The majority of Mainers are supporting Home Care for All. Take a moment and watch this 2 minute story about Skip.
We are all going to face home health care issues in our own lives or a family member of friend. Now is the time to establish the programs to allow disabled and elderly individuals to remain at home with dignity and respect. This is not a hand out. This is respecting and supporting all of us.
Thank you.
This May 2018 animation explains how ranked-choice voting will work in Maine elections. The State of Maine will be the first state in the nation to use RCV in a statewide election, for the June 12, 2018 Primary Election. For additional resources and information about ranked-choice voting, visit our RCV Resources webpage at http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upc….
Military retirement is tax-free.
An other-than-dishonorably discharged resident Maine veteran who served during wartime and is 62 years or older; or, is receiving 100% VA disability; or, became 100% disabled while serving, is eligible for a $6,000 property tax exemption. Un-remarried surviving spouses are also eligible.
Paraplegic veterans, and their qualifying spouses are eligible for up to a $50,000 property tax exemption.
State Employment preference points shall be added to passing examination scores for state employment.
Honorably discharged veterans get a 5 point preference, 10 percent or greater disabled veterans get a 10 point preference. Spouses may be eligible as well.
Maine offers a 100 percent waiver of tuition and all fees at state schools for dependents of Maine veterans who are permanently and totally disabled, died of a service connected disability, or was killed in action.
This benefit applies to dependents of Maine veterans who entered the service from Maine or has been a resident for 5 years immediately preceding application for aid and, if living, continues to reside in Maine throughout the duration of benefits administered under the educational
Spouses have 10 years from the date of first entrance to complete the program, children have 6 academic years from the date of first entrance to complete 8 semesters.
A disabled veteran who has a service connected disability evaluated at 50% or more may obtain a complimentary license to fish, trap, hunt, including archery, muzzle load, bear, migratory bird, pheasant, spring/fall wild turkey, coyote night hunt, crossbow, one expanded archery antler less deer permit, and upon meeting the qualifications, a license to guide.
This license is available to residents of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
This license(s) remains valid for the life of the license holder, as long as the license holder continues to satisfy the residency requirements.
Any Maine veteran with an other-than-dishonorable discharge gets free admission to all of Maine’s state parks and historic sites.
Maine residents who are enlisted active duty members and their dependents also receive free admission to state parks and historic sites.
Active duty Maine residents, and their dependents, can buy a discounted hunting, fishing, or combination hunting and fishing license.
Any military member stationed in Maine, as well as their dependents, can pay the resident fee for a hunting, fishing, or trapping license.
The Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery System consists of four cemeteries. One of which is located in Caribou, two in Augusta and one in Springvale. Burial is free of charge to veterans with an other-than-dishonorable discharge as well as their dependents.
Visit the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services website for more information on any of these programs.
Delegates heard compelling speeches by Democratic candidates for Governor and the Second Congressional District, as well as many others. At the conclusion of the convention, Democrats went home from Lewiston fired up to elect Democrats this November.
During the Platform Committee process prior to the Convention, the existing plank opposing the private East West Corridor was dropped. After a vote of our members at a county committee meeting, we managed to get the plank back on the agenda.
At the convention, Hancock County got this matter addressed as the first item considered on the floor of the convention. We made the case with help from the Piscataquis County Democratic Committee. We explained that we are not opposing progress or public transportation projects to benefit Mainers. We are opposing a private, corporate boondoogle intended to benefit Canadians at the expense of Maine’s environment and economy. We explained that the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Maine Small Business Coalition are with us on this issue. WE WON THE VOTE ON THE FLOOR. Thank you, HCDC members, who supported our efforts!
Hancock County delegates at the State Convention elected new members to the State Committee. These members will serve until the next State Convention in 2020.
Members: Sandy Snow, Surry
Loren Snow, Surry
Stephen York, Stonington
Alternate: Gary Pinder, Brooklin
Video is less than 2 minutes
$5.00 Contributions Needed to fund this campaign
Due to obstructionism by Maine’s House Republicans, the legislature failed to complete actions to fund Maine’s Clean Elections program for the 2018 elections.
Candidates must now collect all their $5 donations to the Clean Elections fund well before June 30. If they don’t, they won’t receive full funding and they will be seriously disadvantaged running against traditionally financed candidates. Any funds must be disbursed by June 30, which means you should make your donation by June 20.
Why this matters so much: Most Democratic legislative candidates in Hancock County are running as Clean Elections candidates. For each additional 15 qualifying $5 donations, House candidates receive $1,275 to a maximum of 180 qualifying contributions. For each additional 45 qualifying $5 contributions, Senate candidates receive $10,200 to a maximum of 535 qualifying contributions. This means they need to collect as many $5 donations to the Clean Elections fund as possible – NOW. Delays may seriously damage their ability to wage effective campaigns against traditionally financed Republican candidates.
If you have already donated, thank you! if you have been waiting …
Just click here: www.maine.gov/cleanelections
It really is that easy. So just DO IT!
