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April 1, 2022

April 1, 2022

Democrats were always going to have a tough time in the 2022 midterm elections, given historic trends and the party's already extremely narrow majorities in Congress. Add in surging inflation and a brutal war being waged in Europe and things begin to look especially bleak.

But that doesn't mean all of the party's woes are circumstantial. Some are self-inflicted especially when it comes to the culture-war issues that increasingly dominate American politics.

In recent years, Republicans have become experts at leveraging their own extremism on these issues for electoral gain. The game goes like this: Stake out a right-wing position that cheers the GOP's base, thereby ensuring high turnout in the next election; count on progressive activists to respond with their own mirror-image form of left-wing maximalism and Democratic officeholders to adopt that message as their own; use those words and deeds both to justify the right's original impulse toward extremism and to portray the Republican Party as the country's sole defenders of common sense against an insidious form of progressive ideology.

Then rinse and repeat.

If Democrats want to avoid a wipeout in 2022 and perhaps in 2024 as well, they need to stop responding to the right's extremism with a counter-extremism of their own.

Take abortion. As I recently noted, Republicans in states across the country are busy passing extraordinarily restrictive laws against the reproductive rights of women and handing off enforcement powers to private individuals. These "bounty hunter" provisions, which empower people to sue those who procure (or who aid someone else in procuring) abortions, allow these states to sidestep judicial review and avoid injunctions imposed by federal courts. (If states aren't directly enforcing the statutes, no one has standing to seek relief from the penalties they impose.)

Polls consistently show that something close to 60 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. That means a very solid majority should be sympathetic to a message like this: In passing laws like these, Republicans are revealing themselves to be radicals far out of step with the American mainstream. Some restrictions on abortion should be permissible, but outright bans are draconian, and efforts to skirt judicial review are un-American in intent and downright authoritarian in effect. What's next? The death penalty for women who have abortions, as some Republicans have proposed?

The point of such a response would be to portray the Democrats as the reasonable party upholding moderation and decency in the face of a lunatic assault on the rights and freedoms of the female half of the population.

Instead, in late February, 48 Democrats voted in favor of a bill the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA) that would enshrine the right to an abortion through all nine months of pregnancy in the country as a whole and potentiallyknock down parental consent laws in 37 states. A solid majority may think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, but support for post-viability, late-term abortions is far lower, and the most recent Gallup poll to ask about parental-consent laws (from 2011) found 71 percent support for them.

That means Democrats have somehow managed to place themselves on the negative side of public opinion on an issue where they should easily be able to portray their opponents as the extremists. That might delight single-issue activists and the most ideologically progressive donors to the party, but it could well turn out to be electoral poison in November and beyond.

A similar dynamic is playing out around Florida's "Parental Rights in Education" bill, which Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)signed into law earlier this week. LGBT activists have had considerable success in persuading journalists and Democratic officeholders to label the legislation the "Don't Say Gay" bill and in describing it as motivated by anti-gay and anti-transgender animus, which could well be both true and an effective message for Democrats, at least in some parts of the country.

There is legitimate reason to worry that the law, which seems to have been written in intentionally vague language, could be interpreted to permit sweeping restrictions on what teachers of all grades can say about sexuality and gender in schools. Yet the passage of the bill that has gotten the most media attention is one that bans "classroom instruction" on "sexual orientation or gender identity" from kindergarten through the third grade. That makes it sound like Democratic opposition to the bill is motivated by the desire to teach young kids about subjects that most parents are likely to consider, quite reasonably, inappropriate for them. (Polling on the bill has been all over the map.)

How can it be that Democrats have ended up, by implication, defending the position that public schools should be free to teach children younger than 8 years old about sexual orientation and gender identity? Coming on the heels of controversy about the teaching of "critical race theory" in public schools and residual animus against teacher's unions for demanding pandemic-related school closings, this stance could ultimately blow up in the face of Democrats big time.

And not without reason. Trying at the state level to regulate the details of public-school curricula and restrict what teachers can say in the classroom is a bad idea. Saying so could give Democrats leverage to oppose bills like the one DeSantis championed in Florida while rallying the American majority to their side. But only if it's paired with a defense of giving local school boards the power to make these decisions for themselves. Taking the opposite view that parents should get no say in what their kids are taught and implying that teachers and administrators should be empowered to introduce little kids to issues in sexuality and gender is a politically toxic position that could only appeal to a progressive activist.

