We got some great legislative and campaign updates from our local candidates. State legislators are VERY busy with the last few days of the session. To contact them about specific bills, find their legislative email addresses and phone numbers on our Elections 2022 page.
On the campaign front, candidates are ramping up their campaigns, collecting qualifying contributions, and getting ready to do doors. Here are a few highlights from the campaign trail:
- Senator Chip Curry (curryforsenate@gmail.com) is still collecting seed money, and is looking for an eye-catching car or truck to ride in for parades.
- Rep. Jan Dodge (jan.dodge@yahoo.com) thanked Rick and Corliss Davis for cleaning up address information for postcard mailings, and welcomed volunteers and suggestions for community events to attend.
- For Rep. Jared Golden, Trudy Miller (trudyfoxmiller@gmail.com, 805-708-8163) announced the Waldo County campaign is conducting a listening canvass with unenrolled voters on April 30, with special training during the week before.
- For Rep. Paige Zeigler, his campaign manager Chris Marshall (wiserock@fairpoint.net) said he’s created an online sign-up for drivers to help Paige go door-to-door, and offered to share info about the online sign-up service Sign-up Genius for interested candidates.
- For Robyn Stanicki, running for House District 38, her campaign manager Chase (gchase@uninets.net) told us Robyn will start knocking doors next month, and is asking for info about local events and parades.
Candidate meetings: We met with Pam Swift, who is running for the Maine House in the new District 62 (Palermo, China, Hibbitts Gore, Somerville, and Windsor). She talked about her former medical practice and current farming adventures, and a variety of issues important to her and her constitutents. You can reach her at pam.swift4maine@gmail.com and on Pam’s Facebook page. We also met with Betty Johnson, who is running for reelection as a County Commissioner for District 1. She explained what her work on the County Commission involves and her approach to the job. She is running a bare-bones campaign and would welcome your help. Betty’s email is betjohnson@tidewater.net.
MDP Field Director Izzy Zox (izox@maindems.org) and our area’s Field Organizer Jake Faria (jfaria@mainedems.org) introduced themselves, provided info about the field operations planned for this year, and answered lots of questions. Canvassing will probably kick off in early June. Also, look for opportunities for phone and text banking to be available soon!
The WCDC office is re-opening May 2 and we are seeking enough volunteers to open for one or two shifts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you can volunteer, please email Reeves Gilmore (satcove@gmail.com) to let him know if you prefer a morning or afternoon shift, and whether you want to share a shift with someone else (if you can’t make a weekly commitment). Donations of chairs are still needed. A big thank-you to Mary Lou and Bart Carhart for cleaning up and re-painting the office in preparation for the new campaign season! We donated several unneeded items to Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity.
Local organizing meetings are in the works for June and July! These are meetings of Democrats in each town to take the place of the March caucuses cancelled due to covid (learn more about local meetings here). We could use additional help with planning, organizing, hosting, and publicizing the meetings – please email Paul Robie (robie.paul@gmail.com) if you can pitch in for your town. We will send out a list of dates and locations in early May. Sue Conard is working with Paul to organize a massive postcard effort to let Democrats across Waldo County know about their local meeting. If you can help write cards or purchase postage, please email Sue (sgconard@aol.com) or Paul (robie.paul@gmail.com).
If you were able to attend our first hybrid WCDC meeting, we welcome your feedback! Whether you attended in person or on zoom, please reply to let us know what your experience was like.