A large crowd turned out for the July 20 Lincoln County Democrats meeting in Newcastle to hear discussions on two important topics: a referendum to increase Maine’s minimum wage; and the investigation into actions taken by Gov. Paul LePage to withhold intended payments to the Good Will-Hinkley School because of its hiring of House Speaker Mark Eves.

Rep. Jeff Evangelos (I –Friendship), the first legislator to raise concerns about the governor’s actions, and Sen. Chris Johnson (D-Somerville) set the tone for the latter topic by stressing the importance to Maine that the investigation focus on facts and evidence, and not let politics rule.

Evangelos shared a letter to the Government Oversight Committee (GOC) that he co-authored with Rep. Ben Chipman (I-Portland) and Rep. Charlotte Warren (D-Hallowell), asking that Maine’s Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) investigate the governor’s actions because: “We consider this an act of intimidation misuse of state funds, abuse of power, conduct unbecoming of a public official sworn to uphold the law, and a violation of Mark Eves’ 14th Amendment rights.”

Johnson referred to Sen. Thomas Saviello’s (R-Franklin) letter to GOC in which Saviello also requested an OPEGA investigation to determine “whether this administration has crossed legal or ethical lines by leveraging state resources for political purposes.”

The GOC, with six Republicans and six Democrats, voted unanimously to request the OPEGA investigation. The scope agreed to by OPEGA and GOC is, “OPEGA will determine the facts associated with alleged proposed changes to state funding for Good Will-Hinckley for the upcoming biennium and any impacts to the school of these changes.”

“In other words,” said Johnson, “what happened to the funding and what conditions were placed upon it.” OPEGA’s report is expected in September.

Responding to questions about what happens then, Evangelos and Johnson said that once GOC gets OPEGA’s report it will either accept it by a simple majority vote or ask for additional information. Once the report is accepted, a copy goes to the House, which will decide by a simple majority vote whether or not to impeach the governor. If it does, then the matter goes to the Senate.

The Senate has the sole power to hear an impeachment and remove the governor from office. Two thirds of Senate members present must vote in the affirmative to do so. In the event the governor is removed, then the President of the Senate, Michael Thibodeau (R-Waldo), would become the next governor.

Johnson and Evangelos answered a range of questions about the process, possible attempts by the governor to obstruct the process, and other actions of the governor. They agreed that this current situation is a tragedy for the state and stressful for everyone involved, and they reiterated the importance of relying on facts and evidence.

Caroline Ginsburg, Midcoast Organizer of Maine People’s Alliance (MPA), talked about the move to have a referendum on the 2016 election ballot to increase Maine’s minimum wage from $7.50, which it has been since 2009, to $9.00 in 2017, and $10.00 in 2018, $11.00 in 2019, and $12.00 in 2020. The referendum will also address tipped minimum wages.

As Ginsberg noted, “It might seem like tipped workers earn a lot, but when you balance their high-earning hours with their low-earning hours, tipped workers are one of the lowest paid groups.” She added that Maine is one of the first states to address tipped minimum wages.

In following up to a question asked about which other issues MPA members considered important, Ginsberg reported that Medicaid expansion and getting money out of politics were high priorities.

MPA is currently circulating petitions to gather the 71,000 signatures required to get its referendum on the ballot. Petitions are available at MPA’s Midcoast headquarters at 49 Main Street, Damariscotta (second floor, above the fish market). Anyone interested gathering signatures or getting involved in other MPA activities can also stop by, and are encouraged to attend meetings every other Friday from 9 to 10 a.m. Upcoming meetings will be July 24 and Aug. 7.

Early in the meeting Valarie Johnson, Vice Chair spoke of two special events the Democrats are sponsoring, the upcoming lobster bake on Aug. 15 and the “Treat for Two” raffle. The raffle winner and a guest get round trip boat transportation to North Haven, where they will take part in a cooking class conducted by Chellie Pingree on Tuesday, Aug. 18, and have dinner at Nebo Lodge.

Jim Torbert, LCDC Chair, wrapped up the meeting with a review of the Maine Democratic Party State Committee meeting held on July 19.

Lincoln County Democrat’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 21 at the Community Room in Newcastle. The guest speaker will be announced.

For more information about the meeting, raffle tickets, the Lobster Bake and other activities of the Lincoln County Democrats, readers can go www.lincolncountydems.com or https://www.facebook.com/lincolncountydems.