(update) Are Organizations Who Work To Monitor, Improve And Defend Maine’s Landmark Clean Election Law On Board?

update 4-16-13

No response or feedback from either organization.

What are your thoughts on this?

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After watching Maine PBS public hearings on the Maine’s Clean Elections Act and hearing the testimony and opposition on the proposal to gut clean elections, the following e-mail was sent to organizations in support of the Maine Clean Elections Act. No response has been received.

—–Original Message—–

To: andrew
Cc: lwvme
Sent: Thu, Mar 21, 2013 1:25 pm
Subject: Maine’s Clean Elections Act

Andrew Boisse, Executive Director
Maine Citizens for Clean Elections
PO Box 18187
Portland ME 04112

Barbara McDade, President
The League of Women Voters of Maine
PO Box 863
Augusta, ME 04332-0863

I watched the public hearings on Maine’s Clean Elections Act. I heard the testimony and opposition on the proposal to gut clean elections.Whereas your organizations work to monitor, improve and defend Maine’s landmark Clean Election law, I must share the following with you. My attempts to bring this information/documentation to those in authority have been brushed under the rug. What I share with you goes beyond the “gutting” of clean elections. The general public has not heard about this as the media refused to report on this. It is imperative that you, and the public, are aware of the inside tactics used against the taxpayers. Should the Clean Election law remain in place, it will not matter if the violations of said law continue. When lawmakers/law enforcement turn a deaf ear to the violations, the Clean Election law does not allow more Mainers the opportunity to serve, it does not give Maine voters more choices and will continue with only the elite, powerful and rich able to run for office.

In 2004 I ran as a clean election candidate in a special election held in Biddeford. People who helped out with my campaign worked their hearts out and we conducted a clean campaign. The events surrounding this election were not just mere “irregularities” or “mistakes”. A full investigation into the City of Biddeford was fully warranted. No one was ever held accoutable and these are issues your organizations must be made aware of, especially where the same people involved are in office.

My issues are:
1) The premature opening of absentee ballots
2) The failure of the Post Office to mail my first-class campaign flyers. This was paid with clean election funds by the taxpayers of Maine. These were not delivered and neither did the taxpayers receive their mail.

These are state and federal violations of law and a matter of public interest.

On November 4, 2005 I spoke with Mr. Jonathan Wayne, Director of the Ethics Commission regarding my complaint and he danced around the issue.  http://unmasker4maine.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/are-maine-elections-politically-controlled/

Letter to Julie Flynn, Deputy Secretary of State (during tenure of Matthew Dunlap) http://unmasker4maine.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/flynna-g-election-february-92004.pdf

Letter to Leanne Robbins, Asst. A.G. http://unmasker4maine.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/a-g-robinson-election-may-15-2005.pdf

Campaign flyers – not mailed http://unmasker4maine.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/campaign-flyers.jpg

There must be oversight and accountability within the office of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General’s office and the Ethics Commission.

When Charlie Summers took over Secretary Dunlap’s position, I requested to meet with him about Dunlap’s failure to act. Summers did not grant me the opportunity to meet with him. However, the following is what transpired.

Letter to Secretary of State, Charlie Summers – August 1, 2011 http://unmasker4maine.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/summers-charles-sec-of-state-voter-fraud.pdf

Reply from the Secretary of State, November 7, 2011 http://unmasker4maine.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/summers-charles-sec-of-state-reply-11-7-11.pdf

FOIA Request to Secretary of State Summers, November 14, 2011
http://unmasker4maine.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/summers-c-sec-of-state-1-foa-11-14-11-odt.pdf

FOIA reply from Secretary Summers, December 1, 2011 http://unmasker4maine.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/summers-c-sec-of-state-foa-response-dec-1-2011.pdf

Secretary Summers did not find that there was significant evidence to support an investigation? Deputy Secretary of State, Julile Flynn, “thoroughly” examined the incident with the Attorney General’s Office and Summers was confident that she arrived at the proper outcome. His “office does not possess any documentation of Ms. Flynn’s review of the matter in question as the process was based on oral communication.” An “oral communication” does not constitute an investigation. Had a full and fair investigation been conducted by Ms. Flynn and Asst. A.G. Robbins, they would have viewed the Post Office’s role in this state’s scam against decent, honest people who run for office.