In political terms, the culture war is a battle over definitions: Which party is narrowly extreme and sectarian? And which stands with America's conflicted majority? In repeatedly taking the Republican bait, Democrats deny themselves of the chance to prevail by refusing to confirm the right's caricature of their position. We're not the extreme ones! They are!

The only way for liberals to win the right's radicalizing culture-war game is not to play.

Go here to read the rest:
Dems fall into the culture trap again - The Week

In fact, Democrats should ponder whether to seek out the Never Trumpers as dance partners at all. That movements only clear success has been to draw outsize media attention. While Trumpists are snatching up key positions in the countrys electoral mechanics, with an eye toward tilting the next presidential contest, Never Trumpers are writing op-eds, retiring from the fight, and occasionally making a complete mess of trying to help Democrats win elections.

Perhaps the most worrisome part of this partnership is the extent to which the Democrats have allowed these disaffected Republicans to colonize the Democratic Partys aesthetic. Bidens own Democratic National Convention was an often perverse display of moderate Republican courtship, with spare-no-expense production values given to Ohio Republican John Kasich to stand at a literal crossroads to make a point about a figurative crossroads, while Maines Sara Gideon was reduced to introducing a musical guest despite being in a competitive Senate race against Susan Collinsa seat that Democrats would dearly love to have now.

Writing for The New Republic, Samuel Moyn pinpointed an even more troubling aspect of this partnership: the extent to which Never Trumpism was being driven primarily by the foreign policy lifers of the Bush-Cheney era, the stalwart crew who feared that Trump threatened the Cold War national security consensus that gave rise to so much neoconservative misadventure. Its worth noting that earlier this week, Commentarys John Podhoretz crowed that neoconservatism had been vindicated, in part because hip liberals are no longer its loudest critics (instead, he argues, traditional conservatives have taken their place as the leading anti-American voices of our time).

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The Democrats Complicated Dance With Neoconservative Heiress Liz Cheney - The New Republic

San Diego

Two Democratic former city council members and a repeat but little known opponent from the political right are running in the special election to fill the 80th Assembly District seat, and the race has recently turned to finger-pointing about campaign expenditures.

The election takes place April 5, but early voting and mail ballots are available now for the districts nearly 250,000 registered voters.

On the Democratic side Georgette Gmez, an environmental advocate who served on the San Diego City Council from 2016 until 2020, is competing against David Alvarez, a former social worker who held a San Diego City Council seat from 2010 to 2018.

Also Republican Lincoln Pickard is making a fifth run at the liberal district.

The special election is to fill a vacancy for the remainder of a term that ends in December. If no candidate wins a majority of votes, the two front-runners will go to a run-off held during the June 7 primary election.

The seat opened when Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, who served for nearly a decade, resigned Jan. 3 to take a job as chief executive of the California Labor Federation. California state redistricting changes had zoned her out of the 80th District, so she couldnt run for reelection without moving to a new home.

Even before she departed, Gmez and Alvarez signaled their intent to seek her seat if she did not run for reelection by posting announcements of their plans as soon as state district maps were released.

The open assembly seat represents a window of opportunity for both life-long San Diegans. Gmez and Alvarez were born and raised in the Barrio Logan area, graduated from San Diego State University and launched political careers at City Hall.

Alvarez lives in Logan Heights with his wife Xochitl and two school-aged children, while Gmez and her wife, Raquel Pacheco, are moving to Barrio Logan.

Over the past week their campaign contributions have generated more buzz than their backgrounds or policy platforms.

The two are closely matched in campaign funding. Gmez brought in $221,956 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 19 and spent $37,553, while Alvarez received $190,828 and spent $66,766. Both also have smaller campaign accounts stashed toward the November general election.

Recently political action committees and other donors have weighed in.

Alvarez received help from an independent political action committee named Keeping Californians Working, a Coalition of Educators, Insurance Agents, Technology, Energy and Healthcare Providers, which spent $70,029 on mailers to support him. In addition, a PAC called Jobspac, a bi-partisan coalition of California employers, dropped $28,707 on live calls endorsing him. Another PAC named San Diego Families Opposing Georgette Gmez, funded by a Sacramento company, Ramos Towing, spent $13,164 on mailers against his opponent.

Meanwhile, Gmez has gained labor support, as a PAC called Nurses and Educators for Georgette Gmez for Assembly 2022, sponsored by labor organizations, spent more than $200,000 on TV ads, mailers, polling and research on her behalf. Another PAC funded by the Laborers International Union of North America, Local 89, threw in more than $60,000 for mailers, polling and other services.

