Please help us finish off on the right note, by WINNING the election. Here are a few things that you can do:

ACTIVATE  YOUR PERSONAL NETWORK TO VOTE  FOR ME AND OUR COMMON SENSE,PROGRESSIVE PLATFORM. Make calls to all of your independent and democratic friends, colleagues and neighbors. Make a case for sending a new kind of experience to Washington. Ask them to get some of theirfriends to vote   for us as well…

Phone Banking: We are making phone calls daily out of both the Sanfordand Portland offices.  If you have an hour our two to give, contact Jenn Lawrence at 651-1972.

Primary Day: On June 10th we will need as many people as we can rally! We need people to hold signs and greet people at the polls. ” Hellomam, my name is Joe/Jane Voter  and I am a volunteer for the Ledue forSenate Campaign.”  This is a no-stress, simple way to help out. If you re willing to go to your polling place on election day call JenLawrence at 651-1972.

Party! Come celebrate with us election night at 8:00 at 148 HighStreet in Portland. We have much to celebrate! Please join us and bring something to share if you can.

Finally, as always we cannot do this work without funding.  Everydollar counts!  Please consider making an online donation to our campaign at tomledue.com.

Thanks for all of your help thus far and I hope that you can connectwith us during these final days of the primary season.

In the spirit of partnership,

Thomas John Ledue
Candidate for the U.S. Senate

The Ledue Campaign gained significant momentum after the Maine Democratic Convention held in Augusta last week. The campaign website www.tomledue.com tripled in the number of new visitors. Additionally, many members of the Maine Democratic State Committee have signed onto the campaign

Tom Ledue was also endorsed by the Portland Phoenix newspaper.

The primary elections are Tuesday, June 10th.

Democrat Tom Ledue had the floor to himself, after Rep. Tom Allen declined NEWS CENTER’s invitation to take part in a Voice of the Voter Candidate Forum. Moderator Pat Callaghan covered a wide ranged of issues, from his status as a political newcomer to foreign policy, in the half-hour discussion with Ledue. To watch the forum, click on “Play Video”, to the right of this story.
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Go to Main Article to watch a video of this event >>

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On June 10, Mainers in both the Democratic and Republican parties will get to vote on people to represent them in Washington DC. There is a very strong field of candidates, most especially in the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District. Here’s who we’d like to see win the first round.

Democrat for US Senate: Tom Ledue

A real progressive, with passion and energy — if not legislative experience — Tom Ledue can take the fight to reclaim our country to Susan Collins and, ultimately, to Washington DC. Ledue embraces his weaknesses and seeks to turn them into strengths. He has smart ideas on education, health care, impeachment, and Iraq, and will not fade into the woodwork easily in DC.

As a school administrator, he knows how to listen to people, how to find out what they want, and how to connect his actions with their needs. He knows he has a lot to learn, but he also knows he has a lot to offer — his experience dealing with the real repercussions of the No Child Left Behind Act is perhaps where he can make the most impact right away, but his ideas of ways to involve more Americans in the shared labor of attacking the problems facing our state, our nation, and our world have real potential for positive change.

Ledue has taken his message to the people of Maine, and has a plan to reach out even more should he prevail in this primary campaign. That sort of populist awareness, combined with his energy and new ideas, make him a strong candidate.
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Rising demand on the world market for crude oil has seen record high’s in recent months. On June 3, this equates to average fuel oil rates that are $4.54 for places like Machias and Eastport in downeast Maine, while the greater Portland area is looking at an average of $4.23/gal. On June 4, the average price of gasoline in Maine has breached $4/gallon. When it comes to oil price spikes, the state of Maine is the most vulnerable state in the union, where 8 out of 10 residential homes rely on burning oil to stay warm through the winter months.

While federal and state efforts to provide heating assistance to low income Mainers, such as LIHEAP funding, are well intentioned and have served an important role in helping those most in need, such funds are having less and less of an impact as the price of oil rises steadily. Furthermore, they don’t help solve the real problem - the ‘need’ for oil. With the limited funds the State of Maine does have access to, it’s done a good job in establishing Weatherization Assistance Programs, such as ‘Keep ME Warm’ and the ‘Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) ‘ in addition to a variety of energy efficiency measures. State government knows full well the risk we face as exhibited by the pre-emergency plans initiated under the governor’s executive order last November. However, this problem goes beyond the State of Maine’s border. We need the federal government to step up to the plate and increase its current financial commitments to the State of Maine, leverage experience gained in DOE weatherization programs, and provide access to the necessary financing that can take the good work already being done in both Maine and other states to the next level. With a single push we can, WE MUST mitigate this threat to the economic security of Maine people. Immediately, we need to dramatically expand our initiatives if we are to meet the needs of the coming winter, or, by using the experience gained through current programs we must initiate new emergency measures to help Mainers and other northern states greatly reduce their need to actually burn oil or other fossil fuels in the first place. Strengthening our communities by aiding residential homeowners and small business owners, regardless of income level, with capital investments for energy efficiency measures is a crucial task. These measures must be strong, effective, and dedicated to using the technologies and methods that exist now which can lower one’s annual heating fuel consumption by up to 50% or more. Once we make this investment in our buildings, we’ll be able to count on large reductions in operating expenses over their lifespan.

This measure needs to be bold, effective, and it needs to happen now. The federal government can come to the aid of its citizens and the states by allowing proper funding mechanisms; such as long term, low interest loans that the home or small business owner can pay back at half the value of their annual oil savings, or other manageable fixed payment. A well designed financing mechanism would provide the needed capital investments NOW, while easing the financial burden that would be imposed by traditional private financing. While it would require heavy involvement on the part of the government, it would be a short term program that would lead to a net savings for individuals and businesses in a short time. Last year we consumed over 10 million barrels of fuel oil in the state of Maine to heat our homes. At a current price of $125 per barrel of crude oil and climing, we get a sense of how much these capital investments are really worth. It is not unreasonable for a typical home to require roughly $15,000-$30,000 in weatherization improvements, compared to the price of fuel over a few winters this is a bargain! Killing the demand for oil through greater efficiency is the best way to quickly reduce the price of heating fuels, pushing the savings even further, while helping limit market fears or speculation. Even if the price of oil falls on it’s own, which is highly unlikely, we still win. Annually we send over a billion dollars out of state for heating oil. Rather, we should be making billions of dollars of investments into our own infrastructure here at home. The threat of over reliance on fossil fuels to state security has never been more evident.

We also cannot underestimate the psychological effect oil price volatility is having on Maine people and the local economy. Maine people are worried. While paying over $4.50 per gallon for heating oil might seem daunting, there is also the mental stress of not knowing where these prices are going to go. Fear of the unknown is high. Will it be $5 per gallon in December? What about February of 2009? What new threat to the already shaky oil supply chain will really make prices soar and hurt people who are already just getting by? This unnecessary stress has untold consequences on our well-being as a state. If we don’t even feel secure in our own homes, it’s a clear sign that we need to empower people with the right tools and measures such that they take action against this unnecessary security risk.

Enthusiasm for Tom’s campaign carries from the convention to the corners of Maine.