Are we to trust that future elections will be honest whether there are clean election funds or not? Are we to trust the same people in office today who were there in the past? Unless, and until, there is accountability within the offices which oversee elections, and investigations, positive change will never occur. Good, decent, honest people will chose not to run for public office.

I will appreciate your feedback.

Dorothy Lafortune

Are we to trust organizations who claim to be on the side of We The People anymore than we trust our elected officials?

Points To Ponder As Maine’s 2012 Election Comes To An End

As the November election comes to an end, let’s take a look at the integrity, honesty, trustworthiness and character (or lack thereof) of Maine’s U.S. Senate candidates. Let’s see who ‘says one thing and does another’.

I’ve seen the candidates campaign ads on tv. The same message for decades with a different face. In my opinion, the following are points to ponder before you vote.

Candidate Charlie Summers (Maine’s Secretary of State)
In his tv ads he speaks of losing his wife, having to be mother and father to his children and laying awake at night wondering how he will pay his mortgage to the bank.

Well, Mr. Summers, I (as so many other Mainers) lay awake nights too. I lost a husband (his life taken, covered up), I lost my only child and had to bury her without insurance that I paid Metropolitan Life Insurance for. I lay awake wondering when the Bureau of Insurance will hold MetLife accountable. It’s been three years since they “are still looking into it.” I lay awake nights waiting for Saco Biddeford Savings Inst., and their coherts in Biddeford (inc. Atty. Jens-Peter Bergen on the Kennebunk prostitution “client list”) to be held accountable in the fraudulent taking of my business property and home. I lay awake nights waiting for you, (and former SOS Matt Dunlap), Attorney General William Schneider and Jonathan Wayne (Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices) to investigate election fraud in Biddeford. These are only a few examples of sleepless nights.

Summers wants us to know that we will have him to work for us in Washington. Why isn’t he working for us in Maine? Why is he not upholding his duties as Maine’s Secretary of State?

Candidate Kevin Raye – President of the Maine Senate.
Ignored requests to meet with him to present issues of fraud, waste and abuse. Worked for US Senator Olympia Snowe for 17 years. Birds of a feather….
Andrea Mitchell’s exclusive interview with Sen. Olympia Snowe when she ubruptly decided not to seek re-election and giving possible candidates approximately two weeks to gather signatures. “Having a milestone birthday helps you to focus about whether or not I was prepared to commit for another six years in the United States Senate.” I find it hard to believe that Senator Snowe didn’t know last year that she was coming up upon a “milestone birthday.”

Candidate Angus King
Angus King created 70,000 jobs. Were they generated from his 147 government appointments?

During the tenure of former governor Angus King, I received from a state legislator a list of the key “serve at the pleasure” of the governor positions. I learned from this legislator that he was chastised on the House floor for taking this public. Why the big secret? According to this document, there is a more comprehensive list than what is provided here and is kept within the Office of the Secretary of State. We the people have a right to know whose salaries we are paying! We also have a right to know who the “Confidential Employees” are. Additionally, King (and other state officials) was given the evidence of official corruption in Maine via Tom Dunn’s video which investigation initially began with the Attorney General seeking Tom’s assistance.

Candidate US Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
Pingree runs her campaign on veterans issues. Her debate with Maine Senator John Courtney (another good ole boy network member) on Maine Watch she said she was there for individuals who need help with veteran issues. Well, not so. E-mails to her go unanswered and there is no getting past her aide (gatekeeper) Jim Pineau, despite his lies to the Maine Director of Veterans Services.

Candidate Danny Dalton
Republican Charlie Summers, independent Angus King and Democrat Cynthia Dill squared off in a three-way debate at the Franco-American Center. The three other independent candidates, Steve Woods of Yarmouth, Andrew Ian Dodge of Harpswell, and Danny Dalton of Brunswick, were not invited to the live debate.

Dalton, 56, is a former intelligence specialist with the Army and Air Force who went on to travel the world as a federal agent and civilian contractor chasing down terrorists and drug smugglers.
After Dalton left the security business, he continued to gather intelligence from his old contacts, at his own expense. When he tried to share the information with the federal government — including the specific location of Taliban commanders — he again got nowhere, he said.