Gmezs campaign has criticized the third-party spending on Alvarezs behalf, arguing that big corporations are influencing his campaign. They also took aim at direct contributions to his campaign by several oil companies.

Alvarez didnt respond directly to those accusations but said he believes voters wont heed them.

I think that voters want to vote for candidates who present a positive vision of what they will do if they are elected, so I believe that Georgettes negative campaigning will backfire in the end, Alvarez said.

Gmez, 46, was born in Barrio Logan and grew up in the Logan Heights area. After being introduced to activism in high school through her older brother, she earned a bachelors degree in environmental and natural resource geography.

I wanted to do urban planning because of growing up in Barrio Logan and realizing that the community I grew up in was not built in a way that was healthy for the residents, having industry mixed in and not having the elements that one needs while growing up, with healthy foods and parks, she said.

She worked for 12 years at the Environmental Health Coalition, starting as a community organizer in Chula Vista and Barrio Logan and ending as associate director.

When former San Diego City Councilmember Marti Emerald left the citys District 9 in 2016 Gmez ran for the seat and won against Emeralds chief of staff, Ricardo Flores. Later she served as council president.

She said the most important issues she tackled included affordable housing, community choice energy and police oversight, including banning police use of the chokehold restraint after the death of George Floyd.

She ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Sara Jacobs for the 53rd Congressional District in 2020.

Alvarez, 41, also was born in Barrio Logan and now lives in neighboring Logan Heights. Like Gmez, he said the decision to remain in the area and run for office was informed by a desire to fix problems he saw growing up.

In the 80s and 90s it was the epicenter of gang activity, he said. I chose to stay and invest in our community.

Alvarez earned a psychology degree from SDSU and became a social worker before joining the staff of former State Sen. Denise Ducheny. He won a seat in City Councils District 8 in 2010 and served until 2018.

In 2014 he ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Kevin Faulconer.

Alvarez said his top achievements at City Hall included replacing an aging library in San Ysidro with a modern facility, adding parks, including Cesar Solis Park near Otay Mesa, and leading efforts to update decades-old community plans.

His priorities if elected are homelessness, education and public safety, he said. Children in K-12 schools need additional learning opportunities to overcome deficits from a year of school closures and remote classes, he said.

I think we need to focus on nontraditional hours for learning: after-school learning and robust summer programs with professional educators that can help our children catch up, Alvarez said.

He added he would work to build a state university in Chula Vista, which could help students competing for limited seats at other campuses.

Alvarez said current efforts to address homelessness arent working. He said the state should revise laws to commit people with mental health or substance abuse issues to treatment centers if they dont seek help on their own.

I believe that we need to become more focused on taking people off the streets, and the current laws do not allow us to do that, he said. So we need to change the laws so that we can have individuals go to facilities where they can get care.

Alvarez said he doesnt agree with calls to defund police but supports additional spending to hire licensed clinical social workers and improve neighborhood policing.

We need to continue to establish strong relationships between our law enforcement and the community, he said.

Gmez said she would focus on issues including housing, environmental health and educational equity if she wins the 80th Assembly seat.

We need to build more housing for middle-class and low-income families, she said. We need to build more supportive housing for the mental health and homeless populations.

She said she advocates streamlining regulations to remove barriers to housing construction and calls for a uniform permitting process that would satisfy local, state and federal laws.

How do we make it easier for housing to be built so theres only one process that a developer has to go through? she asked. That can impact time and cost.

Gmez said the state has made strides toward addressing the climate crisis, but it needs to look more closely at climate impact and air pollution in underserved communities located near industrial zones, she said.

I would love to go to the state to introduce a bill that is really focused on environmental justice in the climate crisis, Gmez said.

She supports funding to increase child care access, expand free higher education and reduce the digital divide in areas without reliable internet access.

The California Democratic Party endorsed Gmez for the 80th Assembly District.

Their Republican opponent Lincoln Pickard, 80, said he is running in opposition to policies favored by the Democratic majority in Sacramento.

Because of their regulations and taxes, people are leaving by the droves, he said. Ive had several friends leave. The reason Im running is because Democrats are not treating these issues properly.

Pickard has run for the seat unsuccessfully since the 2013 special election, when he joined the ballot as a write-in independent candidate, and in the 2016, 2018 and 2020 general elections when he ran as a Republican.

He said he opposes firearm restrictions, wants to lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions and favors outlawing abortion. Pickard said he doesnt believe that human activity is causing climate change and would like to increase oil drilling in California.

