March 9, 2010
Pres. Clintons Calls for Maine Voters to Support Sen. Libby Mitchell for Governor
AUGUSTA – Former President William J. Clinton today encouraged Maine voters to support Senate President Libby Mitchell’s campaign for Governor. Clinton sent an e-mail to thousands of Mainers asking them to contribute to her campaign.
“I am proud to ask you to join me in helping to elect my friend, Libby Mitchell, Governor of Maine,” said Clinton. “My trust in Libby has never been misplaced. She has served with distinction throughout her career, being the first woman chair of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, and the first in the country to preside over both a houses of the state legislature.”
Read the Full Press Release
February 18, 2010
Mitchell Introduces Jobs Bond
AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The state legislature is now involved in the effort to save 240 miles of railroad tracks in Aroostook and Northern Penobscot Counties from being abandoned.
Representative Ken Theriault has introduced a bill that would put a $20 million bond issue to voters to buy the rail line owned by Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway.
The company plans to file an application with the federal government next week to abandon the tracks, which run from Millinocket to Madawaska and branch to Houlton and Caribou. Company officials said they can't afford to keep up the tracks anymore.
But 22 businesses rely on the line to carry lumber and other products, and Department of Transportation Commissioner David Cole said losing the tracks would be devastating to the Maine economy. So the Department of Transportation is working with stakeholders to come up with a business plan to preserve the line. Representative Theriault said his bill is a backup plan.
Once the railway applies to abandon the tracks, the federal government has 110 days to make a decision.
The DOT is hoping to come up with a financing plan that could include federal grants and private money, instead of, or in addition to a bond issue, to keep the line.
February 12, 2010
Maine Lawmakers Ask Congress to Investigate Anthem Rate Hike Request
Democratic legislative leaders are asking a congressional committee to broaden its investigation into Anthem's request for a rate hike in California to include the company's request for a similar hike in Maine.
Maine Democratic legislative leaders are asking a congressional committee to broaden its investigation into Anthem Wellpoint's proposed rate hikes in California to include Anthem's request for similar rate increases in Maine.
Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree and Senate President Libby Mitchell, along with York County Sen. Peter Bowman and Hallowell Rep. Sharon Treat, co-chairs of the Legislature's Insurance and Financial Services Committee, made the request today in a letter to Congressmen Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak.
Waxman chairs the Committee on Energy and Stupak chairs the Energy Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
"At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet Anthem is asking for huge rate increases to pad their profits. If ever there has been an argument for health care reform, this is it," Pingree says in a statement.
Last spring, Maine Insurance Superintendent Mila Koffman denied Anthem's proposed 18 percent rate hike, approving instead a 10.9 increase. Anthem is currently appealing that decision in court.
Meanwhile, the company last month submitted another request for a 23 percent rate increase for its individual policies.
Mitchell says Anthem should be forced to explain "why they continue to escalate their profits at a time when millions of people cannot afford coverage."
Waxman and Stupak have scheduled a hearing on Anthem's California rate hike request for February 24 at 10:00 am.
February 11, 2010
The Majority Report: Legislators Call for Congress to Pass Jobs Package
Here is a follow-up video that includes clips from the press conference as well as an interview with the Senate President Libby Mitchell on the topic.
January 28, 2010
Mitchell pays Maine Manufacturing a visit
By Ellen W. Todd | Fosters Daily Democrat
SANFORD — Maine Senate President Elizabeth "Libby" Mitchell paid a visit to a fledgling Sanford company last Friday.
Mitchell, who announced in August that she planned to run for governor, is one of more than 20 candidates vying to replace Gov. John Baldacci when his term expires at the end of this year.
With a day off from the Legislature's tough task of dealing with an estimated $438 million budget shortfall, Mitchell headed to southern Maine last Friday to visit Maine Manufacturing LLC, in Sanford, and a couple of businesses in Portland.
Maine Manufacturing makes filters and other specialty products used by research labs, universities, pharmaceutical, biotech and diagnostic companies. The company was founded by Craig Cunningham, the former director of engineering at Whatman Inc.'s manufacturing facility in Sanford.
