MAINE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
1998 PLATFORM
AS ACCEPTED AT THE
MAINE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
MAY 16-17, 1998
| PREAMBLE | 1 |
| I. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND TRADE | 1 |
| INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS | 2 |
| INTERNATIONAL TRADE | 4 |
| II. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 5 |
| ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 5 |
| EDUCATION | 6 |
| TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE | 7 |
| RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT | 7 |
| TRADE | 7 |
| THE ARTS | 8 |
| SMALL BUSINESS | 8 |
| TOURISM | 8 |
| RETURN ON PUBLIC INVESTMENTS | 8 |
| DEFENSE ECONOMIC CONVERSION | 9 |
| III. LABOR | 9 |
| WORKERS’ RIGHTS | 10 |
| WORKPLACE SAFETY | 11 |
| WORKERS’ HEALTH AND WELFARE | 12 |
| PUBLIC EMPLOYEES | 12 |
| IV. HUMAN RESOURCES | 13 |
| SOCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES | 13 |
| HEALTH CARE | 14 |
| EDUCATION | 15 |
| V. HUMAN RIGHTS, JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION, | |
| AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION | 16 |
| HUMAN RIGHTS | |
| JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION | 17 |
| A. Criminal Justice | 18 |
| B. Consumer Justice | 18 |
| C. Justice For Families | 18 |
| GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION | 19 |
| TAXES | 19 |
| 20 | |
| VI. NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT | |
| WATER RESOURCES | 20 |
| FOREST RESOURCES | 20 |
| PUBLIC LANDS | 21 |
| WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING | 22 |
| ENERGY | 22 |
| AGRICULTURE | 23 |
| AIR POLLUTION | 23 |
| LAND USE 24 | 24 |
| 24 |
PREAMBLE
WE, the Democratic Party of the State of Maine, hereby affirm and declare our support for the following Statement Of Basic Beliefs:
WE BELIEVE that the private sector and its labor force, in cooperation with government, is the engine of economic growth.
WE BELIEVE that good jobs and, healthy economy require clean water, healthy air, and the wise use of land. If we dirty our waters, pollute our air, and foul our land, we destroy our future.
WE BELIEVE in the right of all people to receive fair compensation for their labor and to be able to adequately feed, house, clothe, and nurture themselves and their families.
WE BELIEVE in establishing and maintaining the workers’ right to organize, to protect gains made in the past, and to improve their status in the future.
WE BELIEVE that all people should have the right to basic necessities, including food, safe and affordable housing, medical and mental health care, and a quality education.
WE BELIEVE that government must guarantee equal human rights to all people regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, age, national origin, mental or physical disability, religious preference, or sexual orientation.
WE BELIEVE that United States foreign policy must promote the security and interests of the United States through a strong national defense establishment and dependable alliances, and through international cooperation to advance the ideals of freedom, peace, justice, and democracy in the world.
WE BELIEVE in international trade agreements that adhere to the highest standards of environmental responsibility and human rights, including a living wage and workers’ right to organize, and that provide reciprocal market access for the United States,
I. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND TRADE
International Relations
The Maine Democratic Party believes that the primary objectives of United States foreign policy are to promote the security and interest of the United States and to advance the ideals of freedom, peace, justice, and democracy in the world. These goals require maintenance of a strong national defense establishment and dependable alliances. We also recognize that, in the changing world climate, threats to American security are becoming increasingly non-military in nature.
Maine Democrats believe that our armed forces must be up to date as to equipment, training, and support and must be capable of offsetting any direct threat to the security of the United States. At the same time, we must avoid profligate spending on weapons systems.
Maine Democrats believe that the best hope of avoiding war is through cooperation among all nations. To this end we must work with our NATO partners and in the framework of the United Nations to deter aggression, using diplomatic and economic means whenever possible.
The United Nations is the essential vehicle for achieving a stable world system. Maine Democrats will urge the United States to take the lead in reforming the U.N. to take into account the changes in the world since the Charter was written in 1945 and to improve the U.N.’s ability to function as a democratic association of the world’s nations.
The United States, as the world’s most powerful nation, must not shrink from participating in legitimate peacekeeping missions, recognizing that, while some casualties may result, failure to assume our share of the international burden could produce far more casualties – military and civilian – later on.
We will insist that the United States pay its agreed upon share of the operating expenses of those international organizations to which it belongs.
For Americans to be truly safe in today’s world, we must deal forthrightly with non-military threats, such as poverty on a global scale, an ever expanding world population, recurrent famine in various countries, and the rapidly deteriorating ecology of our planet.
We will advocate that the United States increasingly work with other nations to halt massive deforestation, extinction of endangered species, depletion of natural resources and food supplies, and practices that tend to thin the ozone layer, contribute to global warming, or cause acid rain. We must not allow the export or import of environmentally damaging products or dangerous consumer items. We will actively oppose the import of goods produced by processes more damaging to the environment or human health than domestic standards would allow.
We urge cooperation with other nations toward stabilization of the world’s population, consistent with human rights standards.
We will continue to support the work of international organizations which address the spread of AIDS and other devastating diseases.
We will support efforts to achieve a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons testing.
We will support worldwide negotiations for the elimination of all nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and land mines and of facilities for their production.
We regard the spread of democracy and commitment to human rights as essential ingredients of a stable world. As leaders in this movement we must scrupulously oppose any attempts to undermine or overthrow the legitimate governments of other countries. The human rights records of countries which receive American aid should be considered an important factor in determining the continuation or level of that aid.
We believe the use of embargoes is rarely effective as a foreign policy tool, and is one that runs the risk of causing more harm to the ordinary citizens who are victims of dictators, than to the dictatorial governments. Where sanctions have proved ineffective, as in the case of Cuba, we call for them to be lifted.
The Maine State Democratic Party believes the tie has come for the Party to fulfill the vision that Adlai Stevenson had in 1954 when he tried to focus the attention of the nation toward the African continent, and to support the commitments now promised by President Clinton during his 1998 visit to the African nations. The President also acknowledged his negligence when an estimated 800,00 to 1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered during the 1994 genocide carried out by the extremist Hutus in Rwanda, and when other victims in Zaire and Burundi were killed or driven from their homes an country.
Unknown numbers of refugees are still in U.N. camps in Rwanda, dying every day form Hutu militia attacks, from a lack of food and clean water supply, inadequate housing and sanitary conditions, form epidemics of malaria, typhoid fever, cholera and yellow fever because of a general absence of medical personnel and supplies. Special attention should be paid to remedying the plight of the people in Central African nations of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).
This nation should lead the nations of the world in making certain, immediately, that the refugees in the camps in Rwanda are protected for the attacks of Hutu militia, and that the conditions in the camps will provide for the survival of the refugees. Moreover, the Party believes the United Nations and its agencies should assist, as partners, the development of those Central African countries, so that the refugees can safely return to their homes and their countries form which they were driven, Being a refugee must not be a life sentence of those victims of the genocide.
Until such time that the victims of the genocide are safe form the r predators, the Party will press the U.N. and the U.S. governmental bodies and agencies to recognize the realities of the lives o f those who are in constant mortal danger and to change immigration laws and practices to facilitate the resettlement of those who deserve protection from the continuing genocide, and especially those refugees who have family members who are citizens of this country and who are eager to sponsor them.
We believe the following principles apply worldwide:
1. To support and assist nations and people who are striving to establish democratic futures for themselves;
2. To support and assist nations and peoples who are striving to negotiate solutions to long-standing regional disputes or to overcome internal divisions among their various ethnic or other groups;
3. To seek improvement in human rights and ensure that no goods produced by political prison inmates reach U.S. markets;
4. To support the rights and well-being of minorities and indigenous peoples everywhere and to cooperate with the appropriate international agencies to oppose ethnic persecution and genocide;
5. To accept legitimate political refugees without regard to race, nationality, disability, or ideology and never force such refugees to return to areas where they could be in danger.
We will actively press for ratification of those United Nations Conventions on human rights to which our government is a signatory.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
The Maine Democratic Party recognizes, as a cornerstone of democracy, the right of the people and their governmental institutions to regulate the economy, to protect the environment, and to promote the general welfare, including enforcing high standards of labor and human rights.
Our government must foster conditions in which United States businesses and workers can compete effectively in global trade.
Nations which enjoy free access to the US market must give the US equal access to their markets.
Penalties for failure to abide by fair trade principles should be commensurate with the magnitude of the offense, with special consideration given to the effect of unfair trading practices upon United States workers.
All multilateral trade agreements must be negotiated and constantly reexamined to assure that they include the highest standards of human rights, labor rights, environmental protection, and democratic participation.
We support passage of the NAFTA Accountability Act requiring objective analysis of NAFTA’s performance in these and other areas of public impact, triggering remedial negotiations where needed and deauthorization of NAFTA, should remediation fail.
Maine Democrats support congressional retention of its authority to fully debate and amend international trade agreements.
II. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Maine State Democratic Party defines economic development as the creation of a strong, diverse, elastic economy that flexes with changes in demand, resulting in the creation of full-time quality jobs with benefits, such as health care and childcare.
We will work to end the economic division of the state into “two Maine’s.” We believe that rural Maine has been left out of the current prosperity in North America. We urge the establishment of a Rural Maine Development Authority to coordinate the activities presently assigned to such agencies as the Finance Authority of Maine, the Regional Development Corporations and like agencies. The Rural Maine Development Authority must have the resources and the staff to promote and market all of rural Maine as a region of economic growth. Its decision-making should reflect a partnership of business, labor, and municipal state and federal government.
We support economic development policies that work to preserve and protect Maine natural resources and which include sustainable industries such as agriculture, aquaculture, and other natural resource-based industries.
We support economic development policies that empower all of Maine’s people and create equal employment opportunities.
We support economic development policies that guarantee the rights of workers.
We support economic development policies that create opportunities and promote economic justice.
We support economic development policies that demand the active involvement of federal, state, and local government, as well as large corporations, small businesses, labor and other organizations and individuals. Everyone must play a role in building Maine’s economy.
We support economic development policies that include sustainable industries such as agriculture, aquaculture, and other natural resource-based industries.
We urge the continued development and expansion of a state-of-the-art telecommunication and information-processing infrastructure for Maine, including public access and protection of the public interest.
We support the construction of physical infrastructure that will allow northern Maine to participate in the growing North American economy, including an east-west highway and a link between northern Aroostook County to Interstate 95.
We will work to establish policy to provide incentives for capital formation and productive investment in Maine. At the federal level, we will press for policies to encourage the repatriation of overseas profits and to discourage the export of capital and jobs.
EDUCATION
The rapidly changing economy demands that Maine people receive quality education and job training. We, therefore, support increases in state and federal funding for education and job training and support corporate efforts to train and educate workers.
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Building solid infrastructure provides a foundation for economic development. We must increase access to external markets as well as meet the daily transportation and safety needs of Maine citizens. We support the concept of an East-West highway to promote economic growth in northern and central Maine. We support the development of Maine’s road links to correct the over-dependence on the Maine Turnpike as well as the intent of the Sensible Transportation Act.
To preserve the environment, we support the use of accessible buses, vans, and other multi-modal means of transportation. We recognize the responsibility of government to provide for the unique mobility requirements of people who are elderly or who have disabilities, and support improved public transportation provisions for these groups.
We will work to create a statewide network of “growth parks” to include existing major business park-type facilities to focus regional growth into areas of high unemployment while allowing better environmental land use planning. We support appropriate tax incentives for businesses locating in such “growth zones,” graduated according to the regional unemployment level and the quality of the jobs created (measured in wage and benefit levels). We support long term state-wide policies to integrate vocational and university education, transport infrastructure, affordable day care, and community planning to support regional “growth parks.”
Port development planning should serve the variety of Maine’s present and future commercial needs, with emphasis on the export of value-added manufactured products as well as developing the capability to become ports of entry for imports to the United States and Canada.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
We must invest in research and development in technology that will allow us to compete in the global marketplace.
TRADE
We support policies that encourage the export of manufactured goods and value-added products rather than our raw materials.
THE ARTS
We believe that the arts and culture of a community enhance opportunities for economic development. We support funding that increases access to the arts for everyone. We must invest in what makes our state unique.
SMALL BUSINESS
Small businesses are the backbone of Maine’s economy. We understand the high cost of starting and running a business. We, therefore, support banking policies which increase access to capital for small businesses. The tax burden on small businesses should be kept as low as possible.
TOURISM
Tourism plays a central role in the Maine economy. Year round tourism, in all regions of the state, should be promoted whenever possible. We believe that a Tourism Impact Statement (“TIE”) should be required of all major state policy initiatives. We believe that the information provided through this evaluation process will assist in the development of balanced and coordinated public policies which will better reflect the needs of our widely dispersed tourism industry. We believe that public policies which consider needs of this industry will help sustain tourism as a major economic benefit for the citizens of our state.
RETURN ON PUBLIC INVESTMENTS
We believe that the use of the people’s money to support business should be neither a gift nor an obligation, but a tool to further the public good.
We will establish legislation to require that all public support for business, whether in the form of subsidies, tax breaks, Tax Incremental Financing, development bonds, etc., be carefully measured for return on public investment. Actual, quantifiable, job creation and retention, good pay and benefits, environmental responsibility, respect for workers’ rights, and an enforceable commitment to remain in the community for a specified number of years should be among the criteria by which such investment is judged.
Any recipient of such aid should sign a contract with the granting authority, committing them to meeting these and other standards of public benefit. When requests for aid are considered, there should be a review and input by the applicant’s employees, their union, and representatives of the local community. Appropriate recordkeeping should be required to facilitate ongoing compliance review, throughout the life of the contract, by the granting authority, the workers, and the community. Non-compliance should be subject to repayment of the granted assistance, with additional penalties and interest.
DEFENSE ECONOMIC CONVERSION
Maine Democrats will support and initiate legislation to facilitate conversion from military to commercial production and to encourage economic development that preserves and creates jobs. Essential policy elements include: Alternative use committees and worker involvement; Incentives for companies to stay in place and accountability for results; Federal, state, and local government purchasing to foster conversion and job creation; Training linked to economic development; and Income support and training for displaced workers.
III. LABOR
The Maine Democratic Party is the party of working people. We believe in the right of all people to receive fair compensation for their labor, to be able to adequately feed, house, clothe, and nurture themselves and their families and to have universal access to health care. Currently our labor laws, in contrast to those of every other industrial democracy, fail to protect the workers’ right to organize, to protect gains made in the past, and to improve their status in the future. This must change. Our workers’ compensation laws now provide inadequate benefits to injured workers and deny them access to even the limited benefits available. This, too, must change.
The minimum wage should be a living wage. We support increasing and maintaining the federal and state minimum wage above the poverty level.
We support strengthening both the federal and state plant closure, downsizing, and severance pay laws to make clear that parent companies and their successor companies are liable for the severance pay obligation of permanently laid off employees regardless of the size of the work force. In addition, adequate funding should be provided for federal and state job retraining programs for permanently laid-off workers to give them realistic job skills.
We support providing workers with paid training for the enhancement of job skills, enabling Maine workers to grow with their jobs, developing a high-wage, high skill alternative to the export of production jobs.
We support efforts to make the private and public pension systems more responsive to the needs of workers through expanded pension coverage, portability of benefits, sufficient funding for such plans, and restrictions on the use of those assets for non-pension purposes.
We support all efforts in the public and private sectors to end employment and pay discrimination based on gender, age, minority group membership, national origin, disability, work injury, religious preference, or sexual orientation; to strengthen Maine’s comparable worth law, and to enact such legislation on the federal level; and to redress inequities through affirmative action programs.
We advocate increased penalties for unlawful harassment in the workplace and greater employer responsibility to educate employees about harassment.
We support the concept of a shortened workweek with no cut in pay as a means of creating more jobs and reversing the current trend of redistributing wealth and income towards an ever smaller and richer sector of the population. Maine Democrats will initiate changes in the wage and hour laws to put a greater share of income in the pockets of working people.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Maine Democrats seek to eliminate inequalities between the rights of workers and the power of employers. Employers must not be allowed to set up parallel companies to avoid their obligations under union contracts. Employees must be allowed to express their will through successful organizing and bargaining. Employers must be prevented from interfering with employees’ rights by discrimination, discharge, and other discouraging tactics. We must strengthen the laws outlawing professional strike breaking and strike-breaking companies; provide unemployment insurance to locked out workers; prevent employers from engaging in tactics intended to incite violence; and pass legislation outlawing the permanent replacement of striking workers.
We support the President’s Executive Order, banning companies that utilize permanent strikebreakers from access to Federal contracts, and oppose all efforts to defund its enforcement.
We support the fundamental right of workers to organize into effective unions and oppose so-called “right-to- work” legislation.
We oppose the proposed federal “TEAM Act” and other attempts to legalize company dominated unions.
We support legislation to guarantee that workers enjoy the same rights and freedoms in the workplace as they do in society at large. The private property rights of employers should not continue to take precedence over workers’ freedom of expression and association.
We support labor standards legislation and enforcement at the State and Federal level to assure decent wages and Fringe benefits for workers on publicly funded projects. We strongly oppose all efforts to eliminate, dilute, or defund the federal Davis-Bacon Act, Service Contract Act, and any similar state legislation.
We support improvements in labor law to permit certification of a union upon sign-up of a majority of bargaining unit employees. We also support expedited negotiation of first contracts.
We oppose the growth of prison labor, which threatens jobs in both the public and private sectors. We oppose legislation allowing prisoners to perform construction and maintenance work on military bases. We support banning the import and sale of products made by prison labor. Slavery anywhere is a threat to free labor everywhere.
We oppose efforts to defund and eliminate the National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor.
We oppose allowing legal fees spent to resist organizing to be deductible as a business expense.
We support the right of part-time and temporary employees to receive the same benefits on a pro-rata basis as are offered to full-time employees.
WORKPLACE SAFETY
We support legislation, with adequate funding, for workplace health and safety programs, including inspections of both public and private sector work sites. We support the right of employees to refuse to perform duties that a reasonable person would consider a threat to health and safety. We also support restoration of the right to sue in the case of employer negligence.
We support the restoration and expansion of OSHA’s enforcement capabilities and funding. We support increased worker and union involvement in designing and implementing workplace safety programs and in monitoring employer compliance.
We advocate state and federal penalties for workplace aggravated assault in cases of injuries resulting from employers’ intentional or willful disregard of OSHA standards.
We urge legislation guaranteeing workers’ participation in the development programs to control and minimize the use of toxins in the workplace.
We support the reauthorizing of the toxic use and hazardous waste reduction laws.
WORKERS’ HEALTH AND WELFARE
We call for reform of the current state laws on workplace drug testing to provide more adequate protection of employee rights while insuring public safety and employer interests. Workplace education and employee assistance programs must be implemented which protect the worker’s confidentiality. Treatment and rehabilitation, rather than discipline, must be the primary means of correcting problems of substance abuse.
We call for development of affordable and accessible, quality day care to meet the needs of working families, and federal legislation to provide standards and assistance in the provision of day care centers.
We support a public labor/management directed workers’ compensation insurance system that links workers’ compensation rates for employers to the safety records of those employers, financially assists employers to meet safety standards, includes the right of reinstatement to the previous job or equivalent, retrains workers for jobs with equivalent levels of pay, or makes up the difference through the employer for the direct care of the disability, and restores all rights lost. Any proposal to reduce health and disability benefits available to injured workers on the basis of physical disability, preexisting condition, age, or gender should be vigorously opposed as a violation of principles of the Democratic Party. The level and duration of disability benefits should reflect the actual losses sustained by the individual worker.
We advocate equal access of injured workers to legal representation when necessary to assure that benefits promised by law are in fact timely and fully received. When an insurer denies benefits to an employee that are subsequently obtained through litigation, the costs of legal representation should be borne by the insurer.
We believe that all occupational diseases must be compensated under the Maine Workers Compensation Act.
The Family Leave Act should include continuation of health insurance benefits during leave.
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
We must modify current laws to provide federal and state workers with expanded organizing and bargaining rights, to provide for the right to binding arbitration on all issues in contract negotiations, and to create meaningful penalties against federal or state managers who commit unfair labor practices. We must clarify the federal and state right to agency shop/fair share. We must take the necessary steps to assure that state collective bargaining agreements cannot be infringed by either the Governor or the Legislature. Therefore the State of Maine must agree to be bound by decisions of the National Labor Relations Board.
We oppose contracting out or the privatization of the jobs of public employees, unless contractors performing privatized government services meet or exceed the wage, benefit, and service delivery standards of the public jobs they replace, offer first choice of employment to the public employees so replaced, and accept the obligations of any union contract in effect with the government agency being privatized.
We oppose downsizing schemes that eliminate the jobs of public employees rather than improve the quality and efficiency of government services. Early retirement should not be required.
We support full funding of health insurance for retired school employees and retired state employees. We are opposed to raids on the funds of the Maine State Retirement System. The state must provide full funding and scheduled repayments to the System,
IV. HUMAN RESOURCES
Maine Democrats believe in the potential of all persons to contribute to society. Given the means to access available opportunities, we believe that individuals will strive to become self-sufficient.
Maine Democrats believe that all Maine people have the right to basic necessities, including food, shelter, medical care, and a quality education. Services must focus on prevention and must be provided in the least restrictive, most cost-effective manner, emphasizing the strengths and needs of the individual and the family.
SOCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES
Maine Democrats reaffirm our belief that government has the responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in our society and to assure that comprehensive and consistent services are effectively delivered independent of changes in political administrations.
We will work to reform the current welfare system by developing programs which provide transitional support, including education, training, health care, child care, child support, family crisis counseling, and transportation access for persons moving toward self-sufficiency.
Maine Democrats support a strong Social Security system. We oppose any proposals that would weaken the long-term commitments of the system. We support a similar commitment to other Federal retirement systems, and we also support a like commitment to the Maine Retirement System.
Maine Democrats will work to ensure that all persons have access to safe and affordable housing. We will press for coordination of those agencies responsible for housing, health, education, and human services in Maine to confront homelessness, with special emphasis on the needs of children.
Maine Democrats will advocate for policies which acknowledge the dignity and value of all persons. We support the concepts of equal access and reasonable accommodation, which allow the full participation of people, regardless of age or presence of a disability, in all facets of community life.
We will support efforts to assure safe and violence-free environments for all people, including children and senior citizens, both within the home and outside of the home. We support a resolution such as H.J. Resolution 71, which seeks to protect the rights of victims through a Constitutional amendment.
Maine Democrats believe that the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. Therefore, let this 1998 convention here and now declare war on poverty.
HEALTH CARE
The Maine Democratic Party believes that universal health care is a basic right that must be available to all p people,
We recognize that mental illness is a treatable medical condition that must be covered by health insurance. Mental health care, both community-based and institutional, is an obligation of our society.
Maine Democrats support initiatives to make a continuum of home and community-based options the primary objective of long-term care. We do not support any cuts in Medicare funding that will severely curtail access to home-based care,
We support research efforts to discover cures for debilitating diseases and disabilities.
EDUCATION
Maine Democrats believe that education is a right. As the party of Jefferson, we believe that educating for citizenship is as important as work force preparation. We will work to ensure quality and equal educational opportunities for all residents and full funding of public education. We support full funding for federal and state mandates, including special education and gifted and talented programs.
We believe that early childhood education is a long-term investment in the future of Maine. We reaffirm our support for a range of programs such as Headstart, which prepare children to learn and to take full advantage of their educational opportunities by providing the essential support services they need.
We support the implementation of a system of K-12 education monitored by state and local assessments which establishes the academic competence of Maine students and ensures school accountability. We support testing of Maine students to assess academic competence.
We will work to ensure equal educational opportunity through a system of state and local funding in which the state will fully and fairly fund essential public education services and at least 51% of the total cost of public education state-wide. We expect full federal funding of federal mandates, including special education and gifted and talented programs. We believe that these programs should assume the role of supportive services within the context of regular education. Therefore, we encourage the development and use of strategies that allocate special education and gifted and talented funds in such a way that the funding follows the individual student rather than the student following the funding.
We believe that the state should fund the rehabilitation as well as new construction of school buildings that meet all provisions of federal and state accessibility law.
Maine Democrats are committed to establishing a “Multi-cultural Learning System” within the public schools. It is a system that meets the needs and addresses the concerns of all children, that awakens all children to the value of culture in their society, that prepares them for professional and technical training, and that helps them adjust to their environment with a strong sense of self-esteem.
We support initiatives to encourage Maine students to pursue higher education and then to stay in Maine. A joint effort of legislators, educators, and community members should be undertaken to promote these objectives. We support State funding of the first year of post-high school education in Maine as well as increased funding for guidance counselors in high schools.
We support state university and technical college systems and the promotion of accessibility and affordability of a full range of programs. We urge the chancellor, the trustees, administrators, and the faculty of the university and technical college systems to develop a clear policy of admissions to and the transferability of credits among the various colleges and institutions within the system. We also support the availability of student loans for persons of all ages.
We will work to coordinate and link information systems, educational programs, and businesses; To advance effective and ongoing employee education and retraining; To bolster capacities for research and development; And to identify ways of appropriately utilizing available technologies and of developing technologies for the delivery of education.
Maine Democrats urge continuation of strong support for public radio and television, libraries, museums, historic presentation organizations, and other important educational and cultural tools. Because a democratized media system would help us see America whole, in all its diversity, serve as a forum for public debate, and provide a place where voices, otherwise unheard in a community, may be raised, we support efforts to put the “public” back in public television and radio. We also call for the strengthening and expanding such strategies as cable TV franchising to assure that private media systems serve the public interest.
V. HUMAN RIGHTS, JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION,
AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION
The Maine State Democratic Party declares and affirms its responsibility to promote the full participation of all persons in the full range of the human endeavor without regard to race, color, sex, disability, sexual orientation, age, or national origin. We oppose any discrimination against any person. We encourage the promotion of economic opportunities for all people, and we are particularly concerned by the degree of discrimination that still exists in both the public and private sectors.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The Democratic Party has traditionally stood for the rights of individuals, according respect and equal rights for all. We believe that the state has the responsibility to guarantee basic human rights to all people regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, age, national origin, disability, religious preference, or sexual orientation.
We have supported legislation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the areas of employment, housing, credit, and public accommodation; and we deeply regret its recent repeal. We will continue to advocate for passage of this essential legislation and we remain committed to equal rights, without restriction, exclusion or limitation, for all heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual people.
Maine Democrats stand behind the right of every woman to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade and regardless of ability to pay. We support access to health information and health care services so that responsible choices can be made. We find deplorable the use of threats, coercion, or intimidation by individuals or organizations that attempt to deny women their constitutional right to choose.
Maine Democrats support full access to employment, education, and health care for people with disabilities. We recognize that people with disabilities continue to face limitations resulting from stereotypic assumptions about their individual abilities. We believe that people with disabilities are an untapped resource whose full potential for positive impact on society has yet to be realized. We are committed to assuring the longevity of law protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
Maine Democrats believe in the promotion of human rights throughout the world and denounce criminal acts committed by governments, including those committed against citizens of their own countries.
JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION
A. CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Maine Democrats support vigorous efforts to reduce crime in Maine and to maintain our sense of dignity, safety, and community. We believe that a special emphasis must be placed on community policing. In policing our communities, law enforcement agencies must respect the individual privacy and safety of all citizens.
Maine Democrats support expanding law enforcement efforts aimed at reducing and preventing domestic violence. Domestic violence is not a “family problem” or a “woman’s problem.” It is Maine’s, as well as America’s, problem, and we all must fight it. We strongly encourage speedier trials for all crimes of domestic abuse.
We remain unalterably opposed to capital punishment in the State of Maine and in the nation.
We urge Maine lawmakers to give serious consideration to the plausibility of establishing a Maine Public Defender’s Office.
We propose a crime strategy that includes education, job training, and law enforcement. We support well thought out, well organized, highly supervised youth programs to provide young people with a safe and healthy alternative to crime. We support rehabilitation services, including substance abuse treatment, job training and education, in prisons, correctional centers, and youth centers. We also support follow-up services. We support research and implementation of alternative sentencing for non-violent offenders.
B. CONSUMER JUSTICE
Maine Democrats believe in personal and corporate responsibility.
We believe that Americans’ legal rights are the most effective means of promoting the safety of American families and improving corporate behavior. Our judicial system, with its citizen juries, has led to safer products, safer working conditions, and justice for injured consumers. The democratic hallmark of the American legal system – the envy and model for the world – is the jury, a body of unbiased citizens drawn from the community to hold wrongdoers accountable for their actions.
Since the Bill of Rights was ratified in December, 1791, juries have played a pivotal role in balancing the scales of justice, equalizing the rights of the powerless with the privileges of the rich and powerful.
Maine Democrats support the legal and constitutional rights that help protect American families from dangerous products, toxic hazards, dangerous working conditions, and negligence.
Maine Democrats urge our state and national lawmakers to reject the well-funded campaign for anti-democratic legal “reforms” designed to benefit only special interest groups like insurance and manufacturing industries at the expense of consumer and family safety.
C. JUSTICE FOR FAMILIES
Maine Democrats applaud the newly formed family court division. We hope that this division will enable the Courts to expedite consideration of important issues facing families and children.
Nobody has the right to walk away from the responsibility to care for his or her children. If you owe child support, you must pay it fully and promptly. Maine Democrats support tough enforcement of the law to force payment of child support orders in a timely fashion. We support the garnishment of wages and denial of drivers, recreational, and professional licenses to people who fail to pay child support.
We favor funding of legal services for persons in financial need as a means of promoting equal justice under the law.
GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION
Maine Democrats support campaign finance reform to limit the influence of special interests and expand the influence of the people. Spending limits for candidates, public funding of campaigns, and limitations on the funds received by individual politicians from political action committees will serve to promote the democratic process. We strongly support full disclosure of activity by lobbyists and consultants, both on the state and federal level.
Maine Democrats believe that honoraria or gifts of substance should be banned at the national and state levels of government. This ban should not apply to compensation for activities by government employees that is unrelated to their government work.
Maine Democrats support admission of the District of Columbia to statehood if its citizens so desire.
Maine Democrats support access to high quality public services. We support government efforts to forge new partnerships with the private sector including small, minority, and women-owned businesses.
TAXES
Maine Democrats support a review of the State and Federal tax structure, including a review of the tax exemptions enacted by the State Legislature. Any changes in the tax structure must retain the progressive elements of the present tax code.
We support an increase in the Homestead exemption to $10,000.
VI. NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Democrats believe that good jobs and a healthy economy require clean air and water and the wise use of land. If we dirty our waters, pollute our air, and foul our land, we destroy our future. Maine’s greatest asset is the quality of our environment. Clear waters, healthy air, sustainable forests and sound patterns of growth are critical to the economic well-being of Maine.
Democrats know that tourism, recreation, agriculture, commercial fishing, and forestry require renewable resources. Wise promotion of Maine’s quality of life offers the greatest opportunity for attracting the quality businesses and industries needed to assure economic prosperity for Maine people.
Democrats recognize that prevention of pollution is far cheaper than cleaning up pollution once it has occurred. We, therefore, will insist that all new sources of pollution install adequate treatment facilities.
WATER RESOURCES
Maine Democrats will work to protect Maine’s aquifers, watersheds, wetlands, rivers, lakes, streams and marine resources.
Democrats believe that the people of Maine and visitors to our State have the right to enjoy the beauty and recreational opportunities that clean waters provide.
To this end Democrats support the removal of the Edwards Dam Project in Augusta, which has blocked small boats and the migration of salmon, striped bass, alewives, and rare sturgeon from the natural tidal waters of the Kennebec River for more than a century and a half.
We urge that at long last Maine and the federal government require that fish ways be immediately constructed on all hydroelectric and water storage dams.
Democrats believe that citizens of Maine have the right to clean and safe drinking water.
Democrats will work to reduce the dioxin and mercury pollution that has made the fish in many Maine rivers and lakes unhealthy to eat. Because of dioxin pollution, 237 miles of Maine’s major rivers fail to meet federal clean water requirements that rivers be “fishable and swimmable.”
Democrats support efforts by government and the paper industry to develop and test new technologies that, if successful, will result in zero discharge mills. We encourage industry to switch to clean technologies while preserving precious jobs.
We pledge also to support efforts to protect and clean up endangered and polluted lakes and coastal waters. No lake in Maine is considered fishable because of the mercury pollution that drifts in from out of state and falls with the rains. Mercury pollution makes eating fish from all lakes and many rivers unsafe, especially for children and pregnant women.
Democrats particularly support federal efforts to regulate mercury emissions across the nation. Democrats support measures that reduce the run of from urban streets, parking lots, lawns, logging operations, farm fields, and other non-point sources of pollution, that create algae blooms, cause flooding, endanger wildlife habitat and otherwise damage the Maine environment.
Democrats find it intolerable that 431 square miles of shellfish flats, nearly half the most valuable clam flats in Maine, are currently closed because of bacterial pollution. These flats must be made clean again. It is intolerable that coastal waters that could provide jobs for thousands of Maine families fail to meet national cleanliness standards.
We applaud the many volunteers who have done the water tests who have worked to reveal sources of shellfish contamination. The State must now fulfill its obligations by providing enough trained scientists and laboratory facilities to make the work of the volunteers more productive.
In short, we urge all feasible steps be taken to make all our waters and wetlands clean again.
FOREST RESOURCES
Besides providing habitats for animals and a healthy ecosystem for future generations, our forests provide the raw material needed for our paper mills and saw mills and other wood-based industries. We applaud the recent efforts by industry to assure that our forests can continue to supply these vital raw materials. But we urge vigilance. The well being of Maine workers cannot be entirely based on the private business of international conglomerates. Maine must protect itself if the jobs the forests provide are to be sustained. Forests must be managed and harvested in ways that protect jobs, wildlife, wetlands, and biodiversity.
We encourage the development of alternative fibers as substitutes for wood in papermaking, both to relieve pressure on our forests and to encourage alternative farm products.
PUBLIC LANDS
Democrats will work to assure that Maine’s public forestlands are managed to the highest feasible multiple use standards. Exemplary public management is needed to maximize the production of quality wood products for Maine industry; to optimize public outdoor recreation opportunities, and to provide a benchmark by which to judge private forest management. All funds generated by harvesting on public lands should be dedicated to the management of the forest and to the development of trails, campsites, and other recreational uses of public lands.
Democrats applaud the Maine forest industry for continuing its traditional policies of allowing broad public use of its lands, for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, sightseeing, and other recreational uses.
But Democrats also believe that Maine’s public land holdings need to be expanded to ensure that the unique public values of at least some lands are guaranteed for future generations. We endorse proposals to add at least ten percent more land to the State’s holdings by the start of the new millennium. We urge that public land holdings be doubled by the year 2020.
WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING
Democrats urge a national returnable container law. We support educational efforts and incentives for towns and cities to increase recycling efforts. We urge that greater efforts be made to increase the market for goods produced from recycled materials.
Democrats support greater research into finding substitutes for materials that cannot be recycled. We seek to stimulate the market for recycled products made in Maine.
Democrats support research efforts into safe ways of disposing of the wastes. We also support strong enforcement and stiff penalties for those who illegally dump hazardous wastes.
ENERGY
Democrats oppose new construction of nuclear power plants in Maine and in the United States. Democrats will work to ensure that the closed Maine Yankee plant in Wiscasset is safely and efficiently disposed of so that the site quickly can be used for other power generation or returned to its natural state.
Democrats recognize that the world contains a finite amount of fossil fuels. Eventually, the world must rely on sustainable energy sources. We urge public education programs that explain the importance of conservation and the value of solar energy. Energy consumption in most new homes could be reduced by at least 40 percent at no cost simply by facing most windows toward the noontime sun. Energy use can further be reduced by installing efficient heaters and boilers and through proper insulation and control of infiltration.
We support ongoing efforts to end the monopoly of Maine electric utilities but we believe the legislature must safeguard the rights of consumers in the wake of deregulation efforts and the do sing of Maine Yankee. Therefore, we call for public education as to the ramifications of the deregulation of electric power.
AGRICULTURE
Democrats will work to strengthen agriculture in Maine through educational efforts and increased research into better and more efficient practices and for the development of new farm products and markets, especially for fresh, grown in Maine vegetables and meats.
Maine needs new ideas, new incentive and a greater variety of farm products so that Maine farmers can better compete in the new world marketplace.
We support research in ways to reduce the use of toxic chemicals as a way of making Maine farms more competitive and to reduce the pollution inherent ill the use of such materials.
We advocate federal farm credit and loan programs, which are important for the survival of family farms.
Democrats also urge state inspection of all potatoes intended for commercial markets and truth in labeling laws to prevent substandard potatoes from other states and other countries from being sold as “grown in Maine.”
AIR POLLUTION
Democrats support efforts to make our air clean again. We believe Maine should reduce Maine-generated emissions that contribute to ozone pollution as a first step in having Maine meet the current Federal ozone standard within two years. We urge strict and impartial enforcement of state and federal air quality laws to ensure that all regions of the country and all producers of air pollution are treated equally.
Maine Democrats urge stronger actions by the federal government to prevent air pollution from being transported into Maine.
We encourage state government to explore opportunities to reduce our reliance on automobile travel and to stem the increase in vehicle miles traveled because we realize that automobiles are a significant source of air pollution. We encourage the development and testing of alternative fuel vehicles in Maine.
LAND USE
Maine Democrats believe that wise land use laws can help avoid expensive urban sprawl that wastes land and destroys the economic base of our communities. We know that good land planning is a process, not a single event. Municipal and regional planning must be a continuous process that allows cities and towns to meet ever-changing needs and conditions. We urge incentives for cities and towns to adopt and continuously update comprehensive plans.
Source: Copy provided by Carl E. Pease, Windsor, 2008.