He knows hes in the political minority but said a vote for him is a vote against Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats.

If they elect me to this particular post in San Diego where the odds are pretty much against me, that would send a powerful message, Pickard said.

The Secretary of State did not display any campaign finance disclosures submitted by Pickard. Although he is the sole Republican in the race, he was not listed among the Republican Party of San Diegos election endorsements.

Residents in the district have until Monday to register to receive a ballot in the mail, officials said.

Otherwise they can vote in person at the Registrars office in Kearny Mesa or they can conditionally register at a vote center and vote provisionally through Election Day. Voters can vote by mail or at one of the Registrars official ballot drop box locations or at any vote center in the district. Hours of operation can be found at sdvote.com .

Continued here:
Two life-long San Diegan Democrats and a Republican battle for 80th Assembly District - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Failing in the polls and struggling to craft a compelling message ahead of this Novembers elections, Democrats are turning to a new strategy. Or, really, an old strategy: health care.

Placing health care front and center paid dividends for Democrats in 2018 and 2020, when they won both chambers of Congress and the White House after spending monthsand millionsreminding voters that Republicans had just worked tirelessly to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

But as the 2022 midterm season ramped up, Democrats had little fodder to revive that playbookuntil Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) opened his mouth.

In a March 7 interview with Breitbart News, Johnson said that if Republicans took control of Congress in 2022, they could actually make good on what we established as our priorities.

And Johnson went straight to Obamacare as an example. If were going to repeal and replace ObamacareI still think we need to fix our health-care systemwe need to have the plan ahead of time so that once we get in office, we can implement it immediately, not knock around like we did last time and fail, he said.

The Wisconsin Republican, who is up for reelection in November, later attempted to walk back those comments, saying he was not suggesting repealing and replacing Obamacare should be one of those priorities.

But by that point, it was too late. Democratic organizations had already blasted out a seemingly endless stream of press releases about Johnsons comments, designed to put vulnerable Republicans on the spot.

House Democrats official campaign arm, for example, quickly sent out a half-dozen emails about it. GOP getting more honest about their agenda, the release said, before asking if 16 different Republican congressional candidates in various states agreed with Johnson.

Democrats arent expecting to get eight months of mileage out of an offhand comment from a rank-and-file senator. But Johnson isnt the only Republican still talking about repealing Obamacare.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), chairman of the Senate GOPs campaign arm, recently put out a plan that proposed raising taxes on low-income Americans and ending all federal programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and presumably the ACA, unless Congress can reauthorize them.

Those developments have cracked open the door for Democrats to pivot toward an issue that, perhaps more than any other, allows them to set up the contrast they want with Republicans.

One of the things we have to do is remind people whose side were on, said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI). And the stakes couldnt be higher in this election because Republicans have already demonstrated what they want to do.

Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist who helped set the partys messaging on health care in several election cycles, argued that Democrats have seen over and over how Republicans keep putting their hands on the hot stove, again and again when it comes to health care.

That may be the case for some, but GOP leaders and campaign organizations decided long ago to avoid the issue, after the political winner turned into a surefire political loser. Virtually no Republican in a competitive race in this election year is on the campaign trail professing their passion to destroy the health-care law. In fact, many GOP candidates have even adopted Obamacares most popular parts in their own health-care messaging.

Because of that, its hard to imagine Democrats Obamacare-focused pitch having even close to the same effect it did in 2018 or 2020. But some Democrats believeor, at least, hopethat Republicans will continue burning themselves on that hot stove. And they are trying to create as many opportunities as possible for them to do just that.

A Democratic aide, speaking anonymously to candidly describe party strategy, told The Daily Beast they cant emphasize enough how important the health-care contrast will be for the party in 2022.

Unequivocally, Democrats are going to hold Republicans feet to the fire on this, and make this an issue for them they have to own and talk about, the aide said.

Asked about the partys strategy on Obamacare, Chris Taylor, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the DCCC plans to remind voters frequently about the GOPs stances on health care.

Democrats want to lower the costs of medicines, protect health care, and lower costs for families, Taylor said. Were going to make sure voters know the difference between us and them.

Its a good time for Democrats to refocus on favorable turf, given that the current political landscape is bleak for the party as the midterm season heats up. And with the anniversary of the law coming up next week, national and state level Democratic Party organizations have a slate of events planned to keep it on the agenda.

