PENOBSCOT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE SPECIAL CAUCUS

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Bangor Public Library, Lecture Hall (2^nd Floor)

145 Harlow Street

6:30 p.m. 

PURPOSE

 The purpose of this special caucus will be to hold an election to fill a vacancy that currently exists:  County Commissioner, Penobscot County (District 3.)  This vacancy exists as the result of former Commissioner, Steve Stanley’s resignation subsequent to his recently being elected (Nov.6, 2012) to serve as a member of the Maine House of Representatives. The names of the individuals selected, as a result of this election, will be submitted to Governor LePage for his approval.

 The Penobscot County Democratic Committee approved these rules and procedures on December 8, 2012 by a vote of those attending.

 ELECTION RULES AND PROCEDURES 

•  Any currently registered member of the Maine Democratic Party who resides in one of the municipalities or territories within District 3 of Penobscot County [listed below] is eligible to be nominated and vote to fill the position of County Commissioner.

• ALL caucus attendees who wish to vote in this election MUST REGISTER with the caucus clerk(s) PRIOR to the caucus and be APPROVED as an “eligible voter” [currently registered Democratic voter in District 3, Penobscot County].

•   ALL members of the Penobscot County Democratic Committee are invited to participate in this Caucus, but ONLY those members who reside in District 3, Penobscot County, present will be eligible to make nominations and to vote in this election. [Approved by Penobscot County Democratic Committee, December 8, 2012.]

• Registrations will close at 7:00 p.m. No-one will be allowed to register after 7:00 p.m.

•  Nominations will be entertained from the floor. Self-nominations will be allowed. No limit exists re:  the number of individuals who can be nominated.

• Each nominee will be given the opportunity to introduce herself/himself and to provide a concise statement re: her/his qualifications for this office and why she or he would like to hold this office [2-minute limit].

• All voting will be conducted by secret paper ballot.  Each eligible voter will be allowed to vote for no more than three (3) nominees [not ranked]. The three nominees who receive the most total votes on all ballots submitted will be declared as the “winners.” The ballots will be counted and recorded by the County Chair and two other PCDC members appointed by the Chair. Any nominee who so wishes is welcome to choose a representative to be present during the counting of votes. [Approved by Penobscot County Democratic Committee, December 8, 2012.]

• At the conclusion of ballot counting, the Chair will announce the results.

• The names of three (3) individuals who received the largest number of total votes [not rank ordered] will be submitted to the Governor for his approval. [approved by Penobscot County Democratic Committee, December 8, 2012.]

• The PCDC Chair will submit the results of this election to fill the current vacancy that exists for County Commissioner, Penobscot County (District 3) to Governor LePage within seven (7) calendar days subsequent to this election.

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# Maine State Statute Regarding This Election

Title 30-A: MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES HEADING: PL 1987, C. 737, PT. A, §2 (NEW)

Part 1: COUNTIES HEADING: PL 1987, C. 737, PT. A, §2 (NEW)

Chapter 1: COUNTY OFFICERS HEADING: PL 1987, C. 737, PT. A, §2 (NEW)

Subchapter 2: COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HEADING: PL 1987, C. 737, PT. A, §2 (NEW)

Article 2: ELECTION AND TENURE HEADING: PL 1987, C. 737, PT. A, §2 (NEW)

§63. Vacancies during other times

When no choice is effected or a vacancy happens in the office of county commissioner by death, resignation, removal from the county, permanent incapacity or for any other reason, the Governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy. That person shall hold office until the first day of January following the next biennial election at which a person is elected to fill the office. [1995, c. 683, §4 (AMD).]

In the case of a vacancy in the term of a commissioner who was nominated by primary election before the general election, the commissioner appointed by the Governor must be enrolled in the same political party as the commissioner whose term is vacant. In making the appointment, the Governor shall choose from any recommendations submitted by the county committee of the political party from which the appointment is to be made. [1995, c. 245, §3 (AMD).]

 The municipalities and territories within District 3 include:

Alton, Bradley, Burlington, Carroll Plantation, Chester, Drew Plantation, East Millinocket, Edinburg, Enfield, Greenbush, Howland, Lagrange, Lakeville, Lee, Lincoln, Lowell, Mattawamkeag, Maxfield, Medway, Milford, Millinocket, Mount Chase, Old Town, Orono, Passadumkeag, Patten, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Seboeis Plantation, Springfield, Stacyville, Webster Plantation, Winn and Woodville and the unorganized territories of Argyle, East Central Penobscot, Kingman, North Penobscot, Prentiss and Twombly.

