Upcoming Meetings and Events Parades! Bar Harbor Independence Day Parade Sat., July 4, 10 am, Bar Harbor Hancock County Dems will be marching in support of Marriage Equality, Health Care Reform, and other progressive issues. Lineup for our group is at 9:30 am on Center Street. We'll have our banner, candy aprons and some signs. We need folks to carry them! Brooklin Independence Day Parade Sat., July 4th, 10 am, Brooklin Local activists plan some entertaining street theater in support of healthcare reform. Lineup at 9:15 at Haven Colony Road in Brooklin (about 1/2 mile from the center of town). To get involved, contact Richard Kane, kanelewis (at) aol.com. Saturday AM Contacts: Doug Cowan, 837-1285 or Richard Kane, 632-4534. Quietside Festival Parade Sat., July 11, 9 am, Southwest Harbor Our regular marchers think this flamboyant, frivolous, flamingo-themed event is the most fun parade of the season! Lineup is at 8:30 am at the Seal Cove Road. HCDC July Meeting Legislative Review Thurs. July 16, 7 pm at Ellsworth City Hall Auditorium. Our friends in Augusta wrapped up an eventful and productive session in the wee hours of the morning of June 13. We look forward to hearing observations on the session from our Hancock County Democratic legislators. Great Democracy Auction Sat., August 15, 4-8 pm at the Pierre Monteux School in Hancock. Email us for more info, or to volunteer to help plan and organize the Auction. Single-Payer Health Care Download our Single-Payer palm card (PDF) to print & distribute. (Note: an earlier version of this file had an incorrect phone number for Sen. Collin's Bangor office. The correct number is 207.945.0417.) Download a brochure detailing why HR676 (Single Payer) is good for businesses (PDF) in color or B&W. Photos from the May 30 Health Care rally in Augusta are here. Audio Archive of the WERU Forum, Single Payer: Fact vs. Fiction, 6/23/09 The Hancock County Democratic Committee is on Facebook! Click on the logo or go to facebook.com/hancock.dems. You can also follow us on Twitter. Democracy Award Winners Announced At our Ruth Moss Night Gala on May 2, two stellar HCDC volunteers were honored with the Ruth Moss Society Democracy Award. Sharing the award this year were Charlene Crane of Ellsworth and Matt Servaites of Bar Harbor. Photos from the event are here. During a campaign, there are lots of volunteer tasks to be done. Some people come in to make calls, some canvass door-to-door. Some bring in food to keep the volunteers and staff going. Charlene Crane did all of these - and with a smile and gentle nature that nourished our team as well. Arriving on her trusty bike with a tasty treat in tow, Charlene's kindness, enthusiasm and humor transfered to the voters, engaging them, empathizing, and then shifting their positions. When you hear laughter during voter persuasion, you know something is going very, very right. Charlene quickly became a very valued member of the campaign team. She embodies the spirit of service that the Ruth Moss Society Democracy Award celebrates. Inspired by the call to action from then-candidate Obama, Matt Servaites jumped in early this campaign season, organizing before the caucus. His volunteer efforts grew impressively as the election season heated up. An avid phone banker, Matt worked a regular weekly shift throughout the campaign. His buoyant attitude and his ability to articulate Democratic positions on the issues were invaluable assets. When we began to conduct extensive door-to-door canvassing - a new and challenging effort for HCDC - Matt stepped up to organize canvasses in Bar Harbor, pulling together teams nearly every weekend. We honor him for his leadership in this key area, and for his unwavering commitment to grassroots activism. Chair Dexter Bellows also acknowledged the invaluable work of Catherine Bunker (left), Mary Jellison, and David Kessner in organizing and operating the MDI Branch Headquarters for Campaign '08. About 80 area Democrats turned out at the Lucerne Inn for this popular annual event. In a highlight of the evening, Sen. Dennis Damon spoke about the recent successful passage of the Marriage Equality legislation he introduced. Sen. Damon and all in attendance roundly applauded his co-sponsors from the Hancock County delegation - Reps. Jim Schatz, Rob Eaton, Elsie Flemings, and Ben Pratt. Kudos and Thank You... to the many Hancock County citizens who traveled to Augusta on April 22 for the Judiciary Committee hearing on LD 1020, "An Act To End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom". Some reports noted that supporters of Marriage Equality outnumbered opponents by 4 to 1! Here are some links to coverage of the day: MPBN- includes video of Sen. Dennis Damon's introduction of the bill. Bangor Daily News - includes video clips of some testimony and dialog outside the civic center. WABI TV - story and short clip. Here are some media links for more on this bill: Maine Freedom to Marry website