Corporate Welfare For General Dynamics? Maine Voters Say NO To LD1781 As Bill Sponsors Scramble To Amend

We are hearing from Maine voters who have contacted their reps in the legislature that the tax giveaway bill for General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works, LD1781, is stalled in committee, and its sponsors are scrambling to draft amendments making it more palatable.

The bill's $60 million price tag is very similar to some other pressing needs in Maine: a Medicare expansion that voters passed in November requires around $54 million to access more than half a billion in federal health care funds.

Also, bringing Maine's aging bridges up to code is estimated to cost around $60 million.

We are hearing now from voters across the state that their reps are expressing reluctance to vote for a tax giveaway to wealthy corporation General Dynamics. Was it GD's $6.8 billion cash offer to buy another government contractor that did it? Or their years of stock buybacks? Or paying their CEO $21 million last year?

Bruce Gagnon and Mary Beth Sullivan in Bath this week.

Regular people in Maine need all the relief they can get. I hope Mainers will continue to contact their legislators to let them know that General Dynamics does not need corporate welfare. Spending $60 million on fixing our bridges or providing health care for low income people should be our priorities.

Bruce Gagnon is on day four of an open-ended hunger strike to defeat LD1781. He actually had a conversation with BIW vice president John "For us to be punished because our owner has capital seems unjust!" Fitzgerald yesterday, which he reports back on here.

While the bill is tabled in the taxation committee, BIW announced it is laying off electricians; despite already receiving generous tax breaks from both the state and the city of Bath.

So who is actually being punished by General Dynamics' insatiable greed for $$$$$$$$$ ?

Cover story on the bollard magazine out of Portland, Maine for February has the best headline ever! "Ship of Fools: Tax breaks for BIW, WW3 for us." Get your copy now while they're still available. #mepolitics pic.twitter.com/wuDTsaokk3

— Lisa Savage (@NaturalGuard) February 4, 2018

Meanwhile, I will continue collecting op-eds and letters to the editor from opponents of LD1781, and listing the names of those who have joined Bruce's so-called "one man band" (another gem from Fitzgerald in an email to bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer DeChant).

Here's the current tally as of this morning. Note: I know there have been many more letters published, but these are the ones I can find online links for; if you know of others, please paste a link in comments.

No tax handouts for General Dynamic by Rob Shetterly (Bangor Daily News 2/15/18)

Op-ed: An opportunity for choosing people over profit by Rosalie Paul (Times Record 2/14/18)

Corporate welfare for GD by Karen Wainberg (Times Record 2/13/18)

Safety on our highways trumps BIW tax break by Cushman Anthony (Portland Press Herald 2/13/18)
Corporate Welfare for General Dynamics by Russell Wray (Sun Journal 2/11/18)

Sounding Off Against BIW Tax Credit by Susan Cook (Times Record 1/31/18)

The Right Thing by Eric Herter (Times Record  2/9/18)

Tax break for BIW by Jim Anderberg (Lewiston Sun Journal 2/2/18)

No tax giveaways for General Dynamics by Leslie Manning (Bangor Daily News 1/30/18)

No need for Maine taxpayers to subsidize BIW by Mary Beth Sullivan (Portland Press Herald 1/28/18)

General Dynamics doesn't need tax handouts by Robert Hayes (Bangor Daily News 1/25/18)

No Tax Giveaway for General Dynamics by Mark Roman (Morning Sentinel 1/18/18)

General Dynamics has asked for enough money by Peter Morgan (Portland Press Herald 1/3/18)

No more handouts for General Dynamics by Dud Hendricks (Bangor Daily News 12/25/17)

No More Tax Breaks for General Dynamics and BIW by Lisa Savage (Kennebec Journal 12/3/17)

Individuals in Maine opposed to LD1781:

1. David Fortier
2. John Peck
3. Peter Garrett
4. Don Kimball
5. Pasha Huntington
6. Connie Jenkins
7. Peter Zack
8. Katharine Giovanella Chaiklin
9. P. Amy Carr
10. Michael Cutting
11. Robin Farrin
12. Seth Wigderson
13. Ursula Slavick
14. William Slavick
15. Karen Marysdaughter
16. Bob Klotz
17. Starr Gilmartin
18. Brian Pulling
19. Jeffrey Evangelos
20. Dixie Searway
21. Dan Marks
22. Sophia Bahlko
23. Jon Olsen
24. Nancy Allen
25. Lynne Williams
26. Joseph de Rivera
27. Mike Michalski
28. Susan Cook
29. Jacqui Deveneau
30. Sue Pastore
31. Ridgely Fuller
32. Meredith Bruskin
33. Deborah Capwell
34. Janet Caldwell
35. Lisa Burke
36. Rosalie Paul
37. Dud Hendrick
38. Brown Lethem
39. Robert Walter
40. Suzanne Hedrick
41. Denny Dreher
42. Sally Chappell
43. Thankful Butler
44. Alice Bostridge
45. Doug Rawlings
46. Joe Ciarrocca
47. Pat Taub
48. Selma Sternlieb
49. Dan Ellis
50. Judy Robbins
51. Peter Robbins
52. Jim Anderberg
53. Ginny Schneider
54. Orlando Delogu
55. Christine DeTroy
56. Bernard Huebner
57. Lynn Bradbury
58. Eric Herter
59. Patsy Messier
60. Mary Luby
61. Carol Huntington
62. Ann E. Ruthsdottir
63. Eliot Morgan
64. Julie Keller Pease
65. Mary Beth Sullivan
66. Karen Wainberg
67. Mary Donnelly
68. Peter Morgan
69. Peter Woodruff
70. Regis Tremblay
71. Mark Roman
72. Lisa Savage
73. Jason Rawn
74. Russell Wray
75. Jessica Stewart
76. Natasha Mayers
77. Bob Dale
78. Jeff Evangelos
79. and "one man band" Bruce Gagnon

Organizations opposing LD1781

1. 350 Maine
2. Americans Who Tell the Truth (Brooksville)
3. COAST (Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats, Hancock)
4. Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space (Bath)
5. Greater Brunswick PeaceWorks
6. Green Horizon Magazine (Topsham)
7. Island Peace & Justice (Deer Isle)
8. Maine Green Independent Party
9. Maine Natural Guard (Solon)
10. Maine Veterans For Peace
11. Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center (Portland)
12. Maine Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (Brunswick)
13. Peace Action Maine (Portland)
14. Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine (Bangor)
15. Peace & Justice Group of Waldo County
16. Peninsula Peace & Justice Center (Blue Hill)
17. Resources for Organizing & Social Change (Augusta)

Now I will go ahead and send this updated information to the members of the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation, their clerk, and the bill's sponsors. 

You can, too. Here's a handy copy and paste list of their email addresses:

Dana.Dow@legislature.maine.gov, Andre.Cushing@legislature.maine.gov, Ryan.Tipping@legislature.maine.gov, Justin.Chenette@legislature.maine.gov, Denise.Tepler@legislature.maine.gov, Stephen.Stanley@legislature.maine.gov, Gay.Grant@legislature.maine.gov, Janice.Cooper@legislature.maine.gov, Maureen.Terry@legislature.maine.gov, Gary.Hilliard@legislature.maine.gov, Matt.Pouliot@legislature.maine.gov, Bruce.Bickford@legislature.maine.gov, Jennifer.DeChant@legislature.maine.gov, Sara.Gideon@legislature.maine.gov, Senatorjackson1@gmail.com, Jeffrey.Pierce@legislature.maine.gov, Eleanor.Espling@legislature.maine.gov, Michael.Thibodeau@legislature.maine.gov, Garrett.Mason@legislature.maine.gov, Eloise.Vitelli@legislature.maine.gov, Kenneth.Fredette@legislature.maine.gov

Trial Family, I Love You #Aegis9

Aegis 9 trial family, I love you. (Ok, one of you is my husband, tireless peaceworker Mark Roman. More on him in a minute.)

