THAT'S ELEVEN AND ONE-HALF BILLION IN DEBT - AND THEY WANT MORE?

As though we need more state bills to pay...

From my In Box of emails today is the following from the Maine Heritage Policy Center:

Help protect Maine families from more public debt

Last night, the Maine House of Representatives voted 100-48 to add another $85,000,000 in bonds to Maine's public debt. In the Senate, a majority of the 35 members supported the higher debt with a 19-16 vote, but fell short of the 24 votes needed to meet the two-thirds requirement to pass more bonds. Yet the debate continues.

Using a procedural maneuver, Senate supporters of higher debt kept the proposal alive, hoping to convince enough members to support the bond package by Monday when they return to session.

Last week, Chief Executive Officer Tarren Bragdon and Center for Education Excellence Director Steve Bowen released an Issue Brief reporting that Maine's current level of public debt is a staggering $11,500,000,000--a burden of more than $22,000 per Maine household. On March 29, a New York Times report confirmed this public debt nightmare when it found that Maine's level of public debt is the 11th highest in the nation.

The Maine Heritage Policy Center distributed our Issue Brief to every member of the Maine Legislature. We also provided a copy of a petition to the Chairpersons and Ranking Members of the Appropriations Committee of more than 600 Maine taxpayers who oppose more public debt.

To protect our families and communities from even greater public debt, we must urge members of the Maine Senate to oppose new bonding when they return to Augusta on Monday.

Below you will find the names and contact information of every member of the Maine Senate. Contact them today and help deliver the message that Maine cannot afford more public debt.

Members of the Maine Senate:


Peter Bowman
District 1
207-439-6481
peterbowman@comcast.net


Richard Nass
District 2
207-477-2607
SenRichard.Nass@legislature.maine.gov

Jon Courtney
District 3
207-324-5467
SenJon.Courtney@legislature.maine.gov


Nancy Sullivan
District 4
207-282-5594
npsullivan@gwi.net


Barry Hobbins
District 5
207-282-5985
SenBarry.Hobbins@legislature.maine.gov


Phil Bartlett
District 6
207-839-7827
SenPhilip.Bartlett@legislature.maine.gov


Lawrence Bliss
District 7
207-799-8229
lawrence.bliss@gmail.com

Justin Alfond
District 8
207-232-4187
justin@justinalfond.com


Joseph Brannigan
District 9
207-772-6047
SenJoe.Brannigan@legislature.maine.gov


Stan Gerzofsky
District 10
207-373-1328 SenStanley.Gerzofsky@legislature.maine.gov


Gerald Davis
District 11
207-797-5309
gmdavis@maine.rr.com


Bill Diamond
District 12
207-892-8941
diamondhollyd@aol.com


David Hastings
District 13
207-935-3175
dhastings@hastings-law.com


Bruce Bryant
District 14
207-562-8872
sen.bryant@myfairpoint.net


Deborah Simpson
District 15
207-777-1379


Margaret Craven
District 16
207-783-1897
mcraven@midmaine.com


John Nutting
District 17
207-524-3941
SenJohn.Nutting@legislature.maine.gov


Walter Gooley
District 18
207-778-2368
wgooley@hciwireless.net


Seth Goodall
District 19
207-737-4797
seth@sethgoodall.com


David Trahan
District 20
207-832-4135
dptrahan@midcoast.com


Earle McCormick
District 21
207-724-3228
demccormick@tds.net


Chris Rector
District 22
207-345-6571
cwrector@hotmail.com


Carol Weston
District 23
207-589-4481
cweston@fairpoint.net


Elizabeth "Libby" Mitchell
District 24
207-622-2629
SenLibby.Mitchell@legislature.maine.gov


Lisa Marrache
District 25
207-861-0154
drlisa@elmcitymed.com


Peter Mills
District 26
207-474-3821
pmills@mainelegal.net


Doug Smith
District 27
207-564-8819
dsmith@kynd.net


Dennis Damon
District 28
207-667-9629
dsdamon@panax.com


Kevin Raye
District 29
207-853-9406
senatorraye@wwsisp.com


Elizabeth Schneider
District 30
207-866-7359
schneidersenate@msn.com



Richard Rosen
District 31
207-469-3779
rrosen113@aol.com



Joseph Perry
District 32
207-942-5585
kjjjperry@aol.com



Debra Plowman
District 33
207-862-4506
debraplowman@cs.com


Roger Sherman
District 34
207-532-7073
SenRoger.Sherman@legislature.maine.gov


Troy Jackson
District 35
207-393-4081
jacksonforsenate@hotmail.com