Potholes & Politics: Local Maine Issues from A to Z - Episode 5 – Elections and Security

Episode 5 – Elections and Security

11/02/22 • 68 min

Potholes & Politics: Local Maine Issues from A to Z

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 âthick skinsâ 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 otherâs thankless tasks better.

At MMAâs 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 Maineâs 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 â Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows - https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/index.html

13:20 â 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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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 â Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows - https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/index.html

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

Previous Episode

Bonus Episode: From the Convention Floor

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Join us on the exhibit floor at MMAâs 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 & Politicsâ recording booth and what was on their mind during this celebratory two-day event.

Interview Timestamps:

7.05 Debbie Laurie â Bangor City Manager

11.10 Jim Bennett â MMA President and Biddeford City Manager

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

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

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

32.32 Kurt Schaub â Turner Town Manager

38.57 John Simko â Androscoggin Bank

43.15 Kay Rand â TFIC

48.30 James Neal â Efficiency Maine

51.42 Christine Landes â Chelsea Town Manager

54.18 Judy Mathiau â Winslow Assessor

58.05 Yanina Nickless â Assistant to the Kennebunkport Town Manager

1:03.38 Gillian Gaddis â Cutler Deputy Clerk

1:08.10 Shenna Bellows â Secretary of State

1:12.51 Bruce Van Note â Commissioner of MDOT

1:18.55 Marty Grohman â Biddeford City Councilor

1:23.04 Bryan Roach â Volunteer Maine

Next Episode

Episode 6 - Housing & Homelessness in Aroostook County

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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].