Ellsworth American coverage of the announcement Bangor Daily News editorial- "A Marriage Proposal" Portland Press Herald editorial Marry ME- editorial By Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union Video coverage of the Sen. Dennis Damon's introduction of the bill, by NECN.com Headquarters Flood The Hancock County Dems appreciate the concern and support shown after the flood at our Ellsworth Headquarters on 4/9. Stories and video clips of the incident are up on the WLBZ2 website and the Ellsworth American website. Most of the damage was to the carpet in the front and middle rooms. It was saturated and silty, and will need professional cleaning. We were very disappointed to lose most of the food pantry donations collected the night before at the Michaud Trade Forum. The silver lining is that coverage of the story has moved many others to donate to area food pantries. Our Annual Ruth Moss Society  fundraising drive is still underway. Donations to the Ruth Moss Society support HCDC's operating expenses and grassroots efforts. You can donate securely online at our ActBlue RMS page, or send a check to: Ruth Moss Society, c/o HCDC, PO Box 1414, Ellsworth, ME 04605. HCDC Activities and News Michaud Trade Forum A good crowd turned out for the forum in Bucksport on April 8. Congressman Michaud gave an excellent presentation on current US trade policy, and changes that might be expected under the Obama administration. The extended Q & A session that followed was very informative. WERU-FM recorded the event and broadcast it on April 9. You can listen to it on their website or download a podcast of it here. Thanks again to our co-sponsors- the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, United Steelworkers Locals 1188 and 261, Eastern Maine Labor Council, Food AND Medicine, and the Penobscot, and Waldo County Democratic Committees- for helping us organize this successful event. HCDC Announces Scholarship The Hancock County Democratic Committee (HCDC) announces the launch of a new initiative designed to support college-bound students of Hancock County who have an interest in government, political science, civil service, or related disciplines. The HCDC is accepting applications from interested students and plans to award a $500 scholarship to each of two Hancock County high school seniors who are planning to attend a four year accredited college or university in the Fall of 2009. Successful applicants will receive their award after they have successfully completed their first term of study. The application process is open to students in good standing who are on track to graduate with a Maine high school diploma at the end of the current school year, as well as to home-schooled students who will successfully complete a Maine high school course of study by the end of the current school year. The deadline for receipt of applications was April 10, 2009. The Scholarship Committee's decision will be announced at the June meeting. News from Devinne Devinne Mack, our terrific MDP Field Organizer for the '08 Campaign, has returned to her studies at American University. She is also working as an intern at the Friends of the World Food Program (WFP), and contributes to their blog. She is learning how non-profits do grassroots, but still keeping a keen interest in politics. Devinne recently sent us a link from Emily's List, with photos of the swearing-in of the 111th Congress, including one of Nancy Pelosi with Chellie Pingree and daughter (and Maine House Majority Leader) Hannah Pingree. HCDC Election Results The Hancock County Democratic Committee is pleased to announce the filling of several positions at it's regular November meeting. Cathy Planchart of Ellsworth was unanimously nominated, pending appointment by Governor Baldacci, to complete the term of Hancock County Treasurer. Likewise sharing unanimous election were Jennifer Hughes to the HCDC Treasurer seat, Roderick Mack to the position of HCDC Secretary and Heather Martin-Zboray as representative to the Maine Democratic Party state committee. Hancock County Young Dems is an organization for high school students, college students and young adults in Hancock County who want to have a voice in local, stateand national politics. To find out about meetings and events, email us or visit our Facebook page, "Hancock County Young Dems".   Support HCDC's grassroots efforts. You can make a one-time donation or set up a convenient monthly donation. To donate online securely, just click on the button at left. Online giving help keep our overhead low, so your donation goes farther. Help Hancock Dems (or other favorite charities) while you shop online - Just sign up at iGive.com,and surf through their shopping portal to any of over 650 online merchants. HCDC will get adonation of a percentage of your purchase, at no cost to you.   Contact Info: Hancock County Democratic Committee PO Box 1414, Ellsworth ME 04605 207.664.6012 web@hancockdems.org