I write this blog to keep my head from exploding when considering the news of the day. Now I've embarked on a new project that is consuming all my free time, leaving little room for keeping up with the news and even less for blogging.
My friend, organizer Bruce Gagnon, sold me on exploring a run for the U.S. Senate aimed at unseating Susan Collins under Maine's new system of ranked choice voting. (New for Maine and the U.S., that is -- Australia has used a form of RCV since 1947.) One of Bruce's many persuasive arguments was that the project would be fun. Hmmm...
I am insanely busy now as I remain employed as an educator in a very small, very poor school district in Maine's 2nd District. You know, the one where incumbent Bruce Poliquin was unseated under RCV in the last election. When the very unpopular Congressman Poliquin became notorious for hiding from constituents and the press, he failed to win a majority of votes. The rest is history.
If you think Senator Susan Collins and her corporate sponsors aren't paying attention to RCV's potential to do the same to her, think again.
Yesterday in Augusta we gathered together a core group of early supporters for our campaign, and that actually was fun. The extent to which a campaign is a team sport is becoming increasingly clear to me and, wow, I am on a great team.
Wise hearts and minds coupled with a Maine work ethic is a hard combination to beat.
A remark I made at the podium yesterday that resonated with the audience: The artists are with us, and so we will win!
William Hessian, Russell Wray (conversion banner above) and Natasha Mayers have all contributed to the campaign effort thus far and we are the richer for it.
Natasha made placards to illustrate many of the key goals of the campaign: a Green New Deal to create good union jobs tackling climate change, Medicare for All, and quality education including free public higher education without debt.
Augusta was a sentimental choice for my pre-announcement campaign event. My grandfather Brooks Elliott Savage served in the Maine Senate and House for many years. He remained friends with his high school classmate Margaret Chase Smith after she went to represent Maine in Congress.
His son, my father Mark Elliott Savage, was running to represent Skowhegan in the Maine House when he died in 1988.
I'm an 8th generation Mainer, yet none of my adult children live here -- because the jobs they need to pay back their student loans are to be found in other places.
A member of the millennial generation who wandered by the Lithgow Public Library yesterday and joined our discussion spoke of the intense economic pressure he experiences just to keep a roof over his head. A graduate of USM, he spends a whopping 70% of his income on housing. Fletcha expressed that he was disgusted with "trust fund politicians" who don't care about the struggles of common people in Maine. Our note taker Mary Beth Sullivan did a great job of capturing his concerns to inform our campaign going forward.
As I listened to Fletcha, I reflected how I had often heard similar expressions during the Occupy movement. That is, before it was violently evicted from public spaces by a coordinated effort of officials advised by the Obama administration.
I still hear the parents and grandparents of students at my school expressing their struggles to survive in a harsh economy that works best for the already wealthy. As it was designed to do.
I'm ready to stand up for the power of the people and to push back against the rich corporations that have taken over our government.
Are you with us?
My friend, organizer Bruce Gagnon, sold me on exploring a run for the U.S. Senate aimed at unseating Susan Collins under Maine's new system of ranked choice voting. (New for Maine and the U.S., that is -- Australia has used a form of RCV since 1947.) One of Bruce's many persuasive arguments was that the project would be fun. Hmmm...
I am insanely busy now as I remain employed as an educator in a very small, very poor school district in Maine's 2nd District. You know, the one where incumbent Bruce Poliquin was unseated under RCV in the last election. When the very unpopular Congressman Poliquin became notorious for hiding from constituents and the press, he failed to win a majority of votes. The rest is history.
If you think Senator Susan Collins and her corporate sponsors aren't paying attention to RCV's potential to do the same to her, think again.
Yesterday in Augusta we gathered together a core group of early supporters for our campaign, and that actually was fun. The extent to which a campaign is a team sport is becoming increasingly clear to me and, wow, I am on a great team.
 |
| Photo credit: Peter Woodruff |
 |
| Photo credit: Peter Woodruff |
Wise hearts and minds coupled with a Maine work ethic is a hard combination to beat.
A remark I made at the podium yesterday that resonated with the audience: The artists are with us, and so we will win!
 |
| credit: William Hessian |
Natasha made placards to illustrate many of the key goals of the campaign: a Green New Deal to create good union jobs tackling climate change, Medicare for All, and quality education including free public higher education without debt.
Augusta was a sentimental choice for my pre-announcement campaign event. My grandfather Brooks Elliott Savage served in the Maine Senate and House for many years. He remained friends with his high school classmate Margaret Chase Smith after she went to represent Maine in Congress.
 |
| A photo from my family's collection -- my grandfather is the tall boy with a hat and fake whiskers -- also on display at the Margaret Chase Smith Library. I believe Senator Smith is front and center in this photograph: "1916: Graduates from Skowhegan High School. Senior Play, Class of 1916, Skowhegan High School" |
His son, my father Mark Elliott Savage, was running to represent Skowhegan in the Maine House when he died in 1988.
I'm an 8th generation Mainer, yet none of my adult children live here -- because the jobs they need to pay back their student loans are to be found in other places.
A member of the millennial generation who wandered by the Lithgow Public Library yesterday and joined our discussion spoke of the intense economic pressure he experiences just to keep a roof over his head. A graduate of USM, he spends a whopping 70% of his income on housing. Fletcha expressed that he was disgusted with "trust fund politicians" who don't care about the struggles of common people in Maine. Our note taker Mary Beth Sullivan did a great job of capturing his concerns to inform our campaign going forward.
As I listened to Fletcha, I reflected how I had often heard similar expressions during the Occupy movement. That is, before it was violently evicted from public spaces by a coordinated effort of officials advised by the Obama administration.
I still hear the parents and grandparents of students at my school expressing their struggles to survive in a harsh economy that works best for the already wealthy. As it was designed to do.
I'm ready to stand up for the power of the people and to push back against the rich corporations that have taken over our government.
Are you with us?
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