Sanford was the home of Whatman's (U.S.) manufacturing facility for North America and the company's research and development department from 2003 until 2008. The company made filters and other products for the life sciences industry. GE Healthcare Life Sciences (which makes similar products) purchased Whatman, Plc., in April of 2008 and five months later announced that it would shut down the Sanford facility, putting more than 200 employees out of work. GE planned to shut down the Sanford plant in stages over 2009 and planned to be out by Sept. 30.
In 2008, William Emhiser, a former chief executive officer for Whatman Plc. in London who had settled in Maine and heard about the small company Cunningham had started in Sanford, joined Maine Manufacturing early in 2009.
Emhiser and Cunningham engaged in discussions with GE Healthcare which resulted in GE Healthcare agreeing to continue to operate the Sanford plant until February, 2010, and to retain 60 to 70 employees until the closure.
"GE made it economically viable for us to take over the facility," Emhiser told Mitchell.
On Jan. 4, Maine Manufacturing successfully took over the manufacturing of six product lines from GE, according to a company newsletter. For two months both companies will operate in the same Eagle Drive plant — or "cohabitate" as Emhiser put it. Maine Manufacturing will continue to produce two products for GE Healthcare until GE's plant in Cardiff, Wales, is fully operational — probably sometime in June.
State and local officials also helped the new company. "The local government was terrific," Emhiser said.
A year ago Maine Manufacturing had three full-time and four part-time employees. With the assistance of town officials, the company received a $100,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), for equipment and working capital and created 12 new jobs.
"We have a competitive advantage," Emhiser told Mitchell. "Our workers are hard workers and dedicated individuals."
Maine Manufacturing has extended job offers to 66 GE Healthcare employees, bringing its workforce to 85 to 90 employees, and hopes to add more as business increases.
"We're becoming the largest supplier to GE Healthcare," Emhiser said. The new company manufactures filters and other components that are used in products made by GE Healthcare.
Emhiser said the company plans to build on its opportunities and continue to expand. "We think we can make Maine the hub."
Mitchell called Maine Manufacturing a good model for Maine business entrepreneurs.
During a tour of the facility, Emhiser pointed out the "highly sophisticated, automated equipment" being used in one room. "It's made in Lewiston-Auburn," he said proudly.
Mitchell's primary focus during the visit was jobs and the business climate for Maine entrepreneurs. Everywhere she goes, she said, people's biggest concern is jobs.
"Maine is changing," Mitchell said. "We can't go backwards. We have to build things and make things" to survive in today's global economy.
Mitchell has the distinction of being the first woman in the country to serve in her legislature as both the speaker of the house and the president of the senate. When she is not presiding over the Maine Senate, she is talking to people. "I found over the years that the most helpful thing is to go out and talk to people," she said. It is helpful, not just during campaigns, but also in her work in the Senate and especially during budget discussions, to learn about people's concerns and seek their input.
Mitchell, who lives in Vassalboro with her husband, represents Senate District 24. She was first elected to the Maine Legislature in 1974 and has served nine terms in the House and three in the Senate. She is a lawyer and a former teacher.
Although she could run for another term in the Senate, Mitchell said she thought she could do more as governor. "I thought as governor I could look at the big picture." In the Senate she can advocate for change, but as governor, she said, she can set up an economic develop plan to support business opportunities in Maine.
Mitchell is running for the Democratic Party's nomination for governor. Primaries are June 8.
January 26, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information, please contact Marc Malon, 207-590-8366 or marc.malon@gmail.com
Libby Mitchell Decries Supreme Court Ruling on Corporate Contributions
A statement calling on Senators Snowe and Collins to support Clean Elections
Last Thursday’s United State Supreme Court decision in Citizen’s United v. Federal Elections Commission removed limits on corporate contributions, equating corporations with individuals. This ruling turns back years of progress made on campaign finance reform. As Justice Stevens said in an eloquent dissent, “While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.”
With corporations now unleashed to spend more heavily in elections, our need to declare independence from corporate money changes from a policy matter to a mission.
Corporate contributions will not shake my commitment to Clean Elections. I began this race for governor as a clean elections candidate, meaning I cannot take one contribution from any corporation or organization. I am more committed than ever to that stand.
