Monthly Archives: November 2018

Job one for new lawmakers is to get more young people to Maine

Dear Members of the 129th Maine Legislature, On Wednesday, Dec. 5, you will raise your right hand and swear an oath to the Constitutions of the United States and Maine. Then, it’s official. You will hold the office to which you were elected. And the real work will begin. Maine is in an interesting place. […]

Can we make the next election better?

Are you ready for the next election? No, I’m not talking about 2020 and the chaos of a presidential year. To all of our chagrin, that will start far too soon. Rather, the next election is the “secret” race for Maine’s constitutional offices. We’re an outlier in the United States. Our attorney general, secretary of […]

Democrats won, but voters still hate taxes

For all the (not incorrect) talk about “blue waves” and “Republican rebukes” in the election results, there is one undertow which has been under-reported: Voters still hate taxes. In Maine, one of the biggest winners on Nov. 6 was not Angus King. Or Chellie Pingree. Or Janet Mills. It was the “No on 1” campaign, […]

How service in Afghanistan reminded me that voting is awesome

With the exception of the 2nd Congressional District, the election is now over in Maine. Plenty has been — and will be — written about the “meaning” of the results. But whatever meaning people derive from the results, we are about to witness one of the most miraculous aspects of American democracy: a peaceful transition […]

Divide the government and get things done

“As Maine goes …” The famous saying may have new meaning. Democrats will probably take the U.S. House of Representatives and hold the Maine House. Both here and in Washington, the Senate will be balanced on a knife’s edge. And the executive branch is definitely going to be led by a Republican in D.C., while […]