After spending the day with you all in a small room at the West Bath District Court, I can honestly say I love you even more. We were there doing jury selection for our trial for alleged criminal trespass at General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works shipyard. How fun is that? A lot more fun than you might think if you're in a room with the right people.

We laughed, we snacked, we worked and, most of all, we cooperated. This is my idea of a blessed community.

Here are the Aegis 9 trial family members as seen through my eyes.



Bob Dale is at the center of the photo above, wearing a blue jacket and holding two walking sticks. Bob wrote this powerful piece "Hudner Protest - A Veteran's Perspective" for the local Times Record about flying a nuclear-capable plane carrying bombs targeting China when he was a Navy pilot in 1953. Now a member of Veterans for Peace, he had this to say about why he was standing in a snowstorm with the rest of us:

We certainly hope to see BIW employees remain gainfully employed. They have the skills to create a more peaceful world, one in which we all can thrive.

This is my love, Mark Roman, reading to our grandson Elliot. Mark did not go in the military but avoided the draft during the Vietnam War by gaining a 4F (physically unfit) designation which card he still proudly displays in his woodworking shop. Mark was active in nuclear power resistance long before I met him on a freezing bridge in February, 2003 protesting the war on Iraq. We have been together ever since. Last summer he was featured in the Morning Sentinel/Kennebec Journal protesting white supremacy after the attacks on people of color in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

You can see some of Mark's delightful design work here: Mark Roman Design.

This is the artist Natasha Mayers. She may be smiling because she is about to get out of the cold and into a warm police van. She is no longer wearing her great BIW carbon footprint sign with its message of the need for conversion to building sustainable energy solutions rather than weapons of mass destruction. Natasha has had an amazing career applying her considerable talents to communicate, often humorously, with the general public. She is a leading force behind the Union of Maine Visual Artists' Rapid Response Team (ARRT!) which has produced many great banners used at BIW over the years.

She is the subject of an upcoming documentary film, Natasha Mayers: An Un-still Life, which you can see a trailer for and support here.



An-gas, aka Jason Rawn, is a tireless communicator who never stops thinking of new ways to alert the public to environmental crisis brought on by corporate government. At our arrest he was channeling one Maine senator, Angus King, while I was channeling Susan Collins. 



Both of us decided to wear corporate logos to indicate how senators are enriched by General Dynamics and in turn make sure the contracts for building weapons continue to flow.

Jason is a permaculture worker, a singer-songwriter for the movement, and a tireless international traveler for peace. This is one of my favorite recent designs by Jason:

Jessica Stewart is the courageous mom who drove hours down the flooded coast the day after "Bombogenesis" with her kids who had a second storm-related day off school.

Jessica is a Catholic Worker who has been part of many civil disobedience actions, sometimes being arrested and at other times providing paralegal support. She runs half marathons in her spare time (haha). Here's a poem she shared online this week with the comment "Happy Three Kings Day!":

WISE WOMEN ALSO CAME by Jan L. Richardson 

Wise women also came.
The fire burned in their wombs long before they saw the flaming star in the sky.
They walked in shadows, trusting the path would open under the light of the moon.

Wise women also came, seeking no directions, no permission from any king.
They came by their own authority, their own desire, their own longing.
They came in quiet, spreading no rumours, sparking no fears to lead to innocents' slaughter,
to their sister Rachel's inconsolable lamentations.

Wise women also came, and they brought useful gifts:
water for labour's washing, fire for warm illumination, a blanket for swaddling.

Wise women also came, at least three of them,
holding Mary in the labour,
crying out with her in the birth pangs,
breathing ancient blessings into her ear.

Wise women also came, and they went, as wise women always do, home a different way.

from Night Visions: searching for shadows of advent and christmas, 1998: United Church Press

Russell Wray is the creator of many fine works of art that advocate for the living creatures of the ocean who are harmed by military activity. When arrested with the #Zumwalt12 at a previous warship launch in Bath, he was wearing a hat shaped like a dolphin.

He created the banners for the last two Maine Peace Walks, and he created the banner below for a recent trip to Okinawa with the Veterans for Peace solidarity delegation. 