Eventually, Dalton said, he tried to share some of his information and complaints with Maine’s senators, Snowe and Susan Collins. He met with their staff members but said his leads and complaints still went nowhere.

He decided to run against Snowe as a way to expose the waste and dysfunction and the failure of the two-party system.

And so much to be said about term limits. Maine Senator Barry Hobbins is termed out as senator, so now he runs for the House!

Will Maine’s history repeat itself in Washington? Will it be different this time around? I think NOT!

 

NOTE:  My attempts to send this to J. Scott Moody, Maine Heritage Policy Center comes up with “Error The address “J. Scott Moody” in the “To” field was not recognized.

This is not the first time I cc blogs to this agency. The e-mail address is the one noted on The Maine Heritage Policy Center website.  What’s up with this Scott Moody? The same happened with Lance Dutson prior to his move to campaign for Secretary of State Charlie Summers.

[new post] HOW MUCH MORE MUST WE TAKE OF U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE CHARLES SUMMERS?

Maine’s Secretary of State who’s running for U.S. Senate has a message to critics who wanted him to step down as secretary of state during the campaign. “They want me to resign and I’m not going to do it,” Charlie Summers said. The secretary of state’s office administers Maine elections, and the Maine People’s Alliance says Summers, a Republican, should resign because of a conflict in overseeing his own election.

This past May, Secretary of State Charles E. Summers, Jr. appointed a Commission to Study the Conduct of Elections in Maine, in accordance with Resolve, Chapter 133 (enacted by the 125th Maine State Legislature). He tasked the Commission with conducting a study of voter participation, the system governing voter registration and the conduct of elections in our State; the intent being that their findings, as well as any recommended legislation, would be reported to the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs of the 126th Legislature.

Voters shut out of election hearing.

Related:  U.S. Senate Candidates Angus King, Charles Summers Face Off In First Debate In Front Of An Invitation-only Audience

MAINE SECRETARY OF STATE CHARLIE SUMMERS WINS ELECTION AND JULIE FLYNN GETS TO COUNT HER BOSS’ VOTES

 COMMISSION TO STUDY THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS IN MAINE TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS

To  Secretary of State Charles Summers and his cohorts Maine’s Attorney General William Schneider and Jonathan Wayne, Director of the Ethics Commission, I demand an investigation into Maine’s elections ….and accountability. How can Charles Summers justify his candidacy for U.S. Senate? He can’t even uphold his duties as Secretary of State.

[new post] Congressional Testimony: Dottie Lafortune to Bill Windsor of Lawless America in Maine

View YouTube 

[new post] COMMISSION TO STUDY THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS IN MAINE TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS

This past May, Secretary of State Charles E. Summers, Jr. appointed a Commission to Study the Conduct of Elections in Maine, in accordance with Resolve, Chapter 133 (enacted by the 125th Maine State Legislature). He tasked the Commission with conducting a study of voter participation, the system governing voter registration and the conduct of elections in our State; the intent being that their findings, as well as any recommended legislation, would be reported to the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs of the 126th Legislature. The group will be holding public hearings throughout the state in order to better understand how Mainers view the State’s voting process and what their concerns are, as well as what they feel may need to be changed or modified.

Public Hearing Schedule – Commission to Study the Conduct of Elections in Maine.
Let’s take a look at how Secretary Summers makes “correct decisions” and the disgraceful, unlawful, job performance of Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn, in concert with them Attorney General’s Office.

Letter to Julie Flynn, Deputy Secretary of State. During the tenure of (now former Secretary of State) Matthew Dunlap (D).

Letter to Leanne Robinson, Asst. A.G.  (I also hand delivered one to her)

Letter to Secretary of State Summers, August 2011

Reply from Secretary of State, November 7, 2011.

FOIA Request to Secretary of State Summers, November 14, 2011.

FOIA reply from Secretary Summers, December 1, 2011.

Secretary Summers did not find that there is significant evidence to support an investigation into the City of Biddeford’s election fraud of 2004. Deputy Secretary of State, Julie Flynn, “thoroughly” examined the incident with the Attorney General’s Office. Secretary Summers was confident Deputy Secretary of State, Julie Flynn, arrived at the proper outcome. To the best of his knowledge, his “office does not possess any documentation of Ms. Flynn’s review of the matter in question as the process was based on oral communication. Please understand that I am not denying your request for documents; it is just that what you have requested does not exist.”

