Caucus activity gets under way throughout the state
Democrats
Aroostook County Democrats will gather for caucuses Sunday, Feb. 26 at various sites around the County from 1-8 p.m.
Attendees at the caucuses will cast votes for their party’s presidential candidate
Approximately 71 communities will comprise 23 different caucuses in an effort to include the entire county and make these events as accessible as is possible. Local Democrats say the goal is to shore-up the organization of municipal Democratic committees, to cast votes for delegates to the state convention, and to participate in the reaffirmation of President Obama as the Democratic nominee for President.
“If you’re an Aroostook County Democrat or tend to lean that way it’s extraordinarily important to participate in these caucuses in a few weeks,” said Chace Joe Jackson, chairman of the Aroostook County Democratic Comittee. “The caucuses are a chance for folks to discuss issues that are important to them and also an opportunity for our candidates up and down the ballot to collect nomination signatures. Legislative candidates will attend many of these gatherings and are looking to discuss current events with attendees.”
However, in a presidential election year the main purpose of a caucus is to select state convention delegates that will in turn choose delegates to the Democratic National Convention. The Maine Democratic Party State Convention will occur in Augusta from June 1-3 this summer. Individual communities will decide who to send their delegates to the state convention in support of for president and in June those delegates will determine who’ll represent Maine in September in Charlotte, N. C., where Barack Obama is expected to accept nomination for reelection.
“We expect a turnout we’ll be proud of for a few reasons,” said Jackson. “These caucuses are on a Sunday afternoon, making it easier for working folks to participate, and without a doubt, working folks vote for Democrats. They are the heart and soul of our party and what we stand for. Besides that, Governor LePage and the Republican majority have pursued an agenda that’s created a rural Maine backlash. Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike have been calling us and asking what they can do, how they can get involved, and who our candidates are. Enthusiasm is building on our side, and we believe that, as a state party, in our uncontested caucus we’ll approach the 5,524 votes cast in the hotly contested Maine Republican Caucus on Saturday.”
Delegates to the state convention also have the opportunity to vote on the party platform, which will determine what direction the Democratic Party will take in Maine over the next few years. While not as meaningful or binding as they once were, party platforms reaffirm or modify what a political party stands for and what policies it will pursue.
“Aroostook County can send over 200 delegates to the state convention – that’s a huge share of the vote,” Jackson noted. “Up here in northern Maine, we always feel at the mercy of what the more populous south decides but this is a chance to really influence the future and to bring the Democratic Party back to basics, back to what we know it to be here in Aroostook County. In the end, it should all come down to the issues working people deal with on a day to day basis.”
The following is a listing of caucus times and locations for Aroostook County:
• Ashland, Masardis, Oxbow Plantation, Nashville Plantation, Garfield Plantation and Portage meet at 1 p.m. at the Ashland VFW Hall. The convener is Heidi Campbell (435-6175 or e-mail owbowwreaths@gmail.com).
• Mars Hill and Blaine meet at 1 p.m. at the Mars Hill Town Office.
• Bridgewater meets at 5 p.m. at Bridgewater Civic Building. The convener is Jim Gerritsen (429-0943 or e-mail jim@woodprairie.com).
• Mapleton, Washburn, Chapman, Castle Hill and Wade meet at 2 p.m. at the Mapleton Town Office. The convener is Pat Sutherland (764-1490 or psutherland@sutherlandweston.com).
• Easton meets at 2 p.m. at the Easton Elementary School. The convener is Carolyne Mahany (488-2741).
• Presque Isle meets at 1 p.m. at the Edmunds Center, Northern Maine Community College. The convener is Martha Grant (764-5636 or e-mail mgrant01@maine.rr.com).
• Westfield meets Saturday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. at the Westfield Town Office. The convener is Robert Glidden (425-1002 or e-mail bglidden@maine.rr.com).
For more information on these caucuses, contact Jackson at 207-398-4081 or e-mail chacejoejackson1@gmail.com.
Republicans
Congressman Ron Paul captured 59 percent of the vote at the Aroostook County Republican Regional Caucus events held in Fort Kent, Presque Isle and Houlton on February 3-4. Aroostook County Republican Committee Chairman, Hayes Gahagan, said “Ron Paul was the clear winner at each of the Aroostook County Caucus Events.”
The following is the total Aroostook County vote count for each candidate: Ron Paul, 81 (59 percent); Mitt Romney, 26 (19 percent); Rick Santorum, 17 (12 percent); and Newt Gingrich, 13 (9 percent).
Statewide, however, Romney was declared the winner of the Republican caucuses, receiving 2,190 votes (39 percent). Paul was a close second with 1,996 (36 percent), while Santorum received 989 votes (18 percent); Gingrich collected 349 (6.25 percent) and 61 “other” candidates received votes.
On Monday, Gahagan said that all Maine caucus straw votes should be counted as a matter of state and Republican Party integrity.
“With the state-wide straw poll race so close between Governor Romney and Congressman Paul, the Maine Republican Party should allow the remaining 16 percent of the straw votes to be counted and reported,” Gahagan said. “Regardless of who ultimately wins, we should be conducting free and fair straw polls without succumbing to media opportunism. This is not candidate or agenda-driven; it is matter of process integrity.”
He added that this year’s Republican caucus made a case for Maine to switch from a caucus state to a primary state because the vote was so close.
“Ron Paul supporters” said Gahagan “were passionate, polite and well-informed, many of them attending a Republican caucus for the first time. What struck me is how well the Paul supporters were able to articulate support for their candidate. These were not your normal political talking points, but heart-felt expressions of belief in and support for what I would suggest is a national political movement, not a personality.
“Their message to the Republican caucus events,” he continued, “was one of support for the universal principles embodied in U.S. constitutional representative government, the protection of our Creator-given rights, including our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, and our right to bear arms. I for one did not know of Dr. Paul’s strong pro-life message and the fact that he has delivered over 4,000 babies, believing that life begins at conception.”
He added that as the father of a U.S. Marine, he was pleased to learn of Congressman Paul’s service to this country as a flight surgeon.
“I was even more pleased to learn that he understands on the one hand national defense to be the primary function of our federal government but on the other hand that we simply can’t afford American involvement in undeclared foreign wars that are bankrupting our country,” he said.
After listening to and meeting the Paul supporters at these three caucus events, Gahagan said he could not imagine Congressman Paul ever supporting Obamacare or promoting a costly 13,000 person space colony on the moon.
Many in attendance at the caucuses seemed impressed to learn that Congressman Paul has never voted for a tax increase, an unbalanced budget, gun control, or to increase our national debt ceiling.”
“Based on the attendance and voting at the Aroostook County Republican caucuses,” said Gahagan, “one could conclude that Congressman Paul’s message of individual liberty and a stronger America may resonate beyond Fort Kent, Presque Isle, and Houlton.”
