Want to know what the League is up to this week? Check out these cool opportunities to get involved and make your voice heard! If you’re interested in any of these actions contact YoungVoters207@Gmail.Com

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1) Sign this petition to voice your support for Ranked Choice Voting statewide! Click here to sign.

2) Send a letter to your state representatives to tell them you want to make energy efficiency a priority this year! Click here to send them a letter.

This week the Legislature will vote on Senator Youngblood’s bill to strengthen Clean Elections, LD 1309. This bill would restore Clean Elections after a court decision overturned part of the law. It’s critical that your senator and representative hear from you now.

Contact your elected officials and tell them that you want a strong Clean Election system, and ask them to support LD 1309.

Maine citizens enacted Clean Elections to help ensure that our government is accountable to voters, not big donors and their lobbyists. LD 1309 will ensure the viability of Clean Elections in legislative and gubernatorial races going forward. That will allow candidates to rely on actual voters – not outside interests – to win and hold elected positions.

Contact your Representative and Senator now! 

Take action today! Thank you!

P.S. Check out MCCE’s latest Money in Politics report showing that proponents of GMO labeling have been outspent by opponents 10 to 1 when it comes to political donations. In some states, that could mean certain failure of labeling legislation. In Maine, 70% of the legislature was elected without special interest money, and that should give us a better shot. Call your legislators today to keep Clean Elections strong and viable!

P.S. Find more information about LD 1309, An Act to Strengthen the Maine Clean Election Act here. Please take action today!

As an Interim-Executive Director, you can get the hand’s on experience you need to see if non-profit leadership is a career path you want to travel down. Applications are available May 1st, more details below!

Emerge Maine is looking for an Interim Executive Director to enable the organization to continue fundraising efforts and program offerings during the maternity leave of our present Executive Director.

The job requires approximately 20 hours per week of time spent on a wide variety of communication and administrative tasks. Some evening and weekend work will be required. The expected start date for the position is July 1 so that training can take place before the E.D.’s leave begins.  The position will continue for approximately 15 weeks.

A detailed job description is provided below.

The salary offered is approximately $1200 per month.   The rewards of being part of an integral part of an organization dedicated to equal representation for women are great.

Please send a resume and letter detailing your interest in the job to Denise Tepler, President, Emerge Maine, teps@comcast.net.  The application will remain active until the position is filled.

EMERGE MAINE

Interim Executive Director Job Description

Leadership

• Model organizational values in interactions with Board of Directors, volunteers, staff, program participants, alumnae, and partners.

Program Administration

• Work with the Board of Directors and appropriate committees to implement both short- and long-term program goals to ensure Emerge Maine achieves its mission and vision.

• Administer the training programs, including organizing weekend training sessions for annual 6-month Emerge Maine program: schedule and prepare trainers, arrange for appropriate speakers and related materials, arrange for food & beverages, and provide support for women participating in the program.

Fundraising & Fiscal Management

• Provide fiscal management and oversight for the organization in conjunction with the Treasurer, Accountant, and Fundraising/Finance Committee and monitor all accounting/fiscal policies and procedures in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices. This includes efficient use of funds to attain organizational goals and objectives in a fiscally responsible manner.

• Direct and oversee fundraising activities in collaboration with the Fundraising/Finance Committee and Board of Directors.  Included are fundraising appeals (direct mail and electronic), special events, donor cultivation (individuals, businesses, and organizations), donor stewardship, and solicitations.

• Oversee program application fees and tuition.

Outreach & Communications

• Foster and promote a positive image of Emerge Maine and its programs through external communications with the media, organizations, elected officials, the Democratic Party, and community leaders; for example, writing and distributing press releases for the new class.

• Manage Emerge Maine’s website, social media, and electronic communications.

Administration

• Ensure the Board of Directors is kept well-informed of organization programs, fiduciary position, relationship with Emerge America & affiliate programs, and legal obligations. This is achieved through monthly written updates, attendance at board meetings and retreats, and providing staff support for board committees.

• Manage all administrative functions for the organization, including regular IRS filings, working with the accountant, and ensuring compliance with state and federal requirements.

