Crossposted at Turn Maine Blue
Let's take a nice break from the candidate wars and come travel with me as I take you inside a Congressional tour. A little background. Washington County is one of Maine's 16 counties. Washington is way up on the coast, a good 6-7 hour drive from Boston. It's the real deal. I helped organize an eco-devo tour (a better term is community sustainable enterprises) for both of Maine's Congressmen: Tom Allen & Mike Michaud. It was quite a trip, come on along.
Tom Allen is the guy running against Susan Collins. This is one of our real Senate opportunities. Mike Michaud is the popular 2nd CD Congressman and Washington County is part of the 2nd so this was designed to re-introduce Allen to this part of the state. They toured companies ranging from tidal power to wild salmon hatchery to a company pushing broadband into rural Maine, met with the tribes, laid off union members and a lot more. Two days, two congressmen hit the road.
Washington County can be a tough place. Tough to make a living but people do. It's also beautiful beyond description, you have to experience it. It's the first place the sun hits the USA in the morning. It has more blueberries than you can believe and it's considered Republican territory (but not really). WE can win here.
Mike Michaud & Tom Allen
Let's travel. The first place we went was Creative Apparel which makes clothing for federal contracts, mostly for the military. There are federal set asides for tribal communities and it sure helps (that would be a Democratic program)
I talked with several folks there. They like their jobs, rotate around so it's not always the same thing and when they heard there were two Congressmen visiting and looking for ideas to help bring more jobs to Washington Cty, they liked that too.
The Congressmen then stopped into the senior center to say hi and thanks to the cook (Mark Stevens) for convening the caucus (in Maine on Feb. 10). He was surprised and delighted. A little tangent here. Washington Cty, until recently, did not have much of an active Dem presence. Only 1 out of 6 legislative seats are Dem, the county party was not very active. A few people were trying but it was tough sledding. The state party was not really able to help. Most state parties only have a handful of people working for it, they are not some vast organization.
However, Allen's race against Susan Collins had attracted the attention of the DSCC (Dem Senate Committee) as well as the DNC and they 'invested' in Maine. However, instead of just tossing $$ at the tube, they invested in field. Regional field directors were hired (all from Maine btw) and were working with a couple of counties each. With some time and attention, Washington Cty began to flourish. In a few months, 3 quality candidates were persuaded to run for the legislature and more people were coming to a Fri weekly breakfast meeting than used to come to the monthlies. 30 people came to the caucus training and now a Congressional tour. Grassroots at its best.
Back to the tour. The Congressmen visited laid off mill workers, had lunch with over 40 people and took their questions. At each stop they they didn't speak all that much but mostly listened. Michaud (the 2nd CD Congressmen) is Very Popular. Only in his 3rd term, he's unbeatable. He punched a clock for 30 years in a mill, the only active union member in Congress and he will win going away. Please view his so-called opponent's web site. It's real. Hilarious, but real.
At every stop, postcards are handed out asking for suggestions on how the economy in the county can be improved. These cards will be reviewed, summarized and we hope to find a few good ideas that might become projects. They also visited small companies (that sustainable community enterprise thing) like the Commons where a group of women came together an saved a downtown building in Eastport. We also had a demonstration of the first tidal turbinethat had just been put in the water a month ago.
That's where we ended the first day with a community potluck. I had no idea how many people would come. Wasn't sure if the word had gotten out or if the interest was there and no one had really stepped up to host it. Two people had agreed to house the Congressmen that night but when a staffer and I got there 15 minutes ahead, there were only a dozen people and we didn't even have dishes and silverware.
Within 15 minutes there were 60 people, someone went to the store and food and fellowship came piling in. Tom Allen told a fish story and we were off and running. I won't include the bit about the sea serpent but there was one. 60 people in Eastport was really great.
The next day was a similar series of company visits (revived cannery, wild atlantic salmon hatchery, sea salt operation, broadband company, etc) along with lunch at the small university in Machais. There we were supposed to get lunch in the cafeteria and then go to the faculty dining room to meet with area residents. That failed as the dining room only held 18 people and when we got there, more than 40 people were milling around. We gathered in the school dining hall, the Congressmen went table to table greeting the students and another tangent. An Obama staffer had contacted me a couple of days before. As state party staff I help all campaigns but they were the first national campaign to put staff in the state and it seemed a good place for them. Indeed, they got voter registration cards from ten students right on the spot.
Again, the Congressmen were great- taking questions while encouraging people to be involved and active. It's hard to convey the feeling and attitude that kept building but everywhere we went there was a positive reception and everyone was learning and seeing more possibilities. These guys will restore the Constitution, bring the troops home, focus on the economy and move health care for all. Let me share another stop. Wild Blueberry Land is right on Rte 1 and is known as 'The Dome'. At first it just looks like another garish tourist trap but then you taste the blueberry pie or muffins and the whole place is devoted to the blueberry. The couple who own it also put together a blueberry cooperative of smaller growers who challenged the 'big boys' and won a price fixing case. Dell Emerson is known as Mr. Blueberry in the county and Marie is one of the fine candidates running for the legislature. There are stories within stories here. was in his element and we were soon at our last stop.
The Bay Side Market in Milbridge is another story. The owner took a run down small grocery store, somehow managed to get the funds to remodel and expand and now area residents don't have to drive 45 minutes to get all the groceries they need. It's become the defacto community center and we were
Again, I have to emphasize, this is Republican country. At least, that's the perception. Reality is, Kerry won a slim majority and the future is certainly brighter. Now I'm not nearly as eloquent as kid oakland but our goals are similar. Build from the ground up, get involved in your local party and you really see the difference. If you want to help us make a difference, please visit Allen's site. The video is worth a look and there you will see his secret weapon, his wife Diana who is not only poised and gracious but 'wicked smart' (as we say).
I'm a technically inept blogger so all the pics are here and I don't have much time to blog these days so I hope you enjoyed the tour. Get Real. Get Local. Win.