Politics

Portland's Non-Citizen Voting Proposal Won't Be On November Ballot

By Robbie Feinberg • Aug 14, 2018

Portland voters won’t get to decide this fall on whether to allow non-citizen legal residents to vote in the city’s local elections. The Portland City Council voted Monday night to send a potential ballot question to a local council committee instead of to voters, saying the measure still needed substantial work.

Clean Elections Advocates: Court Order Applies To Another $3.5 Million In Budgeted Funds

By Steve Mistler • Aug 13, 2018

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Clean Elections Advocates: Court Order Applies To Another $3.5 Million In Budgeted Funds

Advocates for Maine's public campaign financing program say the court order that forced the LePage administration to release more than $1 million owed to qualified candidates also resolves a drafting error that's frozen millions more for the Clean Elections program.

Maine Voters Can Now Request Absentee Ballots Online

By Nora Flaherty • Aug 13, 2018

Online absentee ballot are now available for Maine voters for the November election.

Maine Woman Arrested During Charlottesville Demonstration

By AP • Aug 13, 2018

PORTLAND, Maine - Virginia State Police say a Maine resident has been accused of spitting in the face of another protester during weekend demonstrations in Charlottesville.

King Hits The Road On His Harley For Listening Sessions

By AP • Aug 13, 2018

BRUNSWICK, Maine _ Sen. Angus King got his motor running, and headed out on the highway. The independent from Maine hit the road on his Harley for three days of listening sessions that wrapped up Sunday at home in Brunswick.

Maine's Two U.S. Senators Opposed To Another Round Of Tax Cuts

By Mal Leary • Aug 13, 2018

House Republican leaders are considering proposing another round of tax cuts when they return to work next month. But Maine Sen. Susan Collins says she doesn’t think the Senate will take up another tax cut package.

Northeast Governors, Eastern Canada Premiers Meet In Vermont

By AP • Aug 13, 2018

STOWE, Vt. - A group of northeastern governors and premiers from eastern Canada will be meeting in Vermont, where they are expected to discuss a variety of joint issues amid a trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa.

Anti-Abortion And Abortion Rights Advocates Rally Outside Collins’ Office Over Supreme Court Nom

By Caitlin Troutman • Aug 13, 2018

Both anti-abortion and abortion rights advocates gathered Saturday morning outside the Portland office of Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who is considered a possible swing vote in the confirmation process of Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Rallies, Ads Won’t Sway Collins On Court Nominee, Aide Says

By Christopher Cousins - Bangor Daily News • Aug 12, 2018

Escalating pressure on U.S. Sen. Susan Collins from both sides of the debate over President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee won’t rush her decision.

King, Rubio Look To Fix Conflict In Social Security, ACA Law

By AP • Aug 12, 2018

Maine's independent U.S. senator says he's attempting to fix a conflict in federal law that creates a burden for recipients of disability benefits.

Sen. Angus King says the conflict affects people who qualify for Affordable Care Act subsidies and have recently been approved as eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance. King says qualifying for disability insurance can take several years, and the agency then issues a retroactive lump-sum amount that dates back to the initial request.

Maine DHHS Commissioner Ricker Hamilton To Step Down At End Of Month

By AP • Aug 10, 2018

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine's Republican governor says his health and human services commissioner will step down at the end of this month.

Gov. Paul LePage said Commissioner Ricker Hamilton will retire Aug. 31. The governor said he'll appoint Office of Family Independence Director Bethany Hamm as acting commissioner.

Hamilton began serving as acting commissioner in May 2017 following the departure of unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate Mary Mayhew. The Senate confirmed Hamilton last October.

Across the Aisle: New Poll On The Governor's Race & Dillon Bates

By Keith Shortall • Aug 10, 2018

It’s Thursday and time for Across the Aisle, our foray into Maine Politics. This week: Cynthia Dill, an attorney and columnist for the Portland Press Herald who served in the legislature as a Democrat, Former Republican lawmaker Meredith Strang Burgess of Burgess Advertising and Marketing, and Dick Woodbury, an economist who served in Augusta as an independent. They spoke with Keith Shortall.

Independent Candidates Uneasy About Taking Campaign Cash, Even From Indie Group

By AP • Aug 10, 2018

AUGUSTA, Maine - A national group is spending $3 million to support and elect independents, but not everyone wants their help.

Pingree Speaks Out Against Pesticide Ban Reversal

By Mal Leary • Aug 9, 2018

Last week the Department of the Interior rescinded a ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides in national wildlife refuges. U.S. Representative from Maine Chellie Pingree is opposed to the change, which she says is just one more hit to the environment from the Trump Administration.

Candidate 'Frustrated' With Fundraiser Over Shooting Insults

By AP • Aug 9, 2018

A Maine House candidate says she is "frustrated" by an online fundraising campaign on her behalf after her former competitor called a Florida high school shooting survivor a "skinhead lesbian" and called another a "bald-faced liar."

Democrat Eryn Gilchrist tells the Portland Press Herald the fundraiser represents what she doesn't like about politics, which is "capitalizing on something divisive."

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