Action Item 216 - the Hancock County Caucus

Remarks of Lee Cline, Hancock County Democratic Committee Vice-Chair

Delivered 10 AM Saturday February 28 at the Hancock County Caucus

WHAT WE DO HERE MATTERS TODAY

This past week, the president of the US gave his State of the Union speech.

He said a lot of things.

Almost 2 hours full of lies and gaslighting.

He spewed violent rhetoric, stoking racism and hatred.

He mocked the American people. 

He said “Democrats have destroyed this country”

He called the entire party “crazy” 

When the TRUTH of the State of Union is this: America is weaker, poorer, sicker, less safe, more divided than ever before. We know this to be true right here in Hancock County. We feel it in our bones. The state of the union is a nation in crisis. We cannot pretend any of this is normal.

FRUSTRATION WITH PARTY

Some of you may have heard me last month talking about this. But I’ll say it again. I know a lot of us are frustrated with the Democratic Party right now. Some are very frustrated. But: we here in this room are NOT Washington, and we're not even Augusta. We are neighbors, we are our own community, and there is power here. We can build something new from the ground up. Now is not the time to leave it to someone else to do. It's up to us! Because the alternative...isn't much of an alternative.  

NEW BEGINNINGS

Here we are last day of February. It’s been a long winter, but change is in the air.

We’re eagerly looking for new beginnings for the country…new beginnings for the Party…and for leadership. We want leaders with the courage and integrity to stand up for our values and what is right:

o   We believe health care is a right, not a privilege

o   We deserve affordable housing, child care, elder care, groceries, prescriptions. 

o   We deserve a living wage.

o   We deserve affordable, sustainable energy.

o   We fight for justice, fair elections, due process, and a rule of law that applies to everyone

o   We need leaders who tell the truth and stand up for us, not billionaire donors and mega corporations 

o   We crave principled leaders who walk the walk. 

There is too much to lose. We need to be ruthless about winning.

WHAT DOES RESISTANCE LOOK LIKE IN 2026?

Running for office–OR writing a letter to the editor. Or talking your neighbor into writing one, too. 

It may mean standing up in front of a rally and giving a rousing speech.

But it may also mean taking photos at that rally and posting those photos on social media.

It may look like getting out and knocking on doors and making phone calls, talking to your neighbors about candidates and issues.

Or it may mean sitting at your kitchen table putting names into a spreadsheet. 

It may mean writing a newsletter for your town Democrats. Every month.

It means amplifying our voices. Amplifying one another’s voices.

Helping each other with the tools we need to be loud, and organized, and effective.

That’s leadership, that’s organizing, and that is how we grow power from the ground up. 

WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU: HOW TO GET INVOLVED.

The Convention in May:

We urge to you volunteer to be a Delegate.  We want to send you off to represent US at the Maine State Convention in Portland on May 1 and 2, at Thompson Point. There, you will vote on the platform, certify a new Charter as well as new Democratic State Committee members, hear speakers, chat up candidates, attend leadership workshops and networking events and banquets and lunches and all kinds of fun like that.

There will be a cost to attend. Early bird pricing may help. We have been assured that it will be possible to request a waiver of fees “no questions asked” and the party is going to be arranging for a less expensive block of rooms in case people are concerned about the cost of overnight lodging in Portland. The most important day to attend will be Saturday, so if you can’t make Friday, you can still participate in the most important functions. Also, just a reminder: there are many fun things to do for families in Portland. One of the best, and right at Thompson’s Point, is the Children’s Museum.   

The Maine Democratic Party has allocated delegates for each county across the state. Hancock County gets 69 delegates and 14 alternates. We have those delegate numbers broken down into 7 town groups, further broken down by town.   In a moment we’ll ask you to find your town’s breakout session where you’ll hash out who you’d like to send to represent you. After about 45 minutes, we’ll reconvene here and formally vote on each group’s delegate slate. 

Several other ways we’d like you to get involved:    

o   Volunteer to help organize your own town (show of hands: Who’s been to a meeting of your town’s Democratic Committee? Who doesn’t know whether their town Democrats even have regular meetings?) Some towns have active committees that meet monthly with lively and engaged groups. Others don’t have committees or don’t meet at all. Those towns especially can really use your help.

o   Help secure the elections in your own town! We’re looking for folks willing to be either election clerks OR poll watchers. Election clerks get paid a small amount for their help on Election Day. Poll watching is a more informal but very important job and the Maine Democratic Party has in the past offered guidance in how to do this.

o   Stay connected with HCDC via subscription to our newsletter.

o   Finally, CONSIDER RUNNING FOR OFFICE.  We still need candidates to run for the following House Districts: If you reside in one of these districts, please consider running. We need a Democrat running in every race.

                        HD 13: Ellsworth, Waltham, Fletcher’s Landing

                        HD 17: Bucksport, Orland, Penobscot, Verona

                        HD 18: Dedham, Otis, Mariaville 

The deadline to declare is March 16.  You will need to get signatures by then. We have those forms in the office. We have Sean Smith here today, who is Campaign Director with the Maine House Democratic Campaign Committee. Please reach out to him today with your questions. And contact Phil Bailey for additional information and help.  He reminds everyone that if a legislative candidate has 4 or 5 volunteers who will canvass an afternoon a week they have a good chance of winning.

We will now hear from MARINNA SMITH–who finally decided to run for Ellsworth City Council last summer–who will share her thoughts about running for office.  After that we will break up into our 7 town groups to select Hancock County’s delegates.

(The Caucus subsequently elected 69 Delegates and 12 Alternates to the Convention, and adjourned at 12:30)