Even with a new flood of corporate money, we in Maine can show the way to help Congresswoman Pingree and Congressman Michaud bring public financing to federal elections. They are cosponsoring a bill, modeled after Maine’s Clean Elections Act, which will do just that.
I urge our Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, to join the rest of Maine’s delegation in supporting this important bill.
Maine has a strong tradition of good government and transparency and Maine voters have consistently supported clean elections. By standing up for these values we can do our part to lessen the influence of corporations and special interest money in politics. We can tilt the balance of power back where it belongs – in the hands of individual Americans.
January 19, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information, please contact Marc Malon, 207-590-8366 or marc.malon@gmail.com
Mitchell Clears First Clean Elections Hurdle
Grassroots campaign generates support across 16 Maine counties
AUGUSTA - Senate President Libby Mitchell (D-Kennebec), Candidate for Governor, has met the first of two requirements candidates must meet to qualify for Clean Elections funding. Clean Elections candidates must raise a minimum of $40,000 in seed money from Maine voters in order to qualify, in increments of $100 or less. As of the December 31st quarterly deadline, she had raised over $57,000 from Mainers.
The Mitchell Campaign raised approximately $70,000 from over 900 individual donors. More than 750 of those donors are Mainers. The average contribution size was $76. The campaign received contributions from donors in each of Maine’s 16 counties.
“I am proud to be a Clean Elections candidate and to draw my support primarily from Maine donors,” said Mitchell. “Raising money for Clean Elections is like filling a bathtub with a teaspoon - we do it one voter at a time.”
Mitchell continued, “Running Clean means that only individuals are allowed to donate to me. No corporations, PACs, or other organizations may give. This keeps my campaign free of the influence of big money and enables me to spend the bulk of my time talking to voters.”
Under the Maine Clean Elections Act, once Mitchell qualifies, she will receive a disbursement of $400,000 and is eligible for up to $200,000 in matching funds. She is allowed to raise a maximum of $200,000 in seed money to fund her initial campaign operation.
The Mitchell Campaign was pleased with their results to date.
Early polling indicates that Mitchell holds an early lead amongst primary voters (Kiley & Co.), maintaining a higher level of name recognition than her opponents. She also polled the strongest against potential Republican opponents of all Democrats in the field (Research 2000, Public Policy Polling).
Download this Press Release.
January 7, 2010
For legislators tough times beg for smart choices
Augusta — Despite another big budget shortfall looming over state government, some capital area legislators are optimistic that things are going to turn around for the better in the coming year.
The second regular session of the 124th Maine Legislature gets under way this week, facing a shortfall estimated at $438 million over the next 18 months.
Gov. John Baldacci has proposed a budget that will close the shortfall without raising taxes, but many cutbacks in services are bound to prove unpopular.
Even with the time devoted to the supplemental budget, there will also be debate on other bills. Legislative leaders have told the rank-and-file they want this session to be adjourned by April 1. The fewer days the Legislature is in session, the more money will be saved.
Here is a look at the perspectives of 11 local legislators:
Senate President Elizabeth “Libby” Mitchell
Senate President Elizabeth “Libby” Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, who represents Senate District 24, is running for governor in a crowded field this year, but she said her first priority is the legislative session.
“We want to do everything we can to make sure that Maine comes out of this recession stronger than it started,” Mitchell said. “We want to support those businesses that are trying to create jobs in the state. We want to invest in our workforce and our kids. We want to help all those who are in need. We are in tough times, but we are optimistic.”
Mitchell said elected officials understand the need to get business done and to go home and she described the budget crisis is “an opportunity to improve the way state government delivers its services.”
She said she plans to be out campaigning for governor on weekends and evenings.
Sen. Earle McCormick
Sen. Earle McCormick, R-West Gardiner, who represents Senate District 21, said, “They really want us out of there by April 1. It’s going to move pretty quickly, I think.”
As for Baldacci’s supplemental budget proposal, McCormick said, “He made a pretty good start of it, I think. I’d like to see us get out of there with a two-thirds majority behind the budget. Whatever the cuts are, I hope that two-thirds will agree to it.”