• Collaborate with Emerge America to obtain technical assistance, learn and share best practices, and stay abreast of mission-related trends.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities Required

• Google docs, NGP/VAN

• Familiarity with QuickBooks helpful

• Independent self-starter who is very organized and self-directed

• Ability to coordinate and manage multiple priorities at the same time

RSVP on Facebook!

We sure do. That’s why the League pushed for and won the right to use Ranked Choice Voting in Portland for the 2011 Mayoral race. Turns out, RCV was pretty gosh darned easy and resulted in Mayor Brennan’s election with a majority vote. Pretty rad right?

Now we have a chance to take the state of Maine into the 21st Century by passing one of four different Ranked Choice Voting bills that are being debated up at the State House this year.

On Monday, April 22nd, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee will be hearing a whole host of bills around this superior method of voting that requires a majority vote (51%) to win an election.

Obviously, Governor Lepage has a pretty strong incentive to veto any bill that would ensure his defeat in the 2014 gubernatorial race so the time has come to call on our legislators to raise the alarm and represent us on this issue by supporting just ONE of these four bills:

●      LD 1358 “An Act To Ammend The Election Laws To Require A Run-off Election for Governor”

●      LD 860 “An Act To Require that the Governor, Senators and Members of the House of Representatives Be Elected by the Ranked-Choice Voting Method”

●      LD 518 “An Act To Establish Ranked-choice Voting in the State”

●      LD 1219 “An Act to Establish a Run-off Process for the Election of the Governor, United States Sentaor or United States Representative”

These bills ensure that a majority vote elects our officials. Ranked choice voting is the best way to support a strong democracy and ensure that the voices of all voters are heard. Stand up and be counted to avoid another Lepage nightmare. Here are the two things we need you to do before Monday:

1. CALL your legislators now and tell them: Act now to support ranked choice voting!

2. Post this meme to your Facebook and Twitter and encourage your friends to do so too!

But here’s the thing: This is a pretty extreme proposal.

This budget proposal cuts many important services that sectors of our state need.

According to The Maine Municipal Association’s Preliminary Analysis of Governor LePage’s Proposed State Budget, $420 million will be stripped over the next two years, either from municipal government directly or from the property taxpayers that support municipal government. Revenue sharing could be completely gone.

The Maine Equal Justice Partners laid out a summary of the proposed budget. Here are some key points:
• Elimination of the Low Cost Drugs for the Elderly and Disabled Program (DEL)
• Deep Cut to Maine’s Medicare Savings Program (MSP)
• Elimination of State-funded Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Elderly and Disabled Legal Non-citizens
• Elimination of the Medically Needy Program for Seniors in Need of Private
Non-Medical Institutions (PNMIs)
• Elimination of General Assistance (GA) for Low-Income Families with Children that have reached the TANF 60-month time limit
• Reduction in Funding for Homeless Shelters
• Reduction in General Assistance Reimbursement for Certain Municipalities
• Elimination of 86% of the benefits under the current Maine Residents Property Tax and Rent Refund Program

These are not even all of the cuts being recommended.

LePage’s full proposal with some fun graphs and a heartfelt letter to us and the the 126th Legislature can be found here. This is not a proposal that will simply cut a small amount of funding from everywhere to help pay off our debts. This proposal will severely cut or completely get rid of a multitude of programs that service the people in our communities that need help the most.

Throughout history, Maine has been known for its independence, setting the bar for many political and social movements. Even the state’s motto Dirigo means “I lead”. Aside from being the state where the sun rises first, Maine was the 1st state to ban billboards, the 1st to establish a Department of Indian Affairs, as well as the 1st to provide laptops to all public school students. The following are 5 ways that Maine has changed the face of America:

Maine was the 1st state to approve same-sex marriage via voter referendum

Previously to 2012, six states had laws that allowed same-sex couples to marry.  All of them were passed through legislation; none of them were approved through ballot initiative.  In 2012, Maine voters were asked “Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?” Election night proved that majority of Mainers voted “Yes” marking the first time when same-sex marriage was approved by the people of a state through the ballot box.

Click the following link to learn more about equality in Maine.