The slumping of their legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, plus the growing political challenge posed by inflation, have forced Democrats to engage in some public soul-searching over what, exactly, their pitch will be to voters.

The chair of the DCCC, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), has candidly acknowledged Democrats communications struggles. The problem is not the voters, he said last week. The problem is us.

Its much smarter for the Democrat in charge of House campaign strategy to talk about the failings of his party than to just ignore them. But for Democrats, to play the inflation political game is to lose: they can propose as many solutions as they like, but even if they pass, current inflation is a global phenomenon with complex causes.

Republicans know that, in just hammering home the problem and blaming the party in power, Democrats risk looking insensitiveor just out-of-touch if they minimize the impact of rising costs or reject the blame.

And so, Democrats are now trying to talk about inflation, but through the frame of health care. Increasingly, Democrats are framing their health-care talking points in the kitchen-table language of costs.

That might help bail Democrats out. One strategist with access to recent polling information found that voters have given Republicans a 5-point advantage on reducing inflation. But they gave Democrats a 10-point advantage on reducing the cost of health care.

A recent press release from Building Back Together, a Democratic political group, highlighted Johnsons comments while declaring that President Joe Biden is laser-focused on lowering costs while congressional Republicans unveil plans to increase strain on working Americans.

Democrats believe that the COVID pandemic has only underscored that advantage, and that their programs to rein in individuals health-care costslike the ACAwill look even more essential to voters as prices increase on all manner of goods and services.

The biggest problem for Democrats, however, might be that they havent yet made good on their lofty promises to enact significant changes to lower health-care costs.

The partys marquee legislationthe multi-trillion dollar package formerly known as the Build Back Better Actwas supposed to carry measures to lower the cost of prescription drugs and expand Medicaid.

That legislation fell apart last year after months of talks. Democrats are hoping a last-ditch effort to pass a narrower package with health-care measures could succeed, but the odds are not especially good.

Leaving Democratic candidates empty-handed on the campaign trail is a nightmare scenario for many in the party. But right now, operatives insist that the party will not lose credibility with voters if they dont make progress in expanding health-care access and lowering costsmostly because they are confident they can persuade voters that Republicans would do much worse.

Democrats have a credibility contrast no matter what happens when it comes to the issue of health care, said Jess Floyd, president of American Bridge 21st Century, a major Democratic super PAC. She noted a number of GOP Senate hopefuls in key swing states who have taken actions to dismantle Obamacare, previewing the potential attack lines for Democrats later in the year.

Most Democrats emphasize that health care is just one key component of a broader message that, if successful, could shore up the partys cred with pocketbook-focused voters.

The party would be overjoyed if they could spend the next year just running against the policy plan proposed by Scott, the Senate GOP campaign chair. His proposal to give Americans skin in the game by imposing taxes on those who dont pay them was a gold mine for the party.

The plan quickly became such a lightning rod that many Republicans, including Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY), publicly distanced themselves from it. A national GOP strategist told The Daily Beast that Scotts plan was incredibly dumb, which is why you havent seen many serious Republican candidates across the country embracing it. Faced with such criticism, Scott has defended his plan as a defiance of Beltway cowardice.

In a brief interview in the Capitol, Scott downplayed Republicans designs on health care. Notably, Obamacare is not mentioned once in his 11-page document, and he affirmed his support for keeping protections for patients with pre-existing medical conditions.

I dont think the Democrats have anything to attack us on, he said, arguing that Democrats are not doing anything to make sure people get health insurance, theyre not doing anything to fix Medicare.

Of course, congressional Democrats tried for the better part of a year to give millions more people health insurance. Some, like Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI), believe that the politics of the issue are so bad for Republicans that they wouldnt even take a pass at Obamacare, or other key health-care programs, if they had the chance.

When we won in 2018, health care was front and center. Its an issue that affects everyone, regardless of what their political ideology is, whether theyre political or apolitical, Kildee said. Republicans will make a mistake if they decide theyre going to threaten health care again. Well make sure people know that.

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Democrats Want to Party Like It's 2018 and Push Health Care - The Daily Beast

AUGUSTA The contested primary race to fill the open District 2 Kennebec County commissioner seat pits a Democratic state representative against a retired state Department of Environmental Protection employee.

At Tuesdays deadline to file petitions for candidacy, Charlotte Warren of Hallowell and Philip Garwood of Gardiner had both submitted petitions and will appear on the June 14 primary ballot for the Democratic nomination race.