Of the session, McCormick said, “It’s going to be short and not real pretty.”
Rep. Lisa Miller
Rep. Lisa Miller, D-Somerville, who represents House District 52, serves on the Appropriations Committee that reviews the budget and all financial matters that come before the Legislature.
“It’s tough,” Miller said. “The governor and the Legislature have been cutting budgets for the entire five years I’ve been in the Legislature. It’s getting harder to find places to cut. There are some disturbing cuts to human services, education and municipal revenue sharing (in Baldacci’s budget proposal).”
“We’re launching right into the governor’s budget on Wednesday (Jan. 6), I believe,” Miller said.
Miller is sponsoring one bill during that would create a process for member communities to withdraw from Regional School Units. The town that’s withdrawing would have to find another district to join within two years.
“I’m trying to make this similar to withdrawing from an SAD. Currently there is no process for withdrawing from an RSU,” Miller said.
Rep. Anna Blodgett
Rep. Anna Blodgett, D-Augusta, who represents House District 56, is sponsoring one bill that would shorten the time the Maine Human Rights Commission has to make a decision from two years after a complaint is filed to one year.
Blodgett, who is starting her second session as a lawmaker, said, “It’s going to be much more rewarding this time for me because I know the process now.”
“These are very difficult times. There are no easy solutions,” Blodgett said. “I have almost 400 state employees in my district. We get hit more than the rest of the state. It’s all going to be very difficult.”
Blodgett serves on the Labor Committee.
Rep. Patsy Crockett
Rep. Patsy Crockett, D-Augusta, who represents House District 57, will be running for the State Senate District 24 seat now held by Libby Mitchell in 2010.
“I think it’s going to be a very difficult session because of the budget situation,” said Crockett. “I think it will take most of our time. Right now, there are some cuts to mental health and things like that that I’m not very happy with.”
“Obviously we have to balance the budget, and obviously we have to make some drastic cuts," Crockett said. "Municipalities have taken some big cuts, too.”
Crockett is sponsoring four bills in this session. The first pertains to a private company that plans to gain access to records at registries of deeds across Maine and then sell the records to the public.
“I’m not convinced that deeds come under the Freedom of Access law,” said Crockett. “Tax money has been spent to see that these records are kept safe.”
Her bill would ensure that the public could still obtain a deed at the Registry of Deeds office.
Another bill says if people have applied for assistance from the state and have also applied for the Property Tax Circuit-Breaker program, they shouldn’t have to have their income verified twice.
Another bill says if homeowners want to install renewable energy systems in their homes, their municipalities could take out liens on their homes and supply money for the projects. People would then pay the funds back to the municipalities over time.
A fourth bill would provide for a statewide law enforcement communication system “so everybody could talk to everybody else,” Crockett said.
Rep. William Browne
Rep. William Browne, R-Vassalboro, represents House District 58. The longtime member of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee is sponsoring a bill to dedicate a portion of the gas tax for maintenance paving of roads.
Among issues he expects the committee to hear is the location of a new toll plaza in York, at the southern end of the Maine Turnpike. There will also be discussion about regulating the use of cell phones by motorists, he said.
Of Baldacci’s supplemental budget, Browne said, “I think he’s to be commended for putting forth a plan and not raising taxes. We really need to evaluate whole programs and see if they’re worthwhile.”
“They’ve already cut all the low-hanging fruit," Browne said. "We need to do all we can to support our small businesses.”
Rep. Stephen Hanley
Rep. Stephen Hanley, D-Gardiner, who represents House District 59, is sponsoring a bill that would allow the Hallowell and Gardiner water districts to work together.
On the budget shortfall, Hanley said, “The reality is we don’t have the money. It will be, as it always is, a battle as to where we cut.”
“We have to cut until the economy improves,” Hanley said. “We’re nowhere near as bad off as some of the other states.”
Rep. Sharon Treat
Rep. Sharon Treat, D-Hallowell, who represents House District 79, has sponsored a bill that would set fees for the company that wants to sell digitized records from registries of deeds.
Another of Treat’s bills would close a loophole in a bill she sponsored last session that became law, setting up a mediation system in foreclosure cases.