An “oral communication” does non constitute an investigation! Had a full and fair investigation been conducted Ms. Flynn, and Asst. A.G. Leanne Robbins, would have viewed the Post Office’s role in this state’s scam against decent, honest people who run for office.Campaign flyers and postage paid with clean election money were returned after the “post office forgot to mail them.” They were returned as “undeliverable.” This is a lie! Calls were made to many of the people who did not receive this mailing and did receive mail as addressed.

Campaign flyers – U.S. Post Office failed to mail. This is YOUR taxpayer money! Where is the outrage?

Where is transparency in government and accountability where it’s concerned? Are we to trust that Summers will make the “correct decisions” in the upcoming election? There is not even a justification for his run for U.S. Senate. Secretary Summers has some explaining to do!

Where does the buck stop?

BDN reports “ Don’t seek solutions to nonexistent problems. The commission is conducting its work in an environment where Republicans continue to push for election reform in response to — largely unsubstantiated — claims of voter fraud, while Democrats vehemently argue against such measures as attempts to suppress voting blocs that traditionally support them. In June 2011, Gov. Paul LePage signed LD 1376, An Act To Preserve the Integrity of the Voter Registration and Election Process, which banned same-day voter registration. In July 2011, Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster produced a list of 206 names of college students who he said should be investigated for voter fraud. About two months later, Summers announced the findings of that investigation. Although he found no evidence of fraud, Summers said his probe revealed that Maine’s elections system was “fragile and vulnerable” to errors.”

If this commission is to study the conduct of elections in Maine, it must not only include “voter” issues, but issues involving honest, decent candidates running for office.  So much for mainstream media’s “Don’t seek solutions to nonexistent problems” which do exist and they refuse to publish!

With the U.S. Postal Service in the pockets of politicians, mainstream media owned by spouses of politicians……do you get it yet?

[new post] A DROP-OFF IN MAINE CLEAN ELECTION CANDIDATES

PPH reports “Maine’s system of public campaign financing, which has been enormously popular with legislative candidates, appears to be losing its luster. Figures from the state Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, which oversees campaign financing, show that 63 percent of Maine’s legislative candidates are drawing public funds through the state’s Clean Election Act in this year’s legislative campaign. That compares to 80 percent in the last election cycle and 85 percent in the previous one.”

“I think there has been a drop-off because some candidates are concerned that outside groups will launch negative attacks and there will not be matching funds to counter them,” said Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello, R-Poland.”

Snowe-Mello understood the corruption, and listened to the people, when she was a state representative. Since becoming a Senator, she’s deaf, dumb and blind…..another Barry Hobbins! What a big disappointment in Lois Snowe-Mello.

Maybe there’s a “drop-off” because good, honest, decent people don’t want to find themselves with trumped up charges……not to mention the election fraud that goes on when good people run!

Related, click here, click here.

[new post] LANCE DUTSON, CEO MAINE HERITAGE POLICY CENTER, LEAVES HIS JOB TO RUN THE U.S. SENATE CAMPAIGN FOR CHARLIE SUMMERS

 

“Lance Dutson will leave his job as director of the Maine Heritage Policy Center effective today and become Summers’ campaign manager.”

“Before becoming CEO of the Maine Heritage Policy Center 11 months ago, Dutson was the communications director for state House Speaker Robert Nutting, R-Oakland and worked on the congressional campaign for Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. He also was involved in communications and strategy for the Maine Republican Party during the party’s sweep of the state Legislature and the governor’s office in 2010.”

“It’s very important to make sure that the Republicans hold this Senate seat,” he said. “Charlie is a good friend. I have a huge amount of respect for him and I think he’s the man to do the job.”

“Lance is an outstanding leader with a sharp political mind,” Summers said in a statement. “His skills and experience will be an incredible asset to my campaign for U.S. Senate.”

Add another layer of onion to the pudding! 

This political move is quite interesting and very revealing.

[updated] MAINE SECRETARY OF STATE CHARLIE SUMMERS WINS ELECTION AND JULIE FLYNN GETS TO COUNT HER BOSS’ VOTES

 

6.27.12

 

BDN reports “The secretary of state’s office administers Maine elections, and the Maine People’s Alliance says Summers, a Republican, should resign because of a conflict in overseeing his own election. “They want me to resign and I’m not going to do it,” Charlie Summers said Tuesday after criticism from the Maine People’s Alliance and Maine Democratic Party.” “Summers brushed aside both complaints, saying his deputy, Julie Flynn, will oversee the November election as she has for the past 18 years.”

 

“Besides, Summers said, others have held the same job while running for higher office. Democrat Bill Diamond of Windham was secretary of state during his losing bid for Congress in 1994. Democrat Joe Brennan was attorney general when he ran for governor and won in 1978. Maine’s constitutional offices — secretary of state, state treasurer and attorney general — often serve as a springboard to elected office in Maine.”

 

“Maine Attorney General William Schneider, who lost to Summers in a six-way Republican primary, had said he’d give up his job to devote his full attention to the Senate race, if he had won the nomination.”

 

Further evidence will prove that Senator Bill Diamond failed in his duties during his tenure as Secretary of State. He covered up frauds perpetrated by Clairma Matherne, Clerk, City of Biddeford. As far as Joe Brennan, the evidence speaks for itself. Maine Attorney General William Schneider should be removed from office for Misprision of Felony, 18 U.S.C. sec. 4 and Obstruction of Justice.

 

This goes beyond a “conflict of interest” as the evidence proves in this post. Secretary Summers is following the same pattern of corruption that has been ongoing for years by both major parties. IMO, a full investigation into the predicate acts of Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn, Asst. A.G. Leanne Robbins and Jonathan Wayne, Director of the Ethics Commission, is long overdue. Why won’t the Maine People’s Alliance and Maine Democratic Party address the major issue?

 

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Maine held its primary election on June 12, 2012. Democrats had four candidates; Republicans had six all vying to be Maine’s replacement for long-serving Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.

 

Maine Secretary of State “Charlie Summers has won the Republican nomination to succeed his former boss U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe who abruptly ended her campaign in February, citing partisan gridlock in the Senate. Snowe employed Summers as her state director for six years.” He was Snowe’s state director from 1995 to 2004. However, “Immediately after abandoning her re-election bid, she donated her mailing list to Maine Attorney General William Schneider to help him gather petition signatures to get on the primary ballot and finished fifth in Tuesday’s six-way primary.”

 

Andrea Mitchell’s exclusive interview with Sen. Olympia Snowe when she ubruptly decided not to seek re-election and giving possible candidates approximately two weeks to gather signatures. “Having a milestone birthday helps you to focus about whether or not I was prepared to commit for another six years in the United States Senate.” I find it hard to believe that Senator Snowe didn’t know last year that she was coming up upon a “milestone birthday.”

The Maine People’s Alliance is calling for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Summers to resign his job as secretary of state citing conflict of interest because his office oversees elections. Summers has said he will remove himself from overseeing the election by delegating those duties to staff.

Summers has handed over management of elections to Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn, who runs the secretary of state’s elections bureau, in an attempt to avoid a conflict of interest as he runs for the Senate. Summers also sidestepped any perception of conflict about running for the Senate while serving as the state’s top elections official. Secretary of State Summers will have control over the same ballot on which Candidate Summers will appear and Julie Flynn will count her boss’ votes.

“(Deputy Secretary of State) Julie (Flynn) is in charge of the Bureau of Corporations and Elections,” Summers noted. “Ultimately, she’ll give what her findings are. And if there were some kind of problem, then obviously I would consult with her, I would consult with the Attorney General’s Office and make a correct decision.”

Let’s take a look at how Secretary Summers makes “correct decisions” and the disgraceful, unlawful, job performance of Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn, in concert with the Attorney General’s Office.

Letter to Secretary of State Summers, August 2001

Reply from Secretary of State, November 7, 2011.

FOIA Request to Secretary of State Summers, November 14, 2011.

FOIA reply from Secretary Summers, December 1, 2011.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Secretary Summers did not find that there is significant evidence to support an investigation into the City of Biddeford’s election fraud of 2004. Deputy Secretary of State, Julie Flynn, “thoroughly” examined the incident with the Attorney General’s Office. Secretary Summers was confident Deputy Secretary of State, Julie Flynn, arrived at the proper outcome. To the best of his knowledge, his “office does not possess any documentation of Ms. Flynn’s review of the matter in question as the process was based on oral communication. Please understand that I am not denying your request for documents; it is just that what you have requested does not exist.”