Paul P. Davis, Chair, PCDC

To download these rules and procedures please click here:   Rules and Procedures

The Penobscot County Democratic Committee will be selecting a person, by election, to replace newly elected Representative Steve Stanley as County Commissioner (District 3). The name of the person elected will be sent to Governor LePage for his approval.

The election will be held on

Thursday, December 13, 2012
6:30 PM
Bangor Public Library, Lecture Hall.

The municipalities within District 3 include:

Alton, Bradley, Burlington, Carroll Plantation, Chester, Drew Plantation, East Millinocket, Edinburg, Enfield, Greenbush, Howland, Lagrange, Lakeville, Lee, Lincoln, Lowell, Mattawamkeag, Maxfield, Medway, Milford, Millinocket, Mount Chase, Old Town, Orono, Passadumkeag, Patten, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Seboeis Plantation, Springfield, Stacyville, Webster Plantation, Winn and Woodville and the unorganized territories of Argyle, East Central Penobscot, Kingman, North Penobscot, Prentiss and Twombly.

Please contact Paul Davis (207) 570-4273 if you have any questions.

The PCDC would like to thank Steve Stanley for his service as County Commissioner. He represented County District 3 with distinction. He will bring his passion for the working people of Maine to Augusta representing House District 10.

Thank you.
Paul

Candidates commit to knocking on hundreds, if not thousands of doors, calling and identifying thousands of potential supporters, marching in multiple parades, and sticking their head out issues that their friends and neighbor might not necessarily agree upon. And on occasion, have their opponents, PACs, and the Maine GOP lie and smear their reputations.

Thank you to all the Penobscot County candidates, their families, and their incredible volunteers. The Penobscot County Democratic Committee applauds your efforts and is very grateful for willingness to stand up for your community, friends, family, and neighbors.

Double click picture for lager version

Dill_for_US_Senate_Contrast_Piece

Get your Obama Biden lawn sign at the Penobscot County Democratic Headquarters, 205 Exchange St., Bangor

The Penobscot County Democratic Committee purchased Obama/Biden lawn signs for our County.

For a small suggested donation of $3.00 to $5.00, display your support for your President. The donation will help defray our costs for the signs and elect Penobscot Democrats this fall.

Of course, if you haven’t made a donation to the Penobscot County Democrats, you can give more than $3 to $5. Or you can make a donation via the link in the right hand column.

Pick your sign up at the:

Democratic Headquarters in Downtown Bangor

or

Contact Paul Davis at
pauldmaine@mac.com

Tin Man photo by Tracy Knauss. (Part of the Motley News)

Here’s a riddle: who needs courage, a brain, and a heart? The three characters from the Wizard of the Oz and the Republican presidential nominee. Ever since Mitt Romney has secured the Republican nomination, by receiving the amount of delegates needed to do so, it has been quite a tough time for the former Massachusetts governor.A few weeks ago, in what was supposed to be a glamorous, international tour to raise money for the Romney campaign, turned out to be a gaffe-filled bombardment, provided, not only by the candidate himself, but also his staff.

For ever non-incumbent candidate vying for the highest office in the land, a foreign policy trip is crucial to their bid for the presidency. Without a strong foreign policy background, the candidate can look weak and may not be the best choice for the office. When Romney had planned his visits to Warsaw, England, and Israel, it would be a coming-out party for him. A party to show the potential strength he may have in foreign policy as President of the United States. Instead, though, his actual policy was completely overlooked by the media when he uttered gaffe after gaffe after gaffe, in the trip that was supposed to separate him from Barack Obama.