Treat also had a bill carried over from last session that would give the Bureau of Insurance more authority to regulate pharmacy benefit managers.
On the supplemental budget, Treat said, “It’s too early to react to every little piece of it. Obviously, it’s going to create tremendous pain. We as a Legislature have to look at it and see if parts of it are acceptable. We have to see if there are any alternatives to these cuts.”
She said state employees take big cuts in the Baldacci plan.
Rep. Nancy Smith
Rep. Nancy Smith, D-Monmouth, who represents House District 80, is sponsoring a bill to create a Regulatory Fairness Board. It would set up an Office of Administrative Law Judges to hear appeals from licensing board decisions. It would be a separate board independent of licensing boards but paid for by licensing fees.
“We’re in a tough spot, and I’m looking forward to the public hearings and work sessions,” said Smith. “We are in an impossible situation and cuts have to be made. I’m in my eighth year in the Legislature, and we’ve been cutting every year that I’ve been here.”
“We’re still trying to keep business going and growing,” she said.
Smith is House chairperson of the Business, Research and Economic Development Committee.
She said a bill to license building contractors will be heard again, now that Maine has a statewide building code.
Rep. Patrick Flood
Rep. Patrick Flood, R-Winthrop, represents House District 82 and serves on the Appropriations Committee.
Of Baldacci’s budget, Flood said, “He’s taken the first step. He’s done a good job of starting the process. Now it’s our job of working on it. Mental-health people should be concerned. Our hearings take a week. Our deliberations will probably take three to six weeks. We’ll try to get it done by the end of March.”
“I always like going back there," Flood added. "In this one, I think we’re going to have to be extra patient and be good listeners. The budget could always get worse before it gets better.”
Rep. Pat Jones
Rep. Pat Jones, D-Mount Vernon, represents House District 83 and is sponsoring a bill that would allow Medicaid payments to independent-practice dental hygienists.
“This is important to rural areas,” said Jones.
Another bill co-sponsored by Jones would start a dental school at the University of New England in Biddeford and another bill she is co-sponsoring would allow blood-spot screening of newborn babies to detect early genetic problems.
“I’m very concerned about the supplemental budget,” said Jones. “We have been cutting since I’ve been there. We are now right down to the bone. These proposed cuts don’t maintain the safety net.”
Jones, who serves on the Health and Human Services Committee, expects a big public hearing at the Augusta Civic Center during the session on proposed cuts to human services.
But, Jones said, “I am optimistic. The economy is beginning to turn around. Maybe it will turn around in Maine next summer.”
January 6, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information, please contact Marc Malon, 207-590-8366 or marc.malon@gmail.com
Mitchell Continues To Address Maine’s Challenges
AUGUSTA - Senate President Libby Mitchell, a Democratic candidate for Governor, continued to preside over the State Senate as the 124th Legislature began its 2nd Regular Session today.
Said Mitchell, "Today marks the start of a new legislative session. I am proud of what we accomplished during the last session in difficult times, and I am confident that we can work together to achieve strong results again. I am honored to be your Senate President and I am committed to facing challenges head-on as a leader is required to do. My daily interaction with relevant issues will also help continue to shape my campaign and deepen my understanding of and connection to the needs of this great state."
Mitchell addressed the Senate today, acknowledging the challenges that lay ahead and expressing optimism at the state’s ability to meet them. She discussed the need to balance the state’s budget responsibly, through shared sacrifice, without dismantling the safety net that protects senior citizens, children, and people with disabilities. She also made clear how Maine benefits from the hard work of state employees, thanking them for their service.
Mitchell also cautioned members of the Legislature against creating scapegoats, emphasizing that all decisions on the budget must be made in a way that respects the voices and legitimate concerns of all Mainers.
Libby Mitchell is the only Democratic candidate for Governor who currently sits in the Legislature, and therefore is the only candidate who will be engaged in the difficult process of dealing with Maine’s present-day challenges. During the 2009 Session, the Legislature closed a budget gap without raising broad-based taxes, passed legislation to cut Maine’s income tax, and invested significantly in the future of the state’s economy - from research & development to creating jobs through green energy.
