By Michael Shepherd - Oct. 18, 2022
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up.

📷 Former state Rep. Kent Ackley, I-Monmouth, talks with Joel Packer, left, and Diane Clay, while campaigning in Litchfield on Aug. 2, 2018. (AP photo by Robert F. Bukaty)

Good morning from Augusta. There are 21 days until Election Day.

What we're watching today

A returning candidate and an odd coastal race mark the best hopes for independent legislative gains. Maine has long been known nationally for its willingness to back independent candidates, but polarization in recent years has begun to crowd out unenrolled voters and there are now only three independents in the Legislature, down from six after a switch in 2017.

Two of those members — Reps. Bill Pluecker of Warren and Walter Riseman of Harrison — are on the ballot against Republicans this cycle. It means they are effectively filling the Democratic roles on their elections and outside groups normally aligned with Democrats are spending heavily to back them, with roughly $15,000 and $13,000 coming in for them, respectively.

Another race like that is the one between Rep. Randall Greenwood, R-Wales, and former Rep. Kent Ackley, I-Monmouth. The two have run against each other in every race for the seat since 2016, with Ackley winning twice and Greenwood narrowly ousting him in 2020. Republicans have a big advantage there by voter registration, but Ackley has to be seen as a strong hopeful.

One race falls into more of an oddball category. In the Wiscasset area, former selectman Ed Polewarczyk, a Republican, faces two independents in former Rep. Les Fossel of Alna, who served as a moderate Republican, and Evan Goodkowsky, an assessor and former Democrat. Anything could happen.

There are also lower-tier races featuring independents that could get interesting. Rep. Amy Arata, R-New Gloucester, who serves on the powerful budget committee, faces independent Anne Gass, who ran a strong but unsuccessful House race in 2016 and has gotten some outside help from liberal interests.

It is proof that even nonpartisan candidates often cannot help but be defined somewhat by the party structure. The race for the House is expected to be one of the closest legislative battles in the country and every seat matters for the parties, even ones they will not technically control.

🗞 The Daily Brief is made possible by Bangor Daily News subscribers. Support the work of our politics team and enjoy unlimited access to everything the BDN has to offer by subscribing here.

What we're reading

🎯 Meet a few of the longshot candidates running in Maine areas dominated by the other party.

😷 Maine is near the top in the nation in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

📁 The injuries that killed Stockton Springs toddler Maddox Williams could only have been inflicted in a car crash, a steep fall or if an adult stomped on his abdomen, a deputy medical examiner said at the trial of Williams' mother.

🔒 Bangor school officials are changing an emergency plan to prevent the confusion that marked a 2019 lockdown.

🆚 Mobile home sales are rising in Maine despite downward trends in the rest of the real estate market.

📱Want daily texts from me tipping you to political stories before they break?
Get Pocket Politics. It is free for 14 days and $3.99 per month if you like it.

News and notes

📷 Aaron Frey waves from the balcony overlooking the House chamber at the State House in Augusta after being elected attorney general on Dec. 5, 2018. (BDN photo by Troy R. Bennett)

⛔ Republicans put lobster at the front of a future attorney general race.

◉ Roughly 130 Republican legislative candidates signed onto a pledge led by the state party to oust Attorney General Aaron Frey and replace him with someone who would lead a lawsuit on behalf of the state against federal rules hampering the lobster industry.

◉ This has been a cause for former Gov. Paul LePage, the Republican running against Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. It gained momentum last week after Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine's 2nd District, agreed with Republicans on it at a lobstering rally.

◉ The state has set aside millions for legal costs and Frey's office is participating in two lawsuits as an intervenor. The Democrat has said filing a new suit would be "legally insignificant" since the state is already making arguments against the rules in court.

◉ The next attorney general will be chosen by a vote of the entire Legislature, so Republicans need to have a majority of members to get their way.

💵 The first charged election-year ethics complaint comes from Democrats.

◉ We got our first end-of-cycle ethics complaint on Monday from the Maine Democratic Party, which is asking campaign finance regulators to investigate a conservative group running spurious ads against Mills.

◉ The group in question is called Maine Families First, an offshoot of the American Principles Project, which polled Mainers this summer under an assumed name. Since then, it has become a major player in the governor's race by spending $1.2 million against Mills on texts, TV and digital ads.

◉ A first round of advertising was funded by Republican megadonor Thomas Klingenstein, who has owned property in Maine. But it has not yet disclosed who paid for a later $1 million round. In a letter to the Maine Ethics Commission, Democrats ask for an investigation, saying the group would be violating disclosure laws if the funder is not Klingenstein.

◉ That is true, but Democrats present no evidence that it is not Klingenstein. The commission could handle the complaint at a meeting next week.

💰 Want to advertise in the Daily Brief? Write our sales team.

Copyright © 2022 bangordailynews, All rights reserved.
You're receiving this email because you opted in at our website, or because you subscribed to the Bangor Daily News.

Our mailing address is:

bangordailynews

1 Merchants Plz

Bangor, ME 04401-8302

Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.