Former Maine State Senate Majority Leader and founder of Legislators for Ending the War Michael Brennan speaks to an anti-war gathering in Maine in March.It is with great pride that I share the news here of my impending return to the state of Maine, after nearly seven years in Rhode Island, to work on Michael Brennan's campaign for United State Congress.
This week, Congressman Tom Allen of Maine's first congressional district is expected to announce that he is running for US Senate in 2008 against Susan Collins. This will make Rep. Allen's seat open for the first time in over a decade - and Mike Brennan is already running, and running hard, to win the seat.
Mike has spent 30 years working as an activist, an advocate, a researcher, a teacher, a social worker, a legislative leader, a husband, a father and a friend to improve the community around him. He was in the Maine House of Representatives from 1992-2000, and in the Maine State Senate from 2002-2006, where he served as Majority Leader for two years. During his time in the legislature, he was one of the lead legislators in developing Maine's innovate Dirigo Health Plan, which made Maine a national leader in moving towards universal health care.
He has also been a leader on expanding educational access and opportunity, sponsoring the bill that allowed foster youth in Maine to attend state colleges for free, which helped to double the number of foster youth in college in Maine in a single year.
In 2006, Mike also founded a group called Legislators for Ending the War to highlight the costs of the War in Iraq on the state of Maine and its people, and to have legislators lead the charge on Maine's congressional delegation to make change.
But more than any of his achievements, the reason I am working for Mike is that I know him to be a truly committed person. I know that his progressive politics stem from a deep and abiding compassion for - and a belief in the the dignity of - all people.
I ask all readers of Betty and Bimbo who want to send a great person to Washington to support Mike Brennan's candidacy with a donation. Running for Congress is not cheap, and though Mike has a lot of friends and supporters in Maine and around the country, almost none of them are very rich - which means we need a lot of donations, of any size, to raise the money we need to get our message out to Maine's voters.
If you want to know more about this campaign, you should check out the Brennan for Congress website or send me an email at peter@brennanforcongress.org.
3 comments:
Thank you, Koko, for continuing to fight the good fight. I think I speak for everyone at B & B when I say that I'll be voting at least once for Mike
Those of us (you) who are Maine voters, of course. But congratulations, Koko, I think this will be a good move for you.
congratulations, koko. I continue to be very proud of you as I have been all these many years.
Those of us who are no longer (hey I needed a parking sticker!) Maine voters will be contributing and following the race.
I only hope that the next step is Koko comes to DC!
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