AUGUSTA – In a response to Senate President Michael Thibodeau’s letter of inquiry about Ranked Choice Voting, Attorney General Mills has stated clearly—and correctly—that lawmakers in Augusta cannot stop the citizen initiative for Ranked Choice Voting, as proposed by Maine people, from going to voters this November.
Waiting For The Next Car Crash, We Miss What's Really Going On In The Race
By Crystal Canney, originally published on Independent Voter News.
Maine Municipal Association Legislative Policy Committee Endorses Act to Establish Ranked Choice Voting
AUGUSTA, ME – A majority of the Maine Municipal Association’s (MMA) Legislative Policy Committee voted yesterday to support establishing Ranked Choice Voting in the state of Maine. MMA is the state’s largest municipal membership organization. Their 70-member legislative policy panel is responsible for identifying MMA’s advocacy priorities, as well as taking positions on legislative proposals affecting municipalities. Yesterday the panel voted to support L.D. 1557, An Act to Establish Ranked-choice Voting. L.D. 1557 is the product of a grassroots citizen initiative, recently certified by the Secretary of State for a November 2016 referendum.
Stakeholder Engagement Strategy: The Importance of Being Earnest
By Felicia Knight
“Stakeholder” is a word that sounds like jargon—because it is. That shouldn’t diminish its value, however. We’ve talked about stakeholder engagement before and about why it’s important so now, let’s talk about how to go about it.
Herding stakeholders can often have all the precision of a drill team from the Ministry of Silly Walks. That’s because stakeholder objectives don’t always align. When they don’t, you need to call upon the combined skills of a middle school hall monitor and an international diplomat—especially if you’re in the public policy arena.