Maine was the 1st state to ban the sale of alcoholic spirits

In 1815, the Total Abstinence Society was founded in Portland as the first group in the country dedicated to abstinence. After working for around a decade within the Maine political scene, the Society gained enough weight to push legislation. Under the leadership of Neal Dow, known worldwide as the Father of Prohibition, Maine passed the first law in the country that banned the sale alcohol except for “medical and mechanical” purposes in 1851. Known nationally as “the Maine Law”, the idea of Prohibition made it into the US Constitution with the implementation of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. Prohibition remained on the books for 15 years until it was repealed by the United States Congress in 1934.

Maine was the birthplace of the Republican Party

Founded on August 7, 1854 in Strong, Maine, the Republican Party emerged into national politics in the wake of arguments about Prohibition and the Abolition Movement. As one of the first people to shape the party, Hannibal Hamlin (once a Democrat) became the State’s first Republican governor, and then became the first Republican Vice President under Abraham Lincoln. James G. Blaine, who succeeded Hamlin as Maine’s prominent Republican figure, was also a governor of Maine, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, a US Senator, and Secretary of State for three Republican administrations.

Maine was the first state to adopt a Clean Elections system

In 1995, citizen groups across Maine joined together in solidarity to speak out against corrupted politics. They wanted a system in place where anyone could run for public office, and compete, without selling out to big money and special interest. The following year, Maine voters were asked to pass the Maine Clean Elections Act (MCEA) which would allow people to run modest campaigns using public dollars. Voters spoke up and passed the MCEA by a large margin. The first year the system was in place, half of the State Senate and one third of the House ran their campaigns without special interest money. In follow years, participation grew to 77% of the Senate and 55% of the House. Maine’s clean elections system has been cited as a model across the nation, as states try to figure out how to elect a government that more accurately reflects the will of their citizens.

Click on the following link to learn more about how you can protect Maine Clean Elections

Maine was the first state to implement a same-day voter registration policy

On May 25, 1973, Maine became the first state in the country to allow voters to register at polling stations on Election Day. Maine’s proud history of preserving voting rights remained unscathed for nearly four decades until a bill to repeal same-day voter registration was signed into law by Gov. Paul LePage. Fortunately, a coalition of progressive groups in the state (including the League of Young Voters) banned together to push a ballot initiative that would allow the people of Maine to veto the decision. Polling results concluded that 59% of Mainers wanted to keep their right to same-day voter registration, preserving our history of citizen-based policy.

If you want to be a part of Maine’s history, please contact the Maine League of Young Voters at YoungVoters207@Gmail.Com to learn more about how you can effect change!

Name: Brendan Farley

Current City: Buxton, Me

Why did you want to participate in Maine 101? I chose to take part in Portland 101 to find out how our city and towns function as a municipality.  Learning how different facets of how a city faces everyday issues is a fascinating process that many of us do not think about on a day to day basis.

What sessions are you most excited about and why?  I was most excited about the visit to EcoMaine.  I found EcoMaine to be the most interesting because many of us don’t think about where our everyday waste goes and is deposited.  With a growing population, waste management will be vital to the health of our environment and our people.  Sanitation will be so essential to our growing world, whether it is with clean water, reusable goods, or waste energy production.  EcoMaine is providing a great service that trends towards a more sustainable way municipalities can dispose of trash, and in turn gain cheaper electricity.

What have you learned by participating?  I have learned that a municipality is a very intricate, detailed machine that is driven by the participation of people who care for it.  Officials may get elected, or employees hired, to work for the community, however without the passion of the public nothing worthwhile will get done.

Anything else you’d like to share about the program?  I would just urge everybody to become more aware of the great responsibility we all have to support our community, and also to really think about how new laws and legislation, or elected officials affect how we live.

Name:  Megan Guynes

Current City:  Lewiston

What have you learned by participating? I have gained a deeper understanding of some of the policies and politics that govern our community. There are many people in positions of authority and varying organizations that make it possible for our city to function as efficiently as possible. It was interesting to discover how all these different people and organizations work together in order to make that happen.

Anything else you’d like to share about the program? It is a valuable experience. One is able to learn and explore the ways in which our cities are run. Not only that, there are so many amazing people we get to meet and converse with. We are able to interact with public officials and the varying individuals who may come to speak, and we also have a unique opportunity to get to know the other members who are participating as well. This is a great outlet to experience diversity and people from so many different walks of life.