“The successes of last year’s session are proof of Libby Mitchell’s leadership,” said Mitchell for Governor Campaign Manager Marc Malon. “Her strong leadership will continue through this session, and will continue to show that she is the best-qualified candidate to be Maine’s next Governor.”
Download this Press Release.
January 2, 2010
POLITICO: 25 Politicians to Watch in 2010
Maine State Senate President Libby Mitchell (D)
The only woman ever to have served as both a state House Speaker and a state Senate president, Mitchell is now reaching for the trifecta with her 2010 bid to be governor. She’s currently the Democratic frontrunner in a crowded field for the open seat; if she wins, women would hold three of the four seats in Maine’s congressional delegation and the governorship.
December 19, 2009
Politico: Mainer Vies for Another First
Three of the four members of Maine’s congressional delegation are women, the state House and Senate are led by women and after next year, residents might have their first female governor.
Libby Mitchell, the current state Senate president who hopes to crack that next barrier, recounted to POLITICO a conversation she had upon her 1974 arrival in the state House to explain why woman have prospered politically in the heavily rural state.
“In Maine, we’ve always worked alongside the men,” Mitchell recalled a legislator and the wife of a lobsterman telling her. “Try to come live on the coast and you’ll see why.”
While lobstering isn’t on the resume of Mitchell, a Democrat, she has accumulated the right experience to establish her as the frontrunner in the race to capture the keys to Augusta’s Blaine House.
She’s the only woman in the country to have been both Speaker of the state House and president of the state Senate, all the while helping to raise a family, practicing law, running the state’s housing authority and serving on the board of the Boston-based Federal Home Loan Bank.
A transplanted South Carolinian who keeps more than a trace of the native accent, Mitchell, 69, faces a crowded field. There are over total 20 candidates, including minor party contenders. Democrats and Republicans will pick their candidates in June primaries.
Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, is term-limited—but nevertheless likely to loom over the race. According a poll last month, Baldacci’s approval rating is at 38 percent, the lowest of his two-terms, and only 30 percent of Mainers feel the state is headed in the right direction.
Mitchell, in Washington recently as part of a Democratic Governors Association conference, allowed that “the experts” she and other candidates had talked with said they must distance themselves from any current administration—regardless of how effective they are.
“People are just angry at whoever is in power,” she observed.
Asked about Baldacci, Mitchell made plain that she recognized the political calculus of the contest.
“I’m not running to be an extension of Baldacci, I have been myself,” Mitchell said, pointing out, without being asked, her differences with the governor on school consolidation and opening casinos in the state.
While praising the incumbent for his efforts to bring green energy jobs to Maine and defying his own Catholic Church to support the same-sex initiative that was defeated in last month’s election, Mitchell said the governor was paying a political price because of the recession.
“Everybody knows that the issues are jobs,” she said. “How do we create the kinds of jobs that are going to take Maine into the next iteration.”
Mitchell said that she would push to attract more environmental jobs—including the manufacture of wind turbines—to a state where the economy has been hurt by losses in the timber industry. Bolstering the state’s already-robust tourism business would also be a priority, she said.
An improved economic climate and better quality of life would be her legacy, she said.
“I want good jobs that pay something,” Mitchell said.
Before that, she’ll have to run in what is shaping up to be a year that could favor an outsider, something she’s certainly not after over three decades in the state capitol.
But Mitchell said Mainers are both smart and independent enough to distinguish her from Baldacci and noted that polls show her enjoying an early lead.
“I don’t control the environment,” she shrugged, by way of answering a question about the political climate.
She said she’d run in the same fashion that allowed her to ascend through the ranks of leadership and crack the marble ceiling in Augusta.
“We were like Avis – we tried harder,” she said.
September 18, 2009
Two New Independent Polls Show Libby Mitchell Leading Maine 2010 Governor’s Race
Poll shows Mitchell leads Democratic primary by nearly 20 points and Mitchell leads all Republicans in general election
AUGUSTA – The Libby Mitchell Campaign for Governor today announced poll numbers showing her leading opponents in the field of Democratic primary voters by two to one. The poll was conducted independent of the campaign by Kiley and Associates in July, prior to State Senate President Mitchell joining the race.