An excellent explanation of the problem was presented by the League of Women Voters:
Funding for Clean Elections
One of the bills caught in the crossfire is LD 1894 An Act To Correct Errors and Inconsistencies in the Laws of Maine. There was a drafting error regarding funding for Clean Elections in the biennial budget passed at the 11th hour last summer. Because of the way that budget bill was worded regarding the early transfer of $3 million from FY 2019 to FY 2018, the error prevents the Ethics Commission from disbursing money to candidates from the Maine Clean Election Fund after the end of this fiscal year, June 30, 2018.
To make matters worse, it now appears that candidates participating in the Clean Elections program will not be allowed to raise private money to make up the difference. The Maine Clean Election Act provides that participating candidates may raise private money to finish their campaigns IF the fund runs out of money. In this twisted circumstance, the fund is NOT out of money. The fund HAS plenty of money. But the Ethics Commission is not allowed to disburse it.
Everyone agrees it was a drafting error. Remember, this is not more money, just moving the money from one year to another. The legislature attempted to fix the problem in the so-called Errors Bill, which normally sails through unopposed. Not this time. This is among the “undead” bills remaining for legislative action when and if the legislature comes back.
We need a special session, and we need this bill to pass. Candidates and voters from all parties have been relying on the Clean Elections program. We have three gubernatorial candidates already qualified, and now hundreds of legislative candidates have qualified, too. This funding was part of a bipartisan budget deal hammered out last year. There is no legitimate reason for House Republicans to renege on that deal now. You can find contact information here. Tell your representatives how much you want them to fix this problem.
Single payer refers to the method of financing health care in Maine. In a single payer system, health care is funded by the public whose money is managed by the state government or governmental agency. It is not Socialized Medicine. Unlike “socialized medicine,” the delivery of health care in a single payer system is handled by the same private health care providers that we use now. The Federal Medicare system uses this model, as do most developed countries around the world.
Single payer is nonprofit. There are no private shareholders and overpaid CEOs making fortunes from the financing of health services
Single payer is efficient. Doctors and hospitals deal with one payment entity, rather than with a multitude of insurance companies thereby eliminating much of the current administrative burden and cost.
Single payer is fair. The funding for health care is raised through taxes, which are set according to our ability to pay.
Single payer controls costs. A public process determines the level of health spending, and providers are reimbursed at uniform, negotiated rates. This would be similar to the way pubilc utilities are regulated.
Single payer allows your choice of doctor and hospital.
Single payer savings are used to provide health care to all people as a human right. Patients no longer have to worry if they will be able to afford health care. Preventative care will reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
Single payer financing in Maine would preserve our health delivery system, which is known for high quality.
I was born in Belfast, Maine on July 19, 1951 during a huge lightening storm according to my mother. My family consisted of my parents, a brother five years older and a sister nine years older. We lived on a 20 acre farm in Waldo. When I was 15 my parents and I moved to Lincoln due to my father’s work and a promotion to manager of an auto parts store. I graduated from Mattanawcook Academy in 1969
I enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1970 and served 2 years active duty. This experience opened my eyes and my mind to how we have to work together as a team to accomplish worthwhile goals. It was the GI Bill that allowed me to earn a bachelor’s degree from Husson College (now Husson University). My health care is provided thanks to the Veteran’s Administration.
I’ve maintained a career in finance for most of the 40 plus years of earning a living. I’ve been the finance director at the Waldo County YMCA for the last 14 years and am planning on retiring from that position around the end of 2018.
I’ve lived in Bucksport for just over 14 years with my life partner Anna. Initially we moved here to help care for her mother Jane who was having difficulty maintaining her home. We decided to purchase the home after Jane’s death. Since then we’ve been living the American Dream.
For most of my adult life thus far, I’ve been an independent voter enrolled in no political party. Bernie changed that for me. In February 2016, I joined the Democratic Party just so I could better support Bernie’s message of hope and a better life for all Americans not just the privileged few. I was elected as a delegate for Bernie to the state convention in 2016. It was a rousing time and the air was electrified. I am running for the legislature now so I and the many people that are supporting me can carry on the message of hope for a better life. Working together we will prove that Maine is a place where we create good paying jobs, protect the environment, provide racial and social justice and have affordable and accessible health care for all Maine people.
Contact: Cell: (207)659-0827 Call or Text
Email: mike@my207.com
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelReynolds2018/
Gun Safety:
Democratic platform position: Supports responsible gun ownership in accordance with the 2nd amendment of the U.S.
Constitution and works to strengthen background checks for every firearm sale or transfer within the State of Maine.
Republican platform position: Defend the individual’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Maine and U.S. Constitutions;
My Position: I’m generally not in favor of regulations that limit an individual’s right to live free of unnecessary intrusion. That being said, we have a huge issue surrounding violence on a mass scale that we’ve not experienced in the past. To address the extreme violence means addressing a complex web of issues. I support measures that will to thwart this escalating violence without diminishing the rights of responsible gun owners.