A Meeting With The Greens
My conversation with Justin Beth Co-chair of the Portland, Maine Greens Party
Electing selectmen for a rural community during a time of urban to rural migration
Monday I met with Justin Beth Co-chair of the Portland Greens Party. I updated him on what is going on in the Boothbay area. He identified that among the candidates running for selectmen in Boothbay, Teresa Bryer lives with two Green Party members. That is not much information to go on but the time between local selectmen candidates being announced and the election is extremely short. Voting takes place in less than a week, on Monday. May Third from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Boothbay Town Hall at Boothbay Railway Village.
According to the Boothbay Register, “The top two vote recipients earn the selectmen’s seats“. I am guessing that means we vote for one candidate and not two candidates for two open positions.
The Boothbay Harbor election