Kennebec County has three county commissioners, each representing a geographic district. District 2 encompasses Farmingdale, Fayette, Gardiner, Hallowell, Litchfield, Monmouth, Mount Vernon, Pittston, Randolph, Readfield, Vienna, Wayne, West Gardiner and Winthrop.

County commissioners oversee the countys fiscal operations and budget that totaled $14.3 million in 2021. They also make policy decisions that affect county government and its 170 employees. The countys budget obligations include funding departments such as the county jail, the sheriffs office, emergency management and registers of probate and deeds.

County commissioners also govern unorganized territories. In Kennebec County, the commissioners oversee Unity Township.

The salary for the position is currently $13,047; the salary of the chairman, who is elected annually, is $13,768.

Nancy Rines of Gardiner was first elected as the District 2 Kennebec County commissioner in 1982, and was the first woman elected as a commissioner in the county. She has served nearly every term since then and has declined to seek another.

Both candidates see opportunity in the $23.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds that the county is receiving from the federal government to advance efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the grants to organizations it will fund.

Garwood said he supports using the money to benefit the greatest number of people.

How many people will benefit and what sort of needs would get met by a particular request that might or might not have any other sources of support, he said.

At the same time, he said, it is money that can be spent once and is not suitable for projects requiring ongoing funding.

Warren said with the influx of ARPA funds and the expected settlement of opioid lawsuits, she would like to make the budgeting process for county government more transparent and involve more county residents in decisions on how that money is spent at the county level.

I envision that involvement in the same way I have always done my work, which is to use all of the tools that I have access to invite citizens to join in, she said. I think many of us are working our jobs, raising our children, paying our bills, and unless something is put in front of us, its tough to keep track of everything. I see it as the role of the entity itself to provide opportunities for people to be involved.

She said she sees the role of government is to provide opportunities to be involved.When she was mayor in Hallowell, the citys website was redesigned and a newsletter was launched that still continues today.

As a communications consultant, I do that for other entities, and I would love to do that as well for county government, she said.

Both candidates say they dont see the need for proposing changes if elected.

Garwood said his history of involvement with a lot of things is to form an opinion about whats going on and look for ways to improve.

Theres nothing that I am aware of that I think is wrong, he said. I like to take the point of view that someone like me who has never been involved can ask the dumb questions and maybe that will lead to a worthwhile reevaluation of how things are done.

Warren said people dont talk very much about county government because it is doing so much right, and she wants to continue that trend. She has worked with county commissioners both as a municipal official and a state official.

I have always been proud of Kennebec County, and I want to continue that tradition, she said.

Garwood has not run for elective office before, but agreed to when members of the county Democratic Committee asked him to run.

Before he retired, he was active in the Maine Service Employees Union, which is affiliated with the Service Employees International union, as a delegate to the annual convention for many years, and as chapter vice president and president. For three terms, he served on the unions statewide board of directors.

While the departments in county government and the union are different, he said the tasks for a board member and a county commissioner are very similar in concept overseeing department activities and approving the budget, for example.

He said hes been involved in a number of activities in both his personal and professional lives that have been targeted at improving things and making things better, from improvements to his home to serving as Scoutmaster for 5 1/2 years for the Boy Scouts of America, an organization dedicated to developing future leaders. At his church, he worked to improve and provide facilities to hold better programs.

Warren, who is currently serving as a state representative in District 84, representing Hallowell, Manchester and West Gardiner, and has served as a city councilor and mayor in Hallowell, said she has a great deal of budget experience that she can use as a county official.

As the House chairwoman of the Maine State Legislatures Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, she and her Senate co-chair have overseen the budgets of the departments of Public Safety, Corrections, and the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

A bill she has sponsored to stabilize county jail funding receives a bipartisan unanimous vote in the Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday, following stakeholder meetings to craft an agreement that could gain the approval of the committee.

While the process is not complete, she said, it moves the solution to a chronic funding shortfall along, increasing the requested appropriation from $12 million to $20 million and putting that funding request on the same footing as any other request under the commissioner of the Department of Corrections.

That meant staying at the table even when it was difficult, it meant lots and lots of meetings, and a lot of listening, she said. Those are my skills. Thats what I like about government work. I like listening, bringing people together and trying to solve issues.

The winner of this primary race will face off in November against Republican Joseph Pietroski Jr. of Winthrop, who has no primary opponent.

The deadline for petitions for nonparty candidates to appear on the November ballot is June 1.

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Two Kennebec County Democrats face off for party nomination in county commissioner race - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel