The following is a reprint of an email this writer received this week from the Maine Heritage Policy Center. It pertains to the Maine Legislature's most recent attempt to take away our local voting authority over our local school district's proposed annual budget. Every Maine voter needs to start calling and emailing the Legislature's Education Committee members immediately and continue to follow this issue through the elections in November. Failure to defeat LD1739, or any inclusion of it in any omnibus education bill will be disastrous to local property taxes.
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When politicians try to undermine our liberties, The Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) and its members take action. Yesterday, (Monday the 25th) at a public hearing before the Legislature's Education Committee, we showed that we will fight for your rights, and that we won't back down. LD 1739: "An Act To Remove the Requirement That the Annual Budget of a Regional School Unit Must Be Approved at a Budget Validation Referendum," would have stripped away your right to a referendum vote on local school budgets-yet another ploy by politicians to silence the citizens and taxpayers of Maine.
MHPC learned about the public hearing for this bill last Friday, leaving only the weekend to make our voices heard. But that didn't stop us. We immediately issued a call to action encouraging Mainers to contact the bill's sponsors demanding they stop trying to take away your right to vote. It worked. Hundreds of e-mails were sent by Maine citizens across the state.
Over the weekend, the bill's lead sponsor, Representative Howard McFadden, received so many e-mails he withdrew his support for the bill and urged the Education Committee to kill it. In addition to the e-mails, more than a dozen people showed up at the Statehouse to oppose LD 1739, including Stephen Bowen, MHPC's director of the Center for Education Excellence. The Education Committee was overwhelmed by citizens ready to fight to preserve your right to a referendum vote.
Senator Carol Weston, ranking member of the Education Committee, was very impressed by the work MHPC and its members did to defeat this bill. Although we achieved a big victory yesterday with the immediate defeat of a bill to take away your voting rights, we cannot claim victory yet. The Education Committee Chairman, Senator Justin Alfond, alluded to a massive omnibus education bill to be drafted by the Committee itself. While he was reluctant to offer any details, his remarks made it clear that the Committee's omnibus bill-which will not get a public hearing of its own-might include a provision to eliminate your right to a referendum vote on your local school budget. Below is a complete list of Education Committee members and their contact information. Please contact them today and tell them to oppose ANY bill that takes away your right to vote.
Sen. Justin Alfond, Chair207-232-4187 justin@justinalfond.com
Rep. Patricia Sutherland, Chair(207) 764-1490 psutherland@sutherlandweston.com
Sen. Carol Weston(207) 589-4481 cweston@fairpoint.net
Sen. Elizabeth Schneider207-866-7359 http://www.mainesenate.org/schneider/email.htm (form mail)
Rep. Edward Finch(207) 249-7898 edfinch@roadrunner.com
Rep. Alan Casavant(207) 284-4690 acasavant@maine.rr.com
Rep. Richard Wagner(207) 784-0645 rwagner@bates.edu
Rep. Stephen Lovejoy(207) 773-5538 steve.lovejoy@myfairpoint.net
Rep. Mary Nelson(207) 781-3750 mpn3@maine.rr.com
Rep. Helen Rankin(207) 625-4620 rankin8076@roadrunner.com
Rep. David Richardson(207) 848-3040 richardsond@hermon.net
Rep. Howard McFadden(207) 726-4676 mcfaddenh@roadrunner.com
Rep. Peter Johnson (207) 695-2019 rumridge27@gmail.com
MHPC and its members are making an impact, fighting every step of the way to protect the rights and liberties guaranteed to us. Contact the Education Committee members today, and join us in our fight.
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