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The Legislature is back in session and back in person! 
What has changed since Covid? What has remained? How does it effect the public policy debate? These will be the continued questions we explore. 

This week our podcast and Legislative Bulletin covered bills effecting municipal operations and the public hearings that happened. 

5:00 - LD 202 - Clarifies the rules on sales of cannabis products at outdoor events. 
 8:00 - LD 96 - Disclosing background checks back to a current employer for police officers applying to another agency.
12:30 - LD 23 - Making all personally identifying information held in the e-citation system confidential. 
16:00 - LD 142 & 143 - Maine Service Fellows and Climate Corps for rural Maine.
19:30 - LD 127 - Keeping municipalities from charging waste handling fees for TV sets disposed of by charitable organizations. 

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Episode 7 - New Year, New Legislature, New Co-Host

How does the Advocacy Team determine what bills to place before the Legislative Policy Committee to determine the municipal position on any Legislative proposal? 

What is more important than a title of a bill?

What is in store for our newest Co-Host and part-time advocate full time Municipal Issues Specialist, Rebecca Lambert? 

Will Potholes & Politics stop  when everyone is too busy at the State House? Or will the episodes become shorter and punchier? How will we stay sane while championing our beloved municipal heroes? 

Find the answer to all of these questions and what horrible things we watch in our "spare time", in this week's episode and get ready for the Legislative Bulletin shift to our podcast. Don't worry, we will be taking deeper dives into municipal stories with our colleagues again after Augusta adjourns. 

This episode features Host Rebecca Graham, Co-Host Rebecca Lambert (Rebecca Squared), Advocacy Air Traffic Controller extraordinaire, Laura Ellis, and Director of Advocacy and Communications, Kate Dufour.

Don't forget to like us and subscribe to stay up to date on the latest municipally relevant legislation being proposed in Augusta! Email us at [email protected]. 

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Housing and Homelessness in Maine is primarily discussed through the lens of Maine's largest cities. This episode Potholes and Politics features three local government leaders, Aroostook County Administrator, Ryan Pelletier, Madawaska Town Manager, Gary Picard and Presque Isle City Manager, Martin Puckett discussing the housing crisis, and growth in homelessness in Maine's largest county, and the collaborative way local government leaders are responding.

In this episode we also say goodbye to co-host Neal Goldberg, and hello to new co-host Rebecca (Becky) Lambert who will join Rebecca Graham for our future episodes. Additionally, we layout the way the podcast will increase in frequency as we pivot to pumping out important municipally impacting bills as they are proposed in the 131st Legislative Session.

Episode Break Down:
1:30 - Ryan Pelletier, Gary Picard & Martin Puckett discuss homelessness and workforce issue in the county.
17:00 - Martin Puckett discusses the collaborative way Presque Isle is engaging with Northern Maine Community College's unused college dorms to attract individuals who need housing, provide workforce development in the heart of the industrial center where employees are needed. 
19:30 - Gary Picard talks about the future housing needs of Madawaska and the looming "Silver Tsunami" and how workforce housing is an issue for labor needs.
24:00 - Ryan Pelletier talks about how the County is using ARPA funds to address the looming crisis of a growing population of unhoused in a shelter system that is over capacity and in conjunction with all municipalities.
28:00 - Ryan, Martin and Gary talk about emergency heating needs, and how to manage keeping people warm in the oldest housing stock. 
30:30 - Gary Picard talks about the changes in Madawaska before, after and during the pandemic.
35:30 - Martin Puckett discusses the problem with codes and address emergent issues. 
40:00 - We start Neal Goldberg's long "goodbye" and talk about the changes to the podcast during the legislative session. 

Don't forget to like us and subscribe to stay up to date on the latest municipally relevant legislation being proposed in Augusta! Email us at [email protected]. 

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As Maine prepares for elections next week, Rebecca sits down with, current Deputy Director of the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council and former 2020 Director of Elections for the State of Georgia, Chris Harvey, to discuss the increasingly hostile environment for those delivering democracy in our towns and cities. 

Chris and Rebecca discuss the tendency for municipal officials to develop “thick skins” over years of fielding with public complaints, and how it might be time to set aside their hardiness to encourage reporting of threats.  The discussion also touches on the ways law enforcement and clerks would benefit from understanding each other’s thankless tasks better. 

At MMA’s annual convention, Neal grabs an interview from newly minted Deputy Town Clerk, Gillian Gaddis of Cutler, who talks about the gravity of her new role and the amount of training and diligence required to conduct an election. Neal also sits down with Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows to discuss Maine’s mechanisms for reporting election harassment and interference for officials.

LD 1821 -An Act To Protect Public Election Officials, became law on August 8, 2022.

Episode Guide:

1:40 - Gillian Gaddis, Election Clerk, Cutler- https://www.cutlermaine.net/ 

5:30 – Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows - https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/index.html

13:20 – Deputy Director, Chris Harvey, Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council, https://www.gapost.org/

Every town and city needs citizens like you to help administer the election. Visit the Maine Election Worker Recruitment webpage for more information about the qualifications, duties, and benefits of helping your town at the polls on Election Day.

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Join us on the exhibit floor at MMA’s annual convention, where your podcasts hosts capture the sounds and energy from members, vendors, and partners in attendance. 
Check out this bonus episode to find out who sat down at Potholes & Politics’ recording booth and what was on their mind during this celebratory two-day event.  