The trip did start out as a pleasant one. Until Mr. Romney, as usual, spoke before he thought. Something he should probably not do. In London, after “inspecting the city” Romney told a crowd that he believed their city was not ready for the Olympic games. Ouch! That’s probably not the best thing to say, Mitt,  since you refer to your presence in the Olympics so often. What’s even more funny is it got so bad the British Prime Minister David Cameron publicly insulted Romney,  saying that there was a reason for why the town was possibly “unprepared”. Cameron stated that there was a big difference between staging a major event in one of the world’s biggest cosmopolitan cities, than “in the middle of nowhere” as Cameron so pleasantly put it. A complete slap to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, which Romney was a huge part of. The trip continued to go in a spiral downfall when Romney arrived in Israel. In his quick stop there, Romney, with his fantastic zeal praised the economic greatness that Israel had accomplished, but managed, somehow, to insult the Palestinians by attributing Palestine’s economic differences to the cultural differences that exists. But the greatest gaffe of the week was not made by Mr. Romney himself, but a campaign aide who told the press to “Kiss my ass.”  I have two words to say: that’s priceless. But as we look  back into the past of Mitt Romney’s turbulent, political career, we can understand that these gaffes are just minor for Mitt. Gaffes are like Mitt Romney’s cup of tea in the morning. They’re not a big deal, and because of this, let’s celebrate Mitt’s seven greatest gaffes.

1. The France Boogeyman! A key part of the failed 2008 Romney campaign. Mitt Romney, in the campaign’s secret book of secrets, had ideas such as bumper stickers that said, “First, Not France” and “Hillary=France”. Implying that France is somehow the evil doer, and the culprit of the world.

2. Books aren’t my favorite subject. In 2007, once again on the ’08 campaign trail, Romney told Fox News this, about his favorite book, “The one by L. Ron Hubbard…I’m not in favor of his religion by any means, but he wrote a book called ‘Battlefield Earth’ that was a very fun science fiction book.” There are a few errors with this statement Mitt Romney delivered. First off, why would you name for favorite all-time book of yours, a piece of literary fiction, and even worse, science fiction? Of course, it may have gone easier if you selected something from Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, or Robert A. Heinlein, somebody whose religion is considered “strange” or “weird” by the public. Also, in retrospect, Battlefield Earth was a ghastly book. Horribly written and was and still is considered a terrible book of science fiction. Despite his bizarre choice for his favorite book, the great Flip-Flopper, again, reversed his statement and told the press that the book wasn’t really his favorite, but was “one of” of his numerous favorites. He also enjoys Huck Finn by Mark Twain. Yes, I see how you can mix those two books up. It’s pretty easy. Since, you know, one is about fighting slavery and the other is about dueling aliens. Same thing.

3. I say I’m one of the 99%, except I’m really not. This is one of my favorites. When Mitt Romney decides to speak to a certain group of unemployed people in Florida he said that, “I should tell my story. I’m also unemployed.” Every unemployed person there laughed. You probably shouldn’t do that since Mitt Romney is making more than you in a single day than you will ever make in a year.

4. Are you, by any chance, related to Donald Trump? Another great Romney gaffe occurred when he was speaking and said, “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.”

5. Cadillac’s are definitely a poor man’s car. When campaigning in the Michigan for the primary, Romney said, “My wife drives a couple of Cadillac’s.”  In what was supposed to be a statement about how he bought and owns American-made cars, turned out to be a disaster when he chose the most expensive car made in America.

6. This quote would go great on a T-shirt. When talking in Iowa, Mitt Romney said that one way to enhancing entitlement programs was to raise taxes on people, but before he could finish his thought someone said “Corporations!” And Mitt Romney replied back with, “Corporations are people, my friend.” When someone shouted they weren’t, Mitt said, ”Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People’s pockets. Human beings, my friend.” I don’t think this needs much explanation.

7. This guy has a way with words. In an interview Romney said that, “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.” He also went on to say that he was not concerned about the rich either. Which is fine, but the very poor are the American people that are in the most desperate need of help. They need assistance from the government to help them feed their families and get back on their feet.

In the end, Mitt just doesn’t have what it takes to be President. Ronald Reagan, the man who Mitt says he embodies, once said, “I’ve often wondered how some people in positions of this kind…manage without having had any acting experience.” It doesn’t matter that Mitt doesn’t have any acting experience, what matters is that the biggest, most important part about acting is reacting and listening. Mitt Romney does neither every time he opens his mouth. He doesn’t understand what’s going on, and instead of learning, comprehending and understanding he just blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. Speaking before you think. That’s a great quality to have, especially when your in a G8 meeting, or meeting with top military brass and foreign leaders all over the world all around the world.