Democracy Forum

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about free speech, chilled speech, and self-censorship — historically in the U.S. and currently. We’ve been producing this radio show for over 20 years, and this is the first time that invited guests have been afraid to come on the radio and criticize the federal government. This is not normal. This will be the sixth program in our series on the constitutional crisis. Guest/s: Molly Curren Rowles, Executive Director, ACLU Maine. Timothy Zick, Robert & Elizabeth Scott Research Professor and John Marshall Professor of Government and Citizenship, William and Mary Law School. To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 9/19/25: Constitutional Crisis: The Penalties for Free Speech first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about the federal administration’s actions on election security, voter access, and confidence in elections. Staff changes at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) and at the Department of Justice (DOJ) may undermine effective election protections. Voter suppression laws and regulations federally and at the state level may restrict participation by eligible voters. Guest/s: Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State. Joyce Vance, Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, University of Alabama School of Law. To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 7/18/25: Constitutional Crisis: Will We Still Have Free and Fair Elections? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We talk about civil liberties, habeas corpus, due process, and immigrant detentions and deportations. While ordinary life goes on for most of us, some Mainers are living in fear. This is not normal. This will be the fourth program in our series on the constitutional crisis. Guest/s: Molly Curren Rowles, Executive Director, ACLU Maine Barbara McQuade, Professor from Practice at Michigan Law, author of the book, Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America. Sue Roche, Executive Director, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 6/20/25: Constitutional Crisis: Are Civil Liberties a Thing of the Past? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: The effects of the federal administration’s policies on health and science research and delivery nationally and here in Maine. Guest/s: Art Blank, Former CEO, MDI Hospital Amy Fried, Professor emerita of political science at the University of Maine Dr. Nirav Shah, former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, and former principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 5/16/25: Constitutional Crisis: Is Our Government Making Us Sick? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Many of us are not yet feeling the heat from the dramatic policy changes coming out of the new federal administration – life goes on. But some of us are getting hurt. And some of us are afraid. Because so many of these federal policies are being promulgated by executive order, without Congress and sometimes in defiance of the courts, some observers are concerned that our country is experiencing a constitutional crisis. It is certainly a moment of disruption. How serious is it? Who might be next? How is this moment outside the norm? How worried should we be? Guest/s: Samuel R. Bagenstos, Frank G. Millard Professor of Law at the University of Michigan. Ryan Dennett, Program Director, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Lauren McCauley, Editor, Maine Morning Star. Amy Wisehart, President, Maine Library Association. To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 4/18/25: Constitutional Crisis? Call it what you will, this is not normal… first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: This month we’ll talk about civil resistance and how civil disobedience have succeeded or failed historically, seeking context for our current moment. What worked in the past, and what do we need now: protests, boycotts, tax resistance? What roles do institutions play: colleges and universities, the media, the business community? And what does the moment demand? What strategies and tactics work? Guest/s: Graham Platner, lead organizer for Acadia Action, Hancock County branch of 16 Counties for Courage Alex Newell Taylor, Co-founder, Sweet Fern MDI; Distributed Organizer for National Nurses United; former Deputy Director of Voter Engagement at Second Chances Florida Vanessa Williamson, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 3/21/25: Constitutional Crisis: How to Stand Up, Speak Up, Push Back first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We want to talk about private equity, what is it? Does private equity contribute to wealth and income inequality, erode confidence in shared services and institutions, and undermine faith in capitalism and democracy? Does it always work that way? Has private equity come to Maine? How can Maine protect its people from the worst outcomes? Guest/s: Brendan Ballou, former federal prosecutor and Special Counsel for Private Equity at the U.S. Department of Justice, author of the book, Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America. www.plunderthebook.com/ Hon. Traci Gere, Maine State Representative, (D-Kennebunkport), Housing and Economic Development Committee (Chair). legislature.maine.gov/house/house/MemberProfiles/Details/1408 Chris Noble, Policy Director, Private Equity Stakeholder Project. pestakeholder.org/ Pat Schwebler is Co-Director of the Cooperative Development Institute’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program. Her background is in real estate, finance, nonprofits, and business management. cdi.coop/rocs/ To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 2/21/25: Private Equity and You first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: For much of our nation’s history, invoking “states’ rights” has meant opposing the federal government’s efforts to abolish slavery and enforce racial desegregation, and supporting state laws that discriminate against various ethnic, religious, or other minority groups. But there’s more to the history of states’ rights, and there’s a growing movement to invoke states’ rights to defend a progressive agenda in the years ahead from the threat of a hostile federal government. Guest/s: Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Betts Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Center for Constitutional Governance at Columbia Law School www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/jessica-bulman-pozen Molly Curren Rowles, Executive Director ACLU of Maine www.aclumaine.org/en/biographies/molly-curren-rowles#:~:text=Molly%20Curren%20Rowles%20joined%20the,executive%20director%20in%20May%202024. Lucy Hochschartner, Climate & Clean Energy Director, Maine Conservation Voters www.maineconservation.org/about/staff-board/ To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 1/17/25: States’ Rights, Then and Now first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: This month, as we do each election year, we will reflect on the recent election: what just happened here, and why? What does it mean for Maine? Guest/s: – Nicholas Jacobs, Assistant Professor of Government, Colby College www.colby.edu/people/people-directory/nicholas-jacobs/ – Anna Kellar, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of Maine www.lwvme.org/lwvme-staff – Abby Kiesa, Deputy Director, CIRCLE circle.tufts.edu/about-circle/our-team – Steve Mistler, Chief Political Correspondent and State House Bureau Chief, Maine Public www.mainepublic.org/people/steve-mistler To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 11/15/24: Election Reflections: What Just Happened Here? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Amy Browne Discussion held on Saturday, September 28, at the Moore Center in Ellsworth by the League of Women Voters – Downeast. Audio by Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Answering questions about the many ways in which Maine has excellent pro-voter election laws that are well administered and free from fraud, etc. Guest/s: 1. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows 2. Joann Bautista, Deputy Secretary of State – Policy Advisor 3. Bangor City Clerk, Lisa Goodwin 4. Moderated by Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Downeast/ To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum Special 10/23/24: Voting Rights and the Integrity of Elections in Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.