Brunswick Area Indivisible Newsletter #19
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"We are a grassroots organization of concerned residents of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell” Newsletter for March 8, 2026. Brunswick Area Indivisible Action Calendar: BAI Monthly Meeting with guest speaker Shenna Bellows. Wednesday, March 11th, 6:30 pm. Brunswick United Methodist Church, 320 Church Rd, Brunswick. Postcarding, just before the Monthly Meeting. Wednesday, March 11, drop in, starting at 4:00p. Brunswick United Methodist Church. Help write news boosting postcards, informing Mainers how Federal policies are impacting our state. All supplies will be provided ( postcards, names , pens and decorative stickers ). Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Debate. Saturday, March 21st. 3:00pm. Orion Performing Arts Center, BAI Book Discussion Group 'Autocracy Inc.' Monday, March 23rd, 4:00pm. Topsham Public Library 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 - ICE OUT! Brunswick, Maine St. on Rt 1 Overpass. Bring banners, signs. Mark Your Calendar: For More actions and events, visit Activate Maine Report on Gubernatorial Candidate Dr. Nirav Shah's presentationOn February 25th, BAI held its first governor candidate meeting with a presentation by Dr. Nirav Shah, former Director of the Maine CDC. Many of us remember the steady leadership he provided via weekly radio appearances on Maine Public during the pandemic. A total of 62 people attended on that icy night, thanks in part to a post-carding session before the meeting. Dr. Shah opened by listing a dozen challenges/tactics of fascist leaders, e.g., use of the military to suppress dissent, weaponize the justice department, install loyalists in important government roles, target 'outsiders', etc. Shah outlined his vision for Maine’s future, shared insights from his leadership experience, and discussed practical solutions to the challenges facing our communities. Finally, he listed his priorities for Maine: healthcare, economic growth, and community well-being. A brief Q&A session followed, addressing the wealth gap, universal healthcare, etc. Introducing Shenna BellowsOn March 11th, 6:00p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Brunswick, our first female Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows will speak about her bid to be elected the Governor of Maine. All Indivisible members are invited. Bellows grew up in Hancock, Maine and attended Middlebury College in Vermont. She married Brandon Baldwin in 2012. In her run for the US Senate in 2014 she was defeated, but she won election to the Maine Senate in 2016, then re-elected in 2018 and 2020. She resigned from the senate in December 2020 after being elected Secretary of State of Maine in that same month. During the run-up to the presidential election in 2023, Bellows made national headlines when she ruled that Trump would be barred from the Maine primary ballot because of his role in the insurrection on January 6, 2021. Threats, doxxing and exposure of personal information ensued. Ultimately the Maine Supreme Court dismissed her request. Bellows has a long list of accomplishments throughout her tenure in politics. The platform she is running on for governor is inspired by Francis Perkins from Maine who was FDR’s Labor Secretary and an author of the famous New Deal. Bellows is proposing a ‘New Deal for Maine’: access to healthcare, quality public education and affordability. One of her proposals is to expand the housing fund to support a ‘Housing Corps’ modeled after AmeriCorps which would pay people to train in the trades and use their skills to increase housing as well as rehab existing properties. She would also seek to lower property taxes for Mainers by increasing taxes on properties owned by non-residents and endorses a ‘millionaire’s tax’. Other areas she will focus on include utility costs, in which she would cap the rate of return to 6% for utility companies. In addition she is a champion of clean energy projects and would seek to streamline permitting and procurement. Continue the work, volunteer with BAIACTION TEAM Group Description - The Action Team is responsible for responding to national, state, and local issues through community rallies. The group secures permits, trains safety marshals, finds speakers and musical groups for local rallies. The group coordinates three weekly protests, and joins with other local Indivisible groups in shared actions. Contact Person: Sheryl Search action.bai.me@gmail.com Specific Volunteer Needs - Trained Marshals for NO KINGS #3 and safety teams for rallies (on-going) - Peacekeepers (training provided), de-escalation team for rallies - Sound system and light system technicians for our rallies COMMUNICATION TEAM Group Description - The Communications Team is responsible for producing the bi-monthly newsletter for the full membership. The group also administers our social media platforms. Contact person: Kathleen Kenny communications.bai.me@gmail.com Specific Volunteer Needs - Writing short articles for the newsletter and social media platforms - Maintaining and moderating BAI social media EDUCATION TEAM Group Description - The Education Team is responsible for organizing BAI community meetings with engaging speakers and activities. The group plans and facilitates book talks open to all members and the general public. The Ed group also “tables” at special events. Contact Person: education.bai.me@gmail.com Specific Volunteer Needs - Suggesting and securing presenters for BAI functions - Submitting pertinent articles, books and substacks to be linked within the BAI newsletter - Creating social