[Local-Maine-Schools] (Skip Greenlaw) Planning for collecting signatures on June 10, 2008

[Dick Atlee]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Planning for collecting signatures on June 10, 2008
Date: 	Tue, 20 May 2008 07:24:47 -0400
From: 	skipgreenlaw <skipg at hypernet.com>

Good morning everyone,

Judy Sproule, Bucket Davis and I met at the Brewer Auditorium on
Saturday for two and one half hours.  We had some good discussion and
started making plans for collecting the remaining signatures on primary
day, June 10, 2008.  Incidentally, Judy, Lauren, and I are going to
update our count of signatures tomorrow, Weds. (5/21) and will let you
know what the count is.

Judy located on the Secretary of State's website the tabulation of the
votes for the 2006 June primary, which as you will remember involved a
gubernatorial contest.  This information is very instructive because it
tells us that there are
relatively few people who voted in the rural areas.  My suspicion is
that we have already collected the signatures from many of those who
will vote on  primary election day in rural Maine.  I am listing the
websites below, and I recommend that you find your own community to
determine whether it is worth your time to collect signatures on June 10.

Democratic votes:
   http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2006p/prio06gd.html
Green Independent votes:
   http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2006p/prio06gg.html
Republican votes:
   http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2006p/prio06gr.html

The other instructive information is that the urban areas such as many
communities in Androscoggin, Cumberland, and York counties is where the
large number of voters will vote.  Please also remember that there is a
hotly contested
primary, at least in the Democratic Party, for the nomination to the
seat which Congressman Tom Allen is vacating to
run for the US Senate.  So collecting signatures at the polls in York
and Cumberland Counties, and in fact in all the counties of the 1st
District (to include in addition Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Knox,
Kennebec, maybe Oxford?) will be the focus of our efforts.

Bucket has already arranged  with Roger Shaw  to have a meeting at the
Fort Elementary School in Mars Hill on Thursday, May 29 at 6 PM.  The
purpose of the meeting will be to try to raise money at the municipal
level in Aroostook County as Bucket did in Washington County and from
three communities in Hancock County.  (We have only received
contributions of $175 in the past two weeks.)  The Stonington selectmen
have agreed to add an article to their warrant to raise $3000 in June
and there is one more unnamed community where I hope we will raise a
similar amount.  Our goal is to raise $25,000 so that we can employ
signature collectors at as many urban polling places where we cannot
secure volunteers.  For example, Portland has 16 polling places and So.
Portland has 4 polling places.  The cost per signature will be much less
than what we have spent before; more about that later.  Bucket feels
confident based on his conversations with Roger that we can raise money
in the County.  With that in mind, I called
Dick Dyer yesterday and asked him to get his collectors collecting
signatures as soon as possible and to begin to schedule collectors at
polling locations.  We may also want to have some radio spots in the
Cumberland and York
areas to alert voters that we are collecting signatures at the polls on
June 10.

Finally, one more suggestion which Judy made.  We all know that
disposeable income to make a contribution to support our efforts is very
scarce.  Judy suggested that some of you may be able to spend a day
collecting signatures in Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, or any other urban
area of your choice.  Please consider this opportunity carefully.  We
need to establish the biggest effort we can develop so that we collect
suficient signatures to submit them to the Secretary of State in June
and not have this continue through the summer and into the fall.  That
ought to be enough motivation to get this job done now.

So please let us know if you can collect signatures on June 10th.  If
you have any suggestions or ideas, please share them with us.  If you
think your town or city might contribute to our effort, please let us
know and we'll send you information to support that request.

Thank you all for making this effort come together and get done.

Gratefully,
Skip

PS   Please let me know if anyone needs petitions, and I shall send them
forthwith.