The Bolt to the Blaine House ’10 – Dawn Hill (D)

Well, it was only a matter of time before Democrat Steve Rowe had some competition for the gubernatorial primary. Rep. Dawn Hill has stepped up to challenge the Dem favorite.

Dawn Hill serves district 149 (Part of York, Kittery, Wells, and all of Ogunquit). Rep Hill has served two terms in the House. While in Augusta, Hill has sponsored or co-sponsored 83 bills, orders, or resolutions. We’ll get into a few of those votes later. Having that legislative history can be a double edged sword for a politician. Dawn Hill can reference votes she has made and has political experience under her belt. She is an Augusta insider of sorts. Opponents can use Hill’s voting record as fodder. A yea or a nay on a key bill could ruin a campaign, depending on how her opponents spin it.

Let’s dissect Rep. Hill’s website. Now technically this is her House member website, but it seems to be serving some campaign purpose at this point. The site is informative with news, legislative updates, and a breakdown of her positions on education, environment, economy, healthcare, and consumer protection/animal rights. Considering some sites have already touted Hill’s challenger Steve Rowe as the Democratic front runner, Hill’s web site does little to show what she will bring to the table that Rowe can’t or wont. She says she is a “fiscal moderate and a social progressive.” I will not dispute those positions, but I will say that I don’t see how that is all that different from Steve Rowe’s stance.

Hill’s campaign is borrowing a page from President Obama’s play book. Is this page his deftly executed grassroots campaign? Or maybe his keen fundraising machine? No. Hill is choosing to ride the Change Train.

from Seacoast Online:

“All of the rules have been broken,” she said. “Look at Barack Obama. If everyone followed the people who think traditionally, he would not be there. People are looking for change. Coming up the standard ladder is not expected by the populace anymore. Party officials think that way, but the people ask, ‘Who can do the best job?’”

I may try to avoid painting myself as some rebel outsider in the political game when I clearly wasn’t. Hill would not be the first legislature who practiced law for ten years to run for governor, nor would she be in exclusive company. I one of the other candidates, who actually does come from outside this typical background, does not jump on Hill’s statement I will be surprised.

Obama did not only win on “Change”. He had a tide behind him that wanted to push out all remnants of the Bush administration. Obama also had the charisma to make people believe in change. The public opinion is against the current Democratic governor. Though I have not heard Hill speak, I would question if she has the level of charisma that President Obama does. You cannot just copy and paste Obama’s 08 campaign and hope to win an election.

Hill is not ignorant of Maine’s problems. How to we attract more and better paying jobs, how do we keep young graduates in Maine, and at the same time preserve Maine’s character? Her solutions are vague. We need to reinvent and innovate. How? Mine the collective experience of business , agriculture, fishermen, retailers, and tourist industry successes? Yes, we do need to cull advice from all those involved. I’m going to need more than that from a self proclaimed “mover and a shaker” and an “independent thinker“.

Perhaps most disturbing is Hill’s use of Maine as a “brand”. In support of protecting the environment Hill refers to the natural beauty as a brand we must market. Our special memories of Maine are a brand. Even you, presuming you are a Mainer too, are part of that brand. See what I just did there. I took something that is a clear truth and turned it sour. Of course we want tourists to come visit the natural beauty of Maine. That’s a big part of our economy. We sell that “brand” just like Tim Allen is hawking Michigan or Missouri markets Branson as a squeaky clean Las Vegas. Words are so important in politics. How something is said can make or break a candidate. Will voters warm up to the idea of being a brand? Will those who battled against Plumb Creek, Poland Spring, and Wal-Mart buy into that phrase. Even if, economically speaking, it is something we sell?

Hill is not devoid of concrete ideas on improving Maine. Hill sponsored a bill to protect Maine’s shoreline bodies of water and forests in LD-340. Hill also supported low-interest loans for geothermal heating, swifter approvals for wind turbines, and efforts to reduce carbon emissions. This stance could swipe votes from Lynne Williams should Hill win the nomination. It also helps preserve that brand.