Russell's love for all creation shines through everything he does. You can see more of his art here.

Bruce Gagnon is a dear friend we've organized with and protested with many times. He lives in Bath intentionally and organizes with locals including workers at the shipyard to bring the good news of conversion as a path forward. (You can see me interview him here.) 

Bruce is a member of Veterans for Peace and also plays a key role in international organizing for peace as coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. He will be speaking at the upcoming Conference on U.S. Foreign Military Bases next week in Maryland.

Mike Tork is the Aegis 9 member I know least well, partly because he is from Cape Cod and doesn't get to Maine that often. Mike was absent from our arraignment last summer because he was in Arizona helping with preparation for the Border Encuentro (gathering) organized by School of the Americas Watch. He missed jury selection this week for health reasons. Mike was in the Navy during the Vietnam War and now he is active with Veterans for Peace.

You can see him interviewed here for VFP's action at the Vietnam Memorial wall in Washington DC last May.

Logan E. Perkins, Perkins Law Office, logan@belfastcriminallaw.com

Last but certainly not least, no account of our trial family would be complete without mentioning our awesome pro bono counsel. Attorney Logan Perkins of Belfast specializes in criminal law and has a particular interest in defending those involved in nonviolent civil disobedience. She is representing me and two other Aegis 9 defendants, and advising the group as a whole (six will go pro se i.e. will represent themselves.)

Logan was lively, knowledgeable, smart and strategic at jury selection, guiding us through what can be a bewildering process and helping us focus on picking the best jurors possible. I feel incredibly lucky to have her on our side.

A shout out also to our jail and now trial supporter Peter Morgan. Peter was there for us in April with bail, and has been there for us in court with a warm smile, logistical support and always carrying forward a positive message:  his VETERANS FOR PEACE" sweatshirt emblazoned with "MAINE PEACE WALK" - "For Conversion, Community, and Climate."

And no peace action in Bath is complete without Bruce's partner Mary Beth Sullivan, who appeared toward the end of our day in court. Her warm smile and intelligent vision are beacons of light and hope in what can be a cold, dark world.

Our supporters are also cherished and important members of our trial family, and we love them! 

We welcome your support when the State of Maine v. Robert L. Dale, et al. trial begins on February 1 in Sagadahoc County Superior Court at 752 High St., Bath, Maine.

Susan Collins Brags To Me About Her Vote For Tax Law To Benefit General Dynamics

Not only Congress but also the Maine Legislature is pressured by General Dynamics to provide tax relief. Maine Democrats Rep. Jennifer DeChant and Sen. Eloise Vitelli are sponsoring a bill to give GD $60 million from state coffers this year  --  because servicing corporations is a thoroughly bipartisan affair.

Maine's senators are wealthy people. Senator Susan Collins has just sent me a long email explaining why I should be delighted that she helped pass a tax bill that 78% of her constituents responding to a poll in the Bangor Daily News said will not benefit them.


Most of us allegedly represented by Collins are not at all wealthy, and her claim that we will benefit under the new tax laws is only true in the very short term.


Long term, the already wealthy will become much, much wealthier. In Collins' letter these are known as employers, and she is proud of talking to them:

How the legislation treats employers has been the subject of much debate, but the reality is that the United States cannot continue to have the highest corporate tax rate in the world at 35 percent.  We are losing jobs.  I talked to General Dynamics, which owns Bath Iron Works; United Technology, which employs over 1,900 people at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick; General Electric, which has a major plant in Bangor; Procter & Gamble, which employs 400 workers in Auburn; and Idexx, an important high-tech employer in Westbrook, about the positive difference the new law will make in their ability to create jobs in Maine.  Indeed, on the day Congress sent the bill to the President, Cianbro Corporation announced it intends to hire an additional 300 people next year.

 ("Talking" here means finding out what they want her to do in exchange for massive campaign contributions these corporations have and will continue to make.)

