Today Jan 9 Rally Of Unity Greets Legislators In Capitol #mepolitics

One of today's speakers, Nicole Moreau, spoke March 20, 2012 in the Hall of Flags

about the burden of student debt her generation.

******FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE******

January 9, 2014; 1pm

Hall of Flags, State House, Augusta

Contact: Meg Gilmartin

Phone: 495.3648

Email: meg.gilmartin4@gmail.com

YOUNG PEOPLE SPEAK OUT AT SECOND ANNUAL RALLY OF UNITY

Augusta -- Today over a hundred Maine citizens and representatives from over twenty organizations are joining forces at the State House's Hall of Flags for the second annual Rally of Unity. This year's theme is Young People Speak Out; featuring Maine's youth, voicing their concerns, hopes, and the need for unity. Following the rally attendees will lobby their legislators about specific bills during this emergency session.

The Rally of Unity is a collaborative demonstration of the Alliance for Common Good, an ad-hoc coalition of over 20 environmental and social justice groups assembling as a unified front to give voice to the majority of Maine people and to push back against corporate dominance in government, with hopes to organize into the future. All individuals and groups are unified under the principles of: Maine Money and Resources for People, not Corporations; A Maine Economy that Protects the Environment; and, Money Out of Politics.

The Rally of Unity features a diverse group of organizations and issues from across the political spectrum bringing Maine people's opinions to their legislators. Some issues highlighted include divestment from fossil fuels, South Portland's fight to stop tar sands transport, Nestle's water extraction in Fryeburg, amending the constitution to give people more rights than corporations, stopping the East-West Corridor, health care for all, and more.

“With partisanship rapidly destroying our political system, it is important for Maine people to unify around what we believe in and start taking action together. Big corporations and the government are complicit with each other, so solving problems is not as simple as electing an official to meet our needs. Neither entity is acting in the best interest of Maine's people,” stated Meg Gilmartin, an Alliance for Common Good spokesperson.

“Last year's Rally of Unity brought together people from all over Maine concerned about the future of our state," said Lisa Savage, co-coordinator of the Bring Our War $$ Home campaign. Corporate control of government means budget cuts that close the only homeless shelter for teens in Somerset County, meanwhile giving tax breaks to already wealthy corporations like General Dynamics. We need to speak up to let our legislators know our priorities."

“This year at the Rally of Unity, we are looking to our youth as our leaders in the fight to end the transnational corporate dominance that is eroding the values of our state and causing divisions in our communities," said Chris Buchanan, one of the events organizers and speakers, representing Stop the East-West Corridor and Defending Water for Life in Maine. "It is young people that will have to live with the choices that are being made today, and they have excellent ideas about how to address these issues."

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My note: The Alliance for the Common Good currently includes:

350 Maine, Artists Rapid Response Team, Alliance for Democracy, American Friends Service Committee, Americans Who Tell the Truth, Bring Our War $$ Home, citizens of the Penobscot Nation, CodePink, Community Water Justice, Defending Water for Life, Don’t Waste ME, Food for Maine’s Future, Forest Ecology Network, Global Network, anti-industrial wind activists, Maine EarthFirst!, Maine Greens, Maine Peace Action Committee, Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Occupy groups statewide, Pax Christi Maine, Peace Action Maine, Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Peninsula Peace and Justice, Pine Tree Youth Organizing, Resources for Organizing and Social Change, Stop the East-West Corridor, We the People Maine