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements and housing for seniors. The Mainers for Accountable […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Advocates, businesses at odds over Maine clean elections law
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine voters are getting ready to decide proposed changes to their state’s public campaign finance law as business interests disagree over the measure, the governor calls it “a scam” and a U.S. senator praises the effort to “pull back the curtain on secret money.” The Mainers for Accountable Elections championed the proposal […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Maine has another chance for clean elections
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Maine has a choice with consequences for every election to follow. Shall we vote “yes” to strengthen what we started 20 years ago with the Maine Clean Election Act? Or shall we give up now and vote that big money in our politics is inevitable or even desirable? Question 1 isn’t […]
Posted inLetters
Welfare for politicians
Question 1 asks voters to approve a measure that would triple the amount of tax dollars that could be given to candidates who file as a “clean candidate.” That is not a good choice when medical services for truly needy people were denied this past year because of lack of funds. The possible cost of […]