Interview Timestamps: 

7.05 Debbie Laurie – Bangor City Manager 

11.10 Jim Bennett – MMA President and Biddeford City Manager

18.20 Elaine Aloes – Incoming MMA President and First Selectperson in Solon

20.57 Diane Hines – Incoming MMA Vice President and Town Manager of Reed Plantation and Ludlow

26.21 Durlin Lunt – Mount Desert Town Manager and 2022 Manager of the Year by the Maine Town, City and County Management Association 

32.32 Kurt Schaub – Turner Town Manager 

38.57 John Simko – Androscoggin Bank 

43.15 Kay Rand – TFIC 

48.30 James Neal – Efficiency Maine

51.42 Christine Landes – Chelsea Town Manager

54.18 Judy Mathiau – Winslow Assessor 

58.05 Yanina Nickless – Assistant to the Kennebunkport Town Manager

1:03.38 Gillian Gaddis – Cutler Deputy Clerk

1:08.10 Shenna Bellows – Secretary of State

1:12.51 Bruce Van Note – Commissioner of MDOT

1:18.55 Marty Grohman – Biddeford City Councilor

1:23.04 Bryan Roach – Volunteer Maine

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Episode 4 - How We Get There From Here: Step 1
Join us as we “drive” around the topic of Maine’s road. In the course of three interviews, Episode 4 travels from the Town of Jackman, through Augusta to chat with MDOT, all the way south to Town of Gray.  

In Jackman we explore the local reality of maintaining a network of roads. The conversation covers state-local partnerships, the budget crunch for public works departments, and a local hero who came to the rescue to save drivers from a 163-mile detour. 

In Augusta we meet with MDOT to hear about the Community Services Division, road inventories and classifications, local road assistance program (LRAP), local road plans and the fallacy of “worst first.” 

Finally, we stop in Gray to dissect the pesky issue of private roads its intersection with the environmental responsibilities of local governments. This episode will be part of ongoing dives into road related issues so...stay tuned! 

Episode Breakdown

03:50 – Town of Jackman, Public Works Director Doug Worster and Town Manager Cheryl Nadeau

21:00 – Peter Coughlan, Director of MDOT Community Services Division and Planning Board member in the Town of Randolph

47:25 – Nate Rudy, Town Manager of Gray

1:07:45 – Municipal Good News: “Celebrate” MMA’s upcoming convention

Corrections and Clarifications
49:55 - The budget for plowing private roads in Gray was originally estimated at $300K per year, however that cost is actually closer to $150K per year. 

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Episode 3 – The Invisible Blue Line
Episode 3 of Potholes & Politics examines a vital state and local partnership, “the invisible blue line”, in which state law enforcement support the operations of local police departments. Examining the cooperation between state law enforcement and local officials to safely host “Maine Day” in Orono highlights when and how this partnership works and why it is needed and available not only in times of crisis. The episode features officials from the Town of Orono, Orono Police Department and Maine State Police. Stick around at the end for the municipal good news story, fall agricultural fairs, and a convention announcement.  

Episode Breakdown

00.05 – Welcome from Nick Kimball, MMA Underwriting Technician

01.10 – Introduction to the Invisible Blue Line

08.15 – Interview with:

               Sophie Wilson, Town Manager of Orono

               Dan Merrill, Chief of Orono Police Department

               Scott Gosselin, Major, Support Services, Maine State Police   

               Darren Foster, Sargent of Maine State Police

               Bill Ross, Major, Operations Division, Maine State Police

               John Cote, Colonel of Maine State Police

44.10 – Host Wrap up to Invisible Blue Line

47.15 – MMA Convention Announcement

48:40 – Municipal Good News: Agricultural Fairs

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Episode 2 - MMA 101 – What is MMA and What do They Do?

Episode 2 of Potholes & Politics offers listeners an overview of the Maine Municipal Association, our services, governance structures, and plans for enhanced support of municipalities as they face unprecedented challenges. This episode will be good to revisit for new listeners who may want to understand the function and purpose of MMA, and the many services available to our nearly 500 member municipalities. 

Episode breakdown:

00:00 - Opening Introduction by front desk Ambassador Jo-Ann Larino-Greves. 

7:00 - Introduction to available services by Neal Goldberg and Rebecca Graham. 

8:05 - Introduction to Risk Management by Member Services Supervisor, Marcus Ballou. 

13:00 - Interview with Director of Educational Services, Peter Osborne covering MMA’s training offerings, Annual Convention, and the future. 

30:50 - Introduction to Legal Services and the unique free advice municipalities receive from Staff Attorney, Breana Gerson. 

39:29 - Interview with past MMA President, Linda Cohen on the Association’s Legislative Policy Committee, and municipal officials from across the state working together for the betterment of all communities. 

52:30 - Municipal Good News Picks of the Pod. 

Episode Facts and Corrections:

First “Town Meeting”: In 1654, at what is now called Thwing’s Point in Woolwich (previously Dresden Mills), residents met at the house of Thomas Ashley to elect local officials and for general public purpose (Plymouth Colony Court Records pg. 57-61). 

Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust (MMEHT): To clarify, MMEHT is not a healthcare provider, rather the Trust provides health insurance plans.

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Join us for MMA’s first podcast episode! This episode summarizes the themes and purpose of the podcast and introduces its hosts Rebecca Graham and Neal Goldberg. Email the show hosts with your ideas at at [email protected] .

Corrections and Clarifications
6.55: While the MMA office does have two levels, with many wonderful people working on both floors, Peter and Alicia work “down the hall” rather than “downstairs.”
15:35: MMA’s Legislative Policy Committee is comprised of 70 voting members, two members from each of the 35 State Senate Districts.