Another independent poll conducted in the last week shows Senator Mitchell leading all Republican candidates by wide margins in the general election.
Key top line data from both scientific polls states:
- In a two-way poll, 46% of respondents would vote for Libby Mitchell over Steve Rowe, who had 24% of the vote.
- In a four way poll, 37% of respondents would vote for Libby Mitchell over Steve Rowe, who had 20%, 10% for Pat McGowan, and 3% for Dawn Hill.
- 81% of voters said they would consider voting for Libby Mitchell in both congressional districts after hearing her bio compared with opponents.
- Primary polling was conducted in a 19 minute survey of 301 likely Democratic primary voters.
- Daily Kos web site published research from a nationally recognized polling firm saying Libby Mitchell beats all of the likely republican nominees in the general by substantial margins ranging from 6% to 15%.
“Both independent polls clearly show Senator Mitchell is not only the leading candidate in the Democratic primary but the strongest candidate to challenge any Republican in the general election. Her record of working to cut taxes, create jobs and make Maine a place working families can live and prosper clearly appeals to voters in Maine,” said Jodi Quintero, campaign spokesperson.
Senator Mitchell announced her run for governor in early August.
“I’m running for governor because Maine needs a strong leader who understands how to bridge the gap between education, workforce development, and job generation, so our working families can live and prosper here at home,” Mitchell said. “My four adult children work in Maine and live here with their young children and I want all Maine families to have that opportunity.”
Senator Mitchell has been working for Maine families for the past 34 years in local and state government as well as in her role as the director of Maine State Housing and as a teacher. She is the first woman to serve as both Maine State Speaker of the House and Senate President. In her role as Senate President this year, she was able to bring 90 percent of the State Senate together to pass a budget in an economic crisis. She also worked to lower income taxes and pass landmark civil rights legislation for marriage equality, resulting in national praise.
August 10, 2009
SENATE PRESIDENT ELIZABETH (LIBBY) MITCHELL BECOMES A CANDIDATE FOR MAINE GOVERNOR
Elizabeth (Libby) Mitchell, Maine Senate President, filed her declaration of intent today to run as a Maine Clean Elections candidate for Governor. Mitchell, the only woman in the country to have served as both Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, is an attorney and former teacher. She is a former Director of Maine State Housing Authority, a multi-million dollar agency providing loans to first time home buyers. She has served for many years on the board of Maine General Health Association. Mitchell has just completed nine years of service as a Vassalboro selectwoman.
Mitchell announced her decision after talking with voters around the state about their vision for the next Governor. While California and other states imploded in this national recession, Maine laid foundations for future prosperity. Maine lowered income tax rates. Maine invested in wind energy and biomedical research. Maine did this with bipartisan civility. The Wall Street Journal called this “The Maine Miracle.”
“I am proud of my leadership in these achievements. But we are not out of the woods yet. There are lots of tough choices ahead and I’ve shown that I am not afraid to make them as Senate President.
My first priority as Governor will be to create good jobs by building upon the strengths of our great schools, solid work ethic, abundant natural resources, and wonderful quality of life.”
“If I have the privilege of serving as Governor, Maine will lead in renewable energy production – both earning money by selling energy produced in Maine to other states, and saving money by reducing our dependence oil imports. Maine will lead in educating our workforce – helping our students get the skills they need at a price they can afford. Maine will lead in getting health costs under control, while providing access for all. Maine will lead in reinventing its farming and fishing and wood products industries to compete in the world economy. Maine will lead in creating high-quality tourism experiences.”
“This year I helped Maine gain a step on other states. We are better prepared than most to emerge from the recession quickly. Now I want to lead Maine’s economy in the recovery. My entire career has prepared me for the challenge.”
Mitchell is choosing to run as a Clean Elections candidate because she believes it is more important for her to spend time talking to Maine voters, rather than spending time in a back office dialing wealthy strangers and friends. “I’ll talk to the people. I’ll hear from the people. That’s how we’ll build a consensus on how to deal with the tough choices ahead.” Mitchell is married to Jim Mitchell and they are the parents of four adult children, all living and working in Maine. They also have 6 grandchildren.