media content - Creating shareable notes from state or national Indivisible meetings GOVERNMENT Group Description - The Government Team is responsible for monitoring and advocating for legislation on the local, state, and federal levels. Members give and submit testimony and lobby for bills in Augusta. The group is active in state and local candidate support forums. Members speak at public events, and share information gleaned from local school board meetings, town council meetings and other vital meetings.. Contact Person: donnachale@live.com Specific Volunteer Needs - Attendees/notetakers for school board meetings - Attendees/notetakers for town council meetings MEMBERSHIP TEAM Group Description - The Membership Team is responsible for building the membership of our local chapter. The group works to increase collaboration between BAI work groups. Contact Person: Wendy Flaschner Flaschnerwendy@gmail.com Specific Volunteer Needs - Set up and 'greet' for BAI monthly meetings - Table for new members at public events and input membership information - Write thank you notes to donors - Arrange and host postcarding events From the Government Working GroupThe BAI Government Working Group promotes, and opposes, legislation at all levels of government, here are some of the issues you might be interested in. Our focus is on Voter Rights, Immigrant Rights and Housing Rights, but we consider other issues as well. At the Federal Level:
How you can help: call or write Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, as well as Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden to express your opinion. Remind Susan Collins that she is up for election this year and you will be paying attention to her vote. At the State Level:
How you can help: Submit written, in person, or online testimony. This is easy to do and can be very brief; just stating that you support or oppose the bill and a brief paragraph explaining why. You can also send email to each of the committee members who will be considering the bill. Once the bill is out of committee you can write to legislators asking for support, or go to Augusta to lobby in person. The BAI Government Working Group is planning to go to Augusta on the morning of March 24 to lobby – join us! Representative Poppy Arford, our wonderful link to the Maine Legislature, also suggests reviewing the Governor's supplemental budget LD 2212 An Act Making Supplemental Appropriations and Allocations from the General Fund and Other Funds for the Expenditures of State Government and Changing Certain Provisions of the Law Necessary to the Proper Operations of State Government for the Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2026 and June 30, 2027 At the Local Level in Brunswick:
How you can help: Attend Town Council meetings, or watch online, and take advantage of the public comment period to express your opinion on Town issues. We would especially like to have people who live in surrounding towns attend those meetings and report back. Attend or watch School Board meetings and express your opinion at the public comment period. Native Americans targeted by ICEAcross the country we are seeing Native American people illegally stopped, abused and detained by ICE agents. It is hard to miss the irony of locking up the first people to inhabit this land in an immigration sweep. Clearly, Native American rights have been trampled by federal agents. Native Americans were not considered citizens, even though they were indigenous to the land. In 1924 the Indian Citizens Act granted citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States. Native Americans also have tribal citizenship as members of the 'Domestic Defendant Nation' with its own government. So why are American citizens being detained by ICE? Native Americans are detained due to racial profiling, where agents mistake them for undocumented immigrants based on skin color, facial features or names. With the recent firing of Kristy Noem, Markwayne Mullin has been named the new head of Homeland Security. Mr. Mullen is the current junior Senator from Oklahoma and a member of the Cherokee Nation. Mr. Mullin is a MAGA Trump sycophant and it is unlikely he will be an advocate for Native American rights. Native Americans are US citizens and should not be detained for any reason. Unfortunately, because of their skin color and non-Anglo names, they do not meet the standards of ‘good white folks’ and their sovereign rights will no doubt continue to be trampled. Immigrant neighbors are returning from detention, but face ongoing legal challengesMany immigrants and asylum seekers from Maine are being returned from detention, according to the Portland Press Herald in this gift article. Most required swift and expensive legal assistance, challenging their the legality of their arrests and transfers from Maine, and demonstrating that they had not violated immigration requirements. Community support was crucial in the release and safe return of most. Just as immigration raids in Maine have not ended. The need for ongoing financial and other support has not ended. For those still in custody, and those pursuing permanent residence, the legal burden remains high. Loss of income, loss of savings, continued trauma are ongoing challenges. Several organizations, including Presente Maine provide support for the needs of immigrant families. Other organizations were listed in Newsletter #16. These organizations need our continued support. -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 Have you missed a newsletter, want to look back, or want to share a past issue? The most recent 6+ newsletters can be found on the BAI Posts page. |