Bonus Episode: From the Convention Floor

10/27/22 • 86 min

Potholes & Politics: Local Maine Issues from A to Z

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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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

Previous Episode

Episode 4 - How We Get There From Here: Step 1

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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.

Next Episode

Episode 5 – Elections and Security

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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.