Brunswick Area Indivisible #23

"We are a grassroots organization of concerned residents of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell”

Newsletter for May 3, 2026

Brunswick Area Indivisible Action Calendar:

BAI Monthly Meeting Wednesday May 6, 6:00-8:00 pm. Brunswick United Methodist Church, 320 Church Rd, Brunswick. Join us at 6:00 pm to socialize; the meeting begins at 6:30pm. Just in time for the primary on June 9th, our guest speaker will be Ed Erickson, a native of Maine and is a Brunswick-area specialist in communications and public affairs, with graduate training in political science. He is the president and founder of Erickson communication group, which works with political candidates to craft campaign messages. His expertise is in the nitty gritty of engaging voters with effective campaign communications strategies.

BAI Book Discussion: Monday May 11th 4-5:15pm. Topsham Public Library. Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks. Discussion will be led by Roy Underhill. All are welcome.

Recurring Events (Brunswick)

Tuesdays, 5:30 pm Brunswick Maine Street Route 1 Overpass Rally - Bring your signs and flags.

Wednesdays, 12:30 pm Brunswick Town Mall Cosplay protest. Meet at the Gazebo- costumes optional

Saturdays, 11:00 am to 12:00 Brunswick, Maine St. on Rt 1 Overpass. Bring banners, signs.

Mark your calendar:

BAI Monthly Meeting with Guest Speaker Hannah Pingree Wednesday May 27th 6:00pm. Brunswick United Methodist Church, 320 Church Rd, Brunswick. Join us at 6:00pm to socialize. At 6:30, Hannah Pingree will discuss her run for the Democratic Party's nomination for governor. She is a former school board chair, former speaker of Maine's House of Representatives, and current Director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. She advocates for Maine Won't Wait - Maine's Climate Action Plan, which has won national recognition.

Postcarding, before the Monthly Meeting. Wednesday, May 27th, drop in, starting at 4:00pm. Brunswick United Methodist Church. Help write news boosting postcards, which inform Mainers about important topics in the national news, and how it may affect them. All supplies will be provided (postcards, names,pens and stickers ). Donations for the cost of stamps are most welcome.

For More actions and events, visit Activate Maine

Indivisible Maine Endorsement? Your chance to vote -- Time Sensitive

On May 1st, subscribers to Maine's statewide Indivisible news and updates received the following email from Judy Stadtman, Indivisible Senior Organizing Manager for MA, ME and VT. Though BAI has chosen not to endorse candidates before the primary, individual members should be able to participate in the vote if they wish to register on the national Indivisible site.

Dear Mighty Maine Indivisibles:

As of April 22, six local Indivisible groups have announced their endorsement of Graham Platner for U.S. Senate in the primary election:

Saco Bay Indivisible

Western Kennebec County Indivisible

Indivisible Peninsula

Indivisible Bangor

Greater Portland Indivisible

Lake Region Indivisible

This race and Graham Platner together meet the criteria for Indivisible National to open up its endorsement process for this primary, and your voice is needed.

Here’s what comes next. On Saturday, May 2, an email will go out to all our Maine subscribers, and the message will ask, “Should Indivisible endorse Graham Platner?” Sixty percent of participants would need to vote yes.

That vote will be open until 11:59pm ET on Monday, May 4. Please be on the lookout for this email. And if you’d like to ensure you get this voting email, you can “register to vote” here.

A Day at the Maine State House

Cat Whitaker, Brunswick

I was honored to be one of several BAI members at the State House in Augusta the last day of the legislative session, Wednesday, May 29, 2026, often called 'Veto Day.' We lobbied to override a veto of LD 307, “An Act to Establish the Maine Data Center Coordination Council and Place a Temporary Limitation on Certain Data Centers.” It was my first time attending a session at the State House, and it was eye-opening.

There was a march against ICE on April 25th, in partnership with Brunswick Friends Meeting (Quakers) We asked Rep Poppy Arford what would happen now that Governor Mills had vetoed LD 307 . She gave us a brief and pragmatic answer, and said she'd be in touch soon. With only four days to act, Rep. Arford arranged two zoom meetings for Bai members on Facebook with the bill’s author Freeport Rep Melanie Sach. In addition she offered to host a group in Augusta on the day
of the vote.

We learned about the Androscoggin Mill Data Center in Jay, Maine as well as other proposed data centers across the state, the bill, and the Governor’s reaction to it. We all discussed further opportunities to support LD307 and the important work of protecting our beautiful state from the potential harm that data centers could inflict. In addition to calling, sending emails, and tagging legislators in social media posts, lobbying legislators in both the House and Senate were an important step we could take immediately. Carpools were arranged and Rep. Arford provided resource links.

The cars arrived in Augusta. Despite the pen in my pocket and Melissa’s hair clip, we got through the metal detectors. We stood in the hall between the House and the Senate with signs urging legislators to override the Governor’s veto. We spoke directly to folks opposed to the bill. Supportive legislators thanked us for coming to defend it. Bells clanging and whistles blowing signaled to our legislators to be seated; the noise was exhilarating for some and distressing for others.

Our group was seated in the gallery where we quietly observed the House chambers. Representatives signaled their presence on electronic voting rosters. The Speaker of the House and others sounded like auctioneers talking over one another to streamline the usual business. Classes of youngsters filed in and out of the gallery and stood to be introduced and applauded.

Representatives argued in turn for and against the override; more than one Republican in favor. A rep on the right suggested the many waiting speakers be set aside for an immediate vote on the issue. The suggestion was defeated in another vote. After impassioned speeches by several representatives, including our reps Ankeles, Arford, Macias, and Sachs, the vote was taken and the Governor’s veto would stand.

In response to the vote, Governor Mills announced an executive order to create a council 'protecting ratepayers, maintaining electric grid reliability, minimizing environmental impacts and maintaining responsible and appropriately sited economic development.'

Although the veto override failed, we were successful in claiming our Constitutional privilege. I would go again next session, and would look forward to having you join us. After all, hope is the ability to work for something because it is good, not just because of the prospect of success. We will continue to fight.

132nd Maine Legislature update

The intense legislative session is over. We must move on to the 133 Legislature, which will begin in late 2026-2027, after with June 9, 2026 and midterm elections November 3, 2026. By now everyone knows the status of their most important bills. The best way to keep getting the results you desire from your Maine legislature is to email this session's bill sponsors with your gratitude for successful bills, your encouragement to reintroduce worthy measures that did not pass and your desires!

A good way to track your bills is with the State of Maine data website or https://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/search.asp

Another method that is easier to use is Legiscan.

The Maine Monitor keeps track of Augusta as well and recently published an excellent overview of how the Legislature works.

Actions you can take:

Now is a good time to think about what state legislation is important to you, why.
Investigate if you want the legislature to enact something.
After the primary, contact your representatives running for re-election. Share your plan of what you would like them to do by phone, email, in person, or by mail.
If you want something to be resubmitted, modified or started from scratch offer your help, passion, information.
If you choose to, volunteer to assist in getting them elected.
After the election, recontact the winner with your plan. The legislators-elect have basically one month to get their proposed bills organized and submitted, and you want yours to be on top of the pile!

A Case for knocking on doors

Geo Johnston, Brunswick, Maine

Note: The opinions and experience expressed are those of the contributor, and do not reflect the opinions of Brunswick Area Indivisible, nor are they intended to be an endorsement of a specific candidate in the June 9th primary election by BAI.

In the past few months, to my surprise, I’ve made a of hobby of knocking on doors and asking complete strangers what some might consider personal questions. Each weekend, clipboards in hand, canvassers are in our communities knocking on our doors to ask if we will commit to voting for their candidate in the upcoming June 9th primary. And I am one of them.

Before I took up this “hobby”, I was courteous to canvassers when they knocked on my door, but frankly I saw them as an interruption to my day. I couldn’t recall a time when I was persuaded by anything they said through my half-opened door. I’ll admit I was a skeptic.

I knocked on my first door this past October for the “No on One” campaign, after Will Ikard of Save Maine Absentee Voting presented to a BAI meeting to ask for volunteers. Voting rights are a cause I care deeply about. I had already donated money- but they were asking for additional help, so I signed up for a shift.

I have learned that to win at the polls, participation is essential. The strongest means of participation is to forge a personal connection: humble, empathetic, human to human, neighbor to neighbor. When establishment politics, special interests, and corporations want to isolate, divide and alienate us, we have something they don’t: a personal connection with one another. Knocking on doors is an opportunity to have a sincere conversation; to learn something about what others in our communities are experiencing and to relate to them, to forge a human connection.

On any given door knocking shift, there will be one conversation in particular that lifts your spirit and beats back whatever cynicism that mainstream and social media have imposed on you. You are reminded that the politics around us are personal to each of us and that collectively we can build political power and save our country, one door at a time.

If you’ve not canvassed for a candidate or cause before, I encourage you to try It.

I am currently knocking on doors for Graham Platner, and the campaign makes it easy with trainings and partnering first timers up with a more experienced canvasser. I’d love to see you out there. We are going to be knocking on over 5,000 doors in and around Brunswick in the next 4 weeks, and need all the volunteers we can get. You can sign up here.

And finally, if, by chance, I knock on your door, I hope you’ll answer it because I look forward to the conversation we will have, regardless of who you plan to support on June 9th.

Campaigns are organizing canvas events across the state as well. You can find volunteer signup links below for the democratic candidates on the primary ballot.

Senate Candidates

David Costello https://www.costelloforsenate.com/volunteer
Andrea Laflamme https://www.andreaformaine.com/get-involved
Graham Platner https://www.mobilize.us/grahamformaine/event/943540/

Candidates for Governor

Shenna Bellows https://secure.ngpvan.com/1dup54ADZ0adptFU72Kqbg2
Troy Jackson: https://secure.ngpvan.com/ZxdwE58dEkasCy9Ca8z1qw2
Angus King III: https://secure.ngpvan.com/8XQ-5TOsVUON3KZyJm_rjw2
Hannah Pingree: https://hannahforgovernor.com/volunteer/
Nirav Shah: https://shahformaine.com/get-involved/

Maine to ICE: “Stay in your lane”

With the end of the legislative session, Maine now has several laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration agencies. Immigration enforcement agents may not enter public places such as schools, libraries and hospitals, without a judicial warrant. Other new laws protect due process for detainees and immigrants’ private information.

LD1971, intended to keep ICE and Border Patrol immigration enforcement separate from Maine state, county and municipal criminal law enforcement, will finally go into effect this summer. The bill does allow for cooperation in serious criminal investigations through state-federal task forces.

Another bill, signed by the Governor last month, makes clear that Maine jails need not accept federal prisoners detained solely for immigration issues. Immigration enforcement falls under federal civil code, not criminal law, a key distinction.

In anticipation, Cumberland County commissioners voted to end the jail’s detention contract with the feds. The situation at the other jail in the state, the Two Bridges Jail in Wiscasset, is not as clear, though federal prisoners were reported to be held there in early April.

Several communities have passed ordinances or policy statements defining responsibilities for all their municipal employees towards federal immigration activities. This is critical to protect towns from liability for illegal detentions and to safeguard sensitive private data town clerks and other municipal employees may be pressured to turn over to federal authorities.

Towns that have passed ordinances include Rockland, Lewiston and Bar Harbor. Portland, Waterville and Bangor are considering measures. After ICE operations in Brunswick in March, Brunswick and Topsham should follow suit.

Two Bridges Jail and ICE

The Two Bridges jail in Wiscasset was established to serve Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties in a regional agreement. Since its opening it has relied on federal contracts to maintain financial stability and offset local taxpayer costs. The revenue model made the jail a critical piece of the local infrastructure, though it eventually tied the facility’s reputation to federal immigration policies.

For years, Two Bridges operated under an intergovernmental service agreement that included housing detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The jail operated on a ‘criminal only’ policy stating they would only hold individuals with criminal charges and not those held on civil immigration warrants. The distinction was intended to balance federal cooperation with local law enforcement.

Despite this arrangement the jail became a source of public scrutiny as citizens questioned the role in the broader federal deportation system.The relationship with ICE reached a critical point in 2026 following a surge in federal enforcement actions across Maine. Local advocacy groups demanded that the jail sever ties with ICE to protect the region’s immigrant population. It was revealed that the jail was housing individuals caught in the wide scale sweeps. By February 2026, federal authorities began transferring all ICE detainees in Maine to facilities in other states ending the program.

Currently the Jail operates without any ICE detainees, following a period of significant legislative and social shifts in Maine.The Maine Legislature passed measures that restrict how county jails interact with with federal immigration officials, reinforcing the facility’s focus on local and regional corrections. The loss of ICE revenue presented a budgetary challenge, county officials secured alternative grants to fill the the gap. This transition marks a new chapter for the jail, prioritized toward a community-aligned mission.

Apophenia

The disappearances and deaths of several high-profile scientists between 2022 and 2026 has been a hot topic in the mainstream and social media lately. The gist of it is that 11 murders and disappearances of scientists allegedly involved with NASA or other high profile labs or institutions have occurred. These individuals were supposedly all connected to sensitive research such as UFOs and nuclear fission.

Although several of the victims’ family members have come out and said there was nothing suspicious about the deaths of their loved ones, the rumors persist. Sociologists say the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns with random data is called apophenia. This is how conspiracy theories flourish.

A few news outlets, including CNN, have picked up the story, and now James Comer seems to have taken an interest and wants to investigate. According to him this could be ‘the enemy’ trying to snuff out our scientific superiority. Trump said he ‘hopes it’s random’ and the FBI is looking into it.

It seems likely that after spending lots of time and money on a weak investigation they won’t come up with much more than what we have now. Statistics may prove to be right after all. Sometimes it is just random events and coincidence and yes, there is such a thing as coincidence.

Voting -- Primary Ballot Information

Primary season is here. Voters may request ballots by mail and in person at their town office. Last day to request absentee ballots or to vote early in person is June 4. In person voting will be Tuesday June 9.

The League of Women Voters, Maine has published their voter guide. Please share it widely. Perhaps make a copy or two and share it with family, friends and new acquaintances as you talk up the importance of this year's races.

What's on your ballot? State, federal and county office primary candidates are listed at Ballotpedia. Type in your address, choose Detailed Ballot and review basic information about the candidates all in one place. For polling place information, check with your town office or use the address lookup at the Maine election page.

-Brunswick Area Indivisible

As always, if you have an upcoming action, article, legislative issue or story that you want to go out on the Brunswick Area Indivisible email list, send it to communications.bai.me@gmail.com

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