Mike Michaud isn't my congressman, I wish he were. Don't get me wrong, I love my congress woman, Chellie Pingree, I only wish I could have them both. Mike was sent to the House by the northern, more rural, more conservative, Second District. He entered politics after more than two decades working in paper mills, a strong union member who knows things about real life that you can only get that way. His character, formed by a sense of duty to the people he lived with and worked with, in a district which has widespread poverty matched with intelligence and good sense have made him a hard politician to beat. People know he is for them and they are happy to give him the job of representing them. Michaud has been winning election to the Maine legislature, both the House and Senate, becoming the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and winning unanimous election as the President of the Senate. A former legislator who is a friend told me that Mike Michaud was one of the most able legislators he served with. And that was his record before he was elected to the United States Congress. For more of his career in politics, a record of distinguished service to the working people of his district and those who are out of work or poor see here.
Mike Michaud is running for governor of Maine and yesterday he came out as a gay man, saying the most sensible thing that can be said about running for governor while being gay, "why should it matter?" We will find out the extent to which it will matter to voters in Maine. I, of course, hope that they will decide it shouldn't matter. They certainly know what they get when they hire Mike Michaud to work for them in political office, they get a long and overwhelming record of dedicated service from a man who is happy to be one of us, who doesn't look down on us, who puts our welfare above the attractions available to a member of congress who chooses to leave The People of Maine behind for the soft-handed, perfumed, well compensated crooks in the lobbying class. The contrast between him and the incumbent Paul LePage, notorious for his vulgar, divisive, politics of hate couldn't be more different from Mike Michaud's record. He is also quite different from the millionaire independent lawyer and businessman Eliot Cutler.
I supported Mike Michaud before and was extremely happy when he announced he was running for governor and this will make me work even harder for him. I have to admit that it does matter to me that he is gay, it makes me all the prouder to have him in office from my state. I can't wait to vote for him for the first time.
No comments:
Post a Comment