Friday, December 18, 2009

Maine House Republican Jim Campbell Drops Party Affiliation


Minority Republicans in the Maine House have lost a member. Rep. Jim Campbell of Newfield said Thursday he's withdrawn from the Republican Party and will become the only legislator with no party affiliation. That leaves the House with 95 Democrats, 55 Republicans and one unenrolled or independent member. The Senate also is controlled by Democrats.Campbell said his move was a long time coming. He said he's frustrated with the Republican Party in Maine and nationally for failing to address the health care crisis in a meaningful way.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

BALDACCI MAY HAVE FOUND A WAY TO DECENTRALIZE EDUCATION WITHOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS


One of the curious things about the charter school movement - and one that hints of its anti-union subtext - has been the small number of public schools that have been turned into charters within the system. If the system works so well for private corporations that run charters, why not for public schools as well? Maine, which has resisted charter schools may be moving towards this under-used option as this story recounts

Kennebec Journal, ME - The Baldacci administration is drafting legislation to allow schools in Maine that have more autonomy over their budget, curriculum, staffing and scheduling than traditional public schools.

The move to allow so-called innovative schools would stop short of legalizing charter schools, while potentially boosting Maine's standing in a national competition for $4 billion in education innovation money.

Gov. John Baldacci will introduce a bill this winter that provides a way for school boards to open or transform existing schools into innovative schools, according to state education officials.

Administrators in these schools would have increased flexibility to hire the teachers they want and have others reassigned to different district schools. The administrators would also have increased control over budgets, more freedom to design curriculum and flexibility to stray from the traditional, six-hour school day and 175-day academic year.

In exchange, those schools would have to demonstrate to the school boards that authorize them that they are raising student achievement. . . More...

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

By Matthew Gagnon on Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Susan Collins Refuses To Support Senate Healthcare Bill

We have been saying Collins was a no on this bill for a long time now, but we are not beginning to see the Senator herself more or less confirm this.

In today’s Washington Examiner, Collins told Byron York that she believes this bill is simply too flawed for her to support, and her continued activity on the bill is more a matter of trying to improve it as much as possible, even if it won’t ultimately get her support.

Collins:

“I don’t see voting for the current bill that is on the floor, even with the improvements that have been made,” Collins said. “I’m very leery of the impact of nearly $500 billion in Medicare cuts, particularly the cuts in home health care, which are completely counterproductive to the goal of lowering costs.”

More...

Question 1 group eyes lawmakers in next election

By Kevin Miller
BDN Staff

AUGUSTA, Maine — The national group that contributed more than $1.5 million to overturn Maine’s same-sex marriage law now hopes to influence next year’s elections for the State House.

The National Organization for Marriage has indicated in court filings that it plans to make gay marriage an issue in the coming races for governor and legislative seats. The organization would apparently target legislators who voted in support of a same-sex marriage bill that was ultimately repealed by voters.

Officials of the National Organization for Marriage could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But the organization has filed sample political materials in a court case stemming from its hefty financial involvement in the recent same-sex marriage campaign.

In one example of a broadcast ad, the organization accuses a “Candidate X” of “slamming supporters of traditional marriage” during the gay marriage campaign and then receiving donations from the same groups behind the push to legalize same-sex marriage.

“Even after voters rejected same-sex marriage, these backers say they will continue to push the issue,” reads the text of the hypothetical ad. “Call Candidate X and tell him-her to respect the decision of voters. Let him-her know it’s wrong to accept money from special interest groups backing same-sex marriage and that it’s time to stop pushing to redefine marriage in Maine.”

House Speaker Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, said she isn’t overly concerned about the National Organization for Marriage’s potential involvement in the 2010 legislative races. She predicted that some voters will be turned off by the organization’s refusal, to date, to disclose the identity of its donors.

“I don’t think that Maine voters are one-issue voters,” said Pingree, who campaigned to defend Maine’s same-sex marriage law. “Clearly, Maine voters were very, very split on this question of marriage equality.”

Despite a significant financial advantage and considerable momentum in the final days of the campaign, the effort to defend Maine’s same-sex marriage law ultimately lost 47 percent to 53 percent in the Nov. 3 vote.

Pingree said she has no doubt some Republican challengers will bring up Democrats’ vote in support of the same-sex marriage bill during the upcoming campaigns. But she believes Mainers are more interested in issues such as the economy, jobs and energy.

“I’m sure this issue will get heated in some districts,” said Pingree, who is prevented by term limits from running again in the House. “I don’t think it will have a significant impact overall in the House legislative races.”

Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster also questioned how much influence the National Organization for Marriage or any other out-of-state organization can have on candidate elections in Maine.

Webster said he is not recruiting GOP candidates based on the gay marriage issue. But incumbents’ record of representing the political will of the majority of voters in their district is important in legislative races, he said.

Webster and other GOP leaders are hoping to cash in on any opposition to the recent tax restructuring plan approved by the Democrat-controlled Legislature. Maine voters are slated to decide this June whether to uphold or overturn the new tax law, which reduces the income tax rate for the vast majority of residents while ap-plying the sales tax to more goods and services and increasing the meals and lodging tax.

“Frankly, it will defeat more Democrats than gay marriage will, in my opinion,” Webster said.

The intentions of the National Organization for Marriage to stay involved in Maine politics came to light as part of a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Portland focusing on the substantial financial role that the organization played in defeating same-sex marriage at the polls on Nov. 3.

The organization donated at least $1.6 million to Stand for Marriage Maine, accounting for more than half of the campaign’s contributions as of late October, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state. Total contributions for both sides of the campaign won’t be available until next week. More...

Maine Government News