Graph from a Providence Journal article by Alex Nunes "Defense firms spend big on lucrative stock buybacks" 12/3/17

Maine is indeed losing jobs, because corporations like General Dynamics use their extra cash from tax relief to buy back their own stock and to provide massive salaries and bonuses to their CEOs. They do not use tax relief to create jobs (nor are they paying taxes at 30%) despite their claims to the contrary.



Mainer Michael Anthony calculated that "$60 million in proposed tax cuts is the equivalent of rewarding BIW $375,000 for every job they cut last year."

I spent the day in Sagadahoc County court yesterday with my trial family, the Aegis 9, who were arrested last April protesting at BIW. We stood nonviolently with our messages intended for senators and other dignitaries being whisked through the gates in limousines, and as a result were charged with criminal trespass. Our messages were not allowed into the public relations event "christening" another warship that the U.S. does not need, while 43,000 children in Maine are living in poverty.

I could take my concerns to Maine's other senator, the allegedly moderate, independent Angus King.

But I have to work. Also, this school teacher doesn't have $1,000 to take a "really inexpensive cruise" with the senator and his corporate cronies.

The organizer of Senator King's fundraising event also brags on his website about his skill in "talking" to lawmakers, because this is how the sausage gets made in Washington.

But who opens doors for the approximately 20,000 Maine children in deep poverty currently enduring weeks of subzero temperatures? 

For this reason, and so many more:

Onward, Kleptocracy: General Dynamics Writes Your Tax Legislation

General Dynamics and its lawyers are busy "helping" representatives in Maine write tax legislation to benefit their bottom line. Here I share the report back of tireless peace organizer Mary Beth Sullivan about her meeting December 21 with legislators promoting a big tax break for this mega wealthy corporation (it paid its CEO $21 million last year).

Also the opinion of a former member of the Maine legislature that the meeting MB attended was illegal on several counts.

I have added the bold emphasis, and the contact information for two Maine legislators.

Former Rep. Jeff Evangelos is of the opinion that any meeting concerning tax legislation is public in nature, and may be videotaped or otherwise recorded.

See his comments below Mary Beth's. Note that BIW means Bath Iron Works, which is owned by the General Dynamics corporation.

It has been reported in newspapers that State Representative Jennifer DeChant is submitting a bill in this legislative season to provide a $60 million tax subsidy to BIW over the next 20 years.  This Bill would extend Maine's Shipbuilding Facilities Credit which has delivered BIW an annual $3.5 million subsidy since the 1990s. 

When she received correspondences opposing this bill, she invited people to her home for a meeting to discuss this bill.  She then changed the venue to the Bath Library, then changed it again to City Hall. 

The meeting took place on Thurs, Dec 21. Besides myself and State Rep. Jennifer DeChant, the following people were there: State Sen. Louise Vitelli (who will be a Senate sponsor of the bill), Brown Lethem, Karen Wainberg, Jerry Provencher, Gary Anderson, Lisa Ledwidg, Lou Ensel ~ and two VFP members who don't live in Bath, John Morris and Peter Morgan. 

Martha Spiess showed up early to videotape the event, and Jennifer did not allow that to happen, so Martha left. 

I did not know that occurred until I got home and read Martha's email.  I'm sorry that happened. 

Jennifer reported that she did not intend for this to be a public meeting; she intended an “informal meeting.” She also reported that she is willing to hold a “public meeting” anytime. I disagree that a meeting held with constituents about pending legislation is something less than public. Transparency should be at the heart of a democratic process. I heard nothing in that meeting that an audience of Mainers would not benefit from knowing.  

State Representative Jennifer DeChant

Home Telephone: (207) 442-8486

Jennifer.DeChant@legislature.maine.gov

Jennifer ran the meeting.  As I understood the basics:  she was asked by a constituent (BIW) to submit a bill to allow BIW to continue to receiving the tax break it has been receiving for the last 20 years. She agreed. The language for the bill is being written; it is in the legislature's Revisor's Office;

BIW lawyers are assisting in drafting the language; 

it is important to her that language using some of these dollars training is in the bill. 