An “oral communication” does non constitute an investigation! Had a full and fair investigation been conducted Ms. Flynn, and Asst. A.G. Leanne Robbins, would have viewed the Post Office’s role in this state’s scam against decent, honest people who run for office. Campaign flyers and postage paid with clean election money were returned after the “post office forgot to mail them.” They were returned as “undeliverable.” This is a lie! Calls were made to many of the people who did not receive this mailing and did receive mail as addressed.

Where is transparency in government and accountability where it’s concerned? Are we to  trust that Summers will make the “correct decisions” in the upcoming election? There is not even a justification for his run for U.S. Senate. Secretary Summers has some explaining to do!

Where does the buck stop?

 Related: click here, here.

 

 

DOUBLE STANDARDS IN MAINE POLITICS

Printed in the Clarion Edict

by Dorothy Lafortune

The American public has awakened. If our ” elected representatives” would have upheld the Rule of Law, upheld their oaths of office, performed their duties as they were paid to do, we the people would not have been forced to obtain a free education. Although it has been time-consuming, we have obtained more education than would have by attending law school and receiving a college degree. It is a blessing in disguise that our “representatives” and “employees” (federal, state, county, local) have failed in their duties and forced the people to research and investigate the corrupt agenda of our so-called “representatives” and their “employee gate-keepers.” Gate-keeper: one who answers the telephone (secretary, aide) and denies us access to our “representatives.” Now it is up to those of you who have not taken this opportunity to a free education to do so. It is hard work and time consuming. You must realize that our “reps” will not make change, we the people will make change.

The “revolving door policy” has been in effect for decades. Maine, New Jersey and New Hampshire (let’s not forget Washington DC) have a great investment in “revolving doors.” It’s a great “product” to keep their agenda in place. It’s also a terrific “security tool” for “gatekeepers” of elected officials who will eventually climb the ladder to a higher position.

On January 5, 2011, when Paul LePage became the state’s first Republican governor in 16 years his pledge to Maine people was very simple: “It’s going to be people ahead of politics.” “The framers had it right.” LePage pledged “to listen and work constructively” with anyone bringing forth sincere solutions to the state’s problems. “We are going to get around and learn from the people of Maine.”

States Governor LePage, “Basically, it’s very simple. If I’m running my own business, I’d like to know what my employees are up to, and that’s all I’m asking. Let’s just have open communication.”

On March 18, 2011 I had the opportunity to speak with Governor LePage during his Capitol for a Day tour in York County. He had just placed a Maine’s “Open for Business” sign and I reminded him that his office must also be open for business, unlike past governors. I spoke to him about the loss (theft) of my business property and home due to corrupt bankers, officials and others, and rubber-stamped by a corrupt judicial system. I hand delivered him some documents and requested a meeting with him to detail which government entities/committees/commissions are a real problem for small business owners and residents. I believe that I have much to offer in assisting with his administration in moving forward and making the state of Maine a better place for business and its people. Governor LePage was very cordial, interested and receptive. He promised to meet with me.  Unfortunately, a meeting did not happen with Governor LePage.  However, the governor arranged a meeting with Ronald McKinnon, Dept. of Economic & Community Development, on Wednesday, May 11th. I attended the meeting with another person.

We presented several issues to Mr. McKinnon, some of which come under his “umbrella” and those that did not fall under his authority we asked that he bring to the proper channels, including Governor LePage. Relative to Maine’s business climate toward our small businesses, we presented problems we faced with non-compliance of the law, of policies, of rules and regulations by town/city officials and state employees within various agencies that are in place to protect us, but have failed us miserably and irreparably. We also presented documentation of the deceptive practices and “behind closed doors” tactics used by city officials, specifically Biddeford, Saco and Lisbon, in concert with specific individuals and financial institutions with their deceptive and unfair trade practices to steal not only our businesses, but our homes. The intentional burning of one’s home in Lisbon, followed by another loss of property in Topsham (determined as a result of arson, yet to be justified), the unlawful interference by local officials and rubber-stamped by Maine’ judicial system which only resulted in further economic loss and expense to the State of Maine and its taxpayers.

