Though Secretary of State Matt Dunlap says there are a few loose ends to wrap up (including two recounts), the state election is pretty much a wrap. Town clerks and their steadfast crews, the hard-working heroes of the election, have breathed a sigh of relief. It’s over. So, what’s new in the Maine Legislature? On the Senate side, …
The machinery of the state Legislature is grinding into gear, with all the clanks and groans attendant after sitting idle for seven months. It adjourned in a pandemic rush last March, hurrying to get essential business done and leaving everything else for another day. Republicans criticized House Speaker and U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon for not bringing legislators back in. When …
From Tuesday evening until Saturday morning, we were a nation obsessed. One of the most consequential presidential elections in U.S. history hung in the balance while vote counters counted and pundits explained over and over why the race could not yet be called. Pollsters may have missed the mark again after their botched call of the 2016 election, but the …
A letter to my grandchildren: Hello, you six. We’re getting along here just fine, connecting with friends outdoors or by phone or electronically, but when it comes to you guys it’s quite hard to accept that that’s the only way we can be together. Farmer Bob just called to see if I wanted a turkey. It was good to …
In this last, pre-election edition, opining on election races is verboten. At a time when few are thinking about anything else, that necessitates some head-scratching. What is a writer to do? Extol the glories of the autumn foliage? Offer some Thanksgiving recipes? Lament the absence of marshmallow Peeps this Halloween? We can do better than that. At a time …
We are nearing the end of one of the more depressing election cycles in U.S. history, and we cannot say with certainty that on Nov. 3, or just a few days thereafter, we will have been put out of our misery. A zillion people have voted already, so any last-minute push is of questionable value. Still, every vote will count, this …
The soul-destroying clash of presidential politics this election year is enough to put anyone off. There is some solace in turning to local elections, where there is still decency and common sense to be found. There are eight House districts that include at least one Hancock County town. In three the incumbents were term-limited, leaving the field to newcomers. In District 130, voters (Bucksport …
Debate number two for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat is a wrap, leaving the standing of the four candidates much as the first debate did. Sen. Susan Collins had recovered her equanimity, coming on a little more relaxed, a little less brittle. Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon remained in good command of the policy issues, avoiding the deer-in-the-headlights moment of her first debate. The polls haven’t moved much. …
Ranked choice voting (RCV) in Maine has been a bit like Charlie Brown and the football. No matter how many times the public attempts a kickoff, Lucy snatches the ball up. How many times do we have to support it before politicians stop trying to take it away? The first attempt to introduce RCV in the Maine Legislature was in 2001. After several failed attempts to create a system where one …
Let’s daydream together about an election where the candidates talk about why they are running in real terms, not platitudes. Where they don’t even mention their opponents but simply lay out their plans for how they would serve in the office they are seeking. Where they tell us why they think they are qualified for the office instead of why …