State Senator Eloise Vitelli
Home Phone: (207) 443-4660
Eloise.Vitelli@legislature.maine.gov

Jennifer and Louise described that the process is this:  the bill's language will be completed soon.  The Taxation Committee will take it up, and hold a public hearing.  By law, the Taxation Committee needs to hold a public hearing, and give a 10-day notice to the public. When people come to the hearing, they can speak for three minutes on the bill and submit something in writing to the committee. The next step is a work session.  The public is allowed to attend, but not to speak or participate.  Then, if it passed out of committee, the bill goes to the floor. If passed, it goes to the Governor to sign. 

I perceived the conversation that ensued as civil, lively, honest and blunt. Many of those attending had many questions, and expressed opposition to the bill.  My notes cannot do justice to the great questions and concerns that were expressed; I urge those who attended to add to this email any of the important exchanges that should be shared. 

We were urged to pay attention to the Taxation Committee agenda (Jennifer said we could sign up as friends of the taxation committee to be apprised by email of when the hearings will happen) and to show up at the hearing to express our opposition.  Jennifer also urged us to stay in touch with her if we have any questions along the way. 

Thanks to all for paying attention to this issue.  It is never too early to contact your local reps/senators to express your opinion of this bill. Consider letting them know that BIW is a strong, capable, successful shipbuilding company.  At $4 billion of taxpayers dollars a ship, they (and their parent company, General Dynamics) should certainly be able to budget well enough to meet their financial responsibilities. 

On the other hand, Maine is constantly stressed in its efforts to meet the needs of its constituents impacted by a decaying physical, educational, medical and social infrastructure.

Create a vision for what you think might be a higher priority for the $3 million a year over the next 20 years, and share it with your State Representatives and Senators. 

If you have not yet seen it please watch the interview with emeritus USM Law professor Orlando Delogu who discusses this tax subsidy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ei_OsCLh-k&feature=youtu.be 

Thanks for you attention and activity around this issue. In peace, Mary Beth Sullivan Bath, Maine

Dear Mary Beth,
As a former member of the Maine Legislature, I am disturbed to hear that 2 legislators attempted to hold a private meeting in a public space for what is clearly public business, done in an effort to influence public opinion, on a clearly public issue, ie, the use of taxpayer money to subsidize a corporation. Legislators must strictly adhere to the Right to Know Laws in Maine. A meeting of legislators and members of the public at City Hall is a public meeting and is subject to all FOAA requirements. State law also says you are allowed to video tape and record what are clearly public proceedings. There are no exceptions to this as long as the taping does not interfere with the meeting. Martha had an absolute right to tape thisproceeding and she should have refused to leave and told Rep. DeChant she was violating the law. In public business, there is no such thing as an informal meeting, everything we do as legislators is public. 

The Attorney General's Office has an employee who works on these issues and handles complaints, here is the link to her contact details:http://www.maine.gov/foaa/ombudsman/index.htm 

The Maine Ethics Commission also advises on ethical breaches by legislators:http://maine.gov/ethics/legislators/index.htm

Neither Rep. DeChant or any other elected official has the right to determine what is public and what is private. This is a matter of law and the public's right to know. 

Yes she can have a few constituents over to her private house for a conversation, the content of which  is still public if what is discussed pertains to pending legislation. But once that meeting goes to City Hall, a public building, the entire Right to Know Law comes into play, especially when a meeting in a public space is called by a Legislator to discuss pending legislation and the possible expenditure of public money. 

 From what you have described, this meeting violated your rights and violated Maine law. Preventing the video taping also violated the law 

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Evangelos 

Friendship, Maine

former member, Maine House of Representatives 2012-2016

Under the current system of kleptocracy, taxation without representation has become the order of the day. And in case you think it is only the bad, bad Republicans who are in government in order to represent their corporate sponsors, note that both DeChant and Vitelli are from the other corporate party. Because Democrats are eager to carry water for their corporate donors, too.

From the corporate tax bonanza just enacted in Washington DC to the one about to be proposed in Augusta, Maine, corporations are bailed out while we, the people, are sold out.

Join me in contacting the Maine Attorney General to register a complaint about the "informal" meeting to discuss tax legislation where the public's right to know was violated.