When it comes to education Hill is hardly innovative. Hill did vote against the school administrative consolidation, which is sure to sway some votes. During the legislative life of the bill, Hill fought for greater flexibility in the consolidation and fair economic burdens on each town. Hill did vote against the recent charter school bill LD 1438. The rejection of the cutting-edge virtual charter schools in such a rural state is nearly unforgivable. It’s a disappointing blow to the state, especially when we are struggling to prove we can be an innovator and a leader.

A peak at Project Vote does show some of Rep Hill’s strengths. Hill received an 80 out of 100 from the Maine League of Conservation Voters. The Maine AFL-CIO gave hill a 100 in support of labor. Hill scored high in civil rights (75) from the Maine People’s Alliance. Hill voted for LD 1020 the same sex marriage bill, giving us the only clear gay marriage stance from a candidate. Hill did not fair so well when it comes to business however. Hill scored 25 out of 100 from the Maine National Federation of Independent Business. That is a poor rating considering Hill is a small business owner.

You might think from my harsh treatment of Hill I think she has no chance against Rowe. That’s not true. She has the voting record to promote her cause in some cases. From her writing, it’s clear that her heart is in the right place. Hill understands what is wrong in the state and broadly what it needs to get there. Can she connect with voters statewide and give them some concrete examples of how she will improve the state? More importantly, can Dawn Hill convince voters she is a superior choice to Steve Rowe? Don’t underestimate Rep. Hill. If Hill can get her ducks in line she could mean trouble for Rowe. Hill has plenty of time to get her game plan together. Then again so does Rowe.

Sunday Editorial on Editorials – Even Republicans Praise Obama’s Inauguration Speech

Normally I like to review some local editorials from the Sunday paper today. The websites for the dailies here in Maine seem to all be down though. I am too lazy to go out and buy some copies; frankly the Portland Press Herald is not worth paying money for. I’ve had to look beyond the borders of the Pine Tree State for my opinions this Sunday.

The pickings were slim. I never realized how interesting the opinion sections of Maine newspapers are. It helps that we have a lot of strange people who aren’t afraid to share their views. We’re an odd breed up here. There’s no guessing if someone likes you or not. I’ll stop before I get too far off topic, something else Mainers are prone to do.

Just across the big green bridge from Kittery, Maine is Portsmouth. In the local Portsmouth paper, the aptly named Portsmouth Herald, I came across an interesting piece by D. Allan Kerr. While Kerr states he did not vote for President Obama he will support him and hope he does well, even if he has to keep a skeptical eye on him. This is a typical New England attitude to have. Well, I don’t like you much, but your welcome to catch a ride to the bean suppah with me. It must be some sort of Puritan ethics.

Kerr goes on to dissect Obama’s inauguration speech. The speech thoroughly moved and uplifted Kerr. The aspects of the speech that impressed Kerr were similar to those that got my attention. Overcoming the darkness in our past, our sense of brotherhood, and the call for unity.

Change did not win the election. One could argue that McCain presented changes of his own. The kind of change each candidate offered determined who won. The unity and togetherness that Obama proposed brought voters to his camp. McCain may have been willing to reach across party lines in the past, but that is not the front he presented during the election. The selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate proved that. McCain chose to pander to the dwindling Republican base. Obama reached out to moderates of both sides of the fence. “That one” won.

Both Obama and McCain pledge to secure and spread democracy throughout the world. McCain wished to do this by force. Obama will do this by force when necessary, but more importantly by providing an example and taking the moral high ground, as outlined by his inauguration speech. Obama dispelled the feelings of foreign policy naivete some had. Obama has certainly been reading up on his Roosevelt, Teddy that is.

There may be some in the extreme right that are still wondering how President Obama won. As Kerr points out, Obama silenced them with one sentence from his inauguration speech, saying, “What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.” Debate in government shouldn’t stop, but it’s time, and I’ve said this before in other ways, it’s time to get together and fix this damn country that has given us so much to be proud of.