We brought forward the unresponsiveness of state officials, the “conflicts of interest”, poor job performances, lack of oversight and accountability that exist in some Maine government agencies/departments/committees/commissions which pose a real problem for small business owners and residents.

We also brought forth documented evidence which warrants investigations and/or audits into the following:

Bureau of Financial Institutions, Lloyd LaFountain

Bureau of Insurance, Mila Kofman

HUD

Attorney General’s Office (inc. Criminal Complaint)

Secretary of State

State Auditor, Neria Douglass (3 letters – no responses)

Department of Human Services (elder abuse, nursing homes, evidence of Medicaid fraud)

Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, Jonathan Wayne

Municipalities – Biddeford, Saco, Lisbon

Committee on Judicial Responsibility and Disability (the removal of judicial members policing justices will remove the “root” of the problems faced by small businesses and residents in this state.)

We requested Mr. McKinnon’s intervention in taking the necessary steps through the proper channels, including Governor LePage, to initiate investigations, audits and restitution as this is a matter of public interest and trust. After my July 17th request for an update, McKinnon responsed on September 14th with not so pleasant news. He had “explored this matter with people I trust and find no conspiracy or other unlawful acts on the part of any of the people and parties you have accused of illegal seizures of properties or persecuting actions.” What? We presented him with documented evidence, pictures, videos! Due to the vagueness of his McKinnon’s letter, I filed a FOA (Freedom of Access) request in which to provide the names of the people he trusts and reports. It took 3 FOAs for him to reply that he did not request any documents, responses, nor did he submit a report to the Governor. THIS AMOUNTS TO HEARSAY! McKinnon’s job performance is less than poor and obviously politically motivated. Who are these “trusted” people he speaks of? The same ones that our state legislators and other state employees talk to.

Through past administrations there has always been the excuse, including the Attorney General’s Office – top law enforcement agency in the State, that “there’s nothing we can do.” This being the case, it is MY opinion that the state has 2 choices: 1) replace the person in charge of an agency or 2) if an agency is not serving its purpose/mission, eliminate the agency. This would be fiscally responsible. Paying salaries of employees who fail in their job performance is a misuse of taxpayer money. Our elected officials also fall short in upholding their oaths of office and in performing their duties and obligations as the law requires. Are they incompetent, have a vested interest or have a motive to their madness? All of the above. But they do “get by with a little help from their friends.” Remember, they have “stock” in “Revolving Doors.”

With Governor LePage not realizing that he has surrounded himself with the wrong people, specifically (former) Governor Baldacci leftovers, his vision for Maine cannot, and will not, be achieved……”Maine, one where all of our citizens prosper now and into the future.” The crew is only as good as its captain.

LePage has said there are more welfare recipients in the state than income tax payers, seeking to drive home the point that the state’s systems are financially unsustainable.   It only makes common sense that there would be more welfare recipients than income tax payers when people are losing their homes/businesses through fraudulent foreclosures or “behind closed doors” deals in city halls, being thrown out into the street like wild animals, and the legislature agrees wholeheartedly!

Maine is not open for business when our elected officials turn a deaf ear to the deliberate destruction of families, their constituents! For decades our representatives have refused to keep their constitutional promise to the people and have demonstrated a blatant disregard for the rule of law…..laws that they themselves created. This is when lawmakers become lawbreakers.

Governor LePage, it’s time for you to take this “bull by the horns.” The people will support you and pursuant to the Maine Constitution, Art. V, Executive Power, Section 12. Shall enforce the laws. The Governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

As manager of Marden’s, if customers reported to the supervisor(s) that people were stealing from Marden’s and the supervisor(s) did nothing, would LePage have fired his supervisor(s)? Would he take the word of his customers versus the hearsay of his supervisor(s)?

It was reported in the BDN that when LePage was manager of Marden’s they used “secret shoppers” to measure employee performance and to check on whether stores were implementing policies. The shoppers were company employees that posed as shoppers and developed valuable data for company management. “We need that in state government, “he said. “ We need to know what is really happening.”

Well, the Clarion Edict is the place to get valuable data for the state of Maine management.

Is a massive destructive political sunami ready to hit Augusta where state and federal laws are violated at the expense of our people, our lives/livelihoods, where elder abuse, police brutality, judicial misconduct, unfair trade practices, official corruption, and double standard of justice have become a way of life in the state of Maine? What happened to “people before poliltics?”

“The People cannot be safe without information. When the press is free, and every man is able to read, all is safe.” — Thomas Jefferson

“Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

PREVENT TRUTH DECAY

Printed in the Clarion Edict.

The PPH (12/13/11) reported that the “Maine Medicaid deficit is mostly the result of a series of technical budgeting miscalculations, according to a report prepared by the LePage administration.” Miscalculations?

The state Department of Health and Human Services is facing a $221 million budget deficit for this fiscal year and the next says DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew.

In a press release (12/12/11) Governor LePage’s “plan protects and preserves services for Maine’s most vulnerable while addressing Medicaid’s out of control spending” while the “Democrats would rather ignore the problem altogether.” Surprised? Not I.

Governor LePage defended the cuts in his radio address, “drawing a response by Democrats who labeled them “irresponsible and shortsighted.””

As the lawmakers are trying to dissect the causes of a projected $220 million budget shortfall in the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, let’s shine some light on past history with DHS and Medicaid. We find ourselves in the same situation when (former) Kevin Concannon was Commissioner of DHS during the tenure of Governor John Baldacci (D). On September 17, 2003 PPH reported “State finds $37 million DHS snafu. The state has uncovered a $37 million budget problem at the Department of Human Services, just months after state officials and a consultant found millions of dollars in accounting mistakes in a separate program at the DHS.The latest problem involves a series of errors in the Medicaid program that occurred over a period of years and finally came to light this year.” Is this a mere “miscalculation?” In March 2003, Kevin Concannon left DHS and was appointed by Governor Vilsack to serve as the Director for the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS). A consultant was hired to help figure out what happened to the money. Gov. John Baldacci said that there was “no inkling of any wrongdoing or any malfeasance in the latest DHS incident, but he and a top aide detailed several costly errors that add up to $37 million.”

Is this deja vu all over again? The LePage administration has introduced a supplemental budget addressing the Medicaid shortfall which will affect the safety net of Maine’s most vulnerable and needy. As both parties dicker over the reasons for the shortfall, it’s time for oral extractions. Maine could have prevented truth decay had our politicians taken action on the evidence presented to them regarding the fraud, waste and abuse of Medicaid funding.

I repeatedly requested a full investigation into Medicare and Medicaid payments that were paid out in excess for prescription drugs, that were not needed, medical equipment that was not needed and stays at a local hospital and nursing home against the will of my mother, all at the expense of the taxpayers.The abuse that has gone on in this case goes beyond all bounds of decency and the refusal of our elected officials to stop this abuse is a disgraceful PUBLIC SCANDAL.

Governor John Baldacci had years to work on health care issues to include Medicaid funding and elder abuse which continues today. However, he chose instead to further his personal agenda with the help of his campaign contributors, ie. North Country Associates, at the expense of taxpayers and the precious lives of our family members. It is critical that this information be reported, as the mainstream media has failed to do so, and share the truth with the public to avoid futher decay. Our representatives only report what they want us to hear.

What are the real truths and facts that lie behind closed doors beyond sight of the public view? As Governor LePage revamps the DHS, it’s imperative that he dismiss the ”problem” people left over from the Baldacci administration. This raises reasonable questions about the impact on Maine people. “The Governor has made difficult and painful decisions to correct an ongoing deficit that has been neglected in the last decade” and is looking for solutions. He could start by investigating the “miscalcuations” of monies given to a corporation that was not licensed at the time of receipt of Medicaid funding (1998), the unnecessary prescribed medications and the holding of elderly patients against their will in order to profit and gain financially and recoupt the funding. If health care institutions don’t keep records of patients, how do they receive Federal funding? There is a smell to this!

I brought these serious concerns regarding possible Medicaid fraud to Senator Susan Collins. As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senator Collins thanked me for contacting her and that was the end of that!

There is need for a citizens review board to oversee DHS agencies and hold officials accountable for wrongdoings to prevent any further moral or truth decay.

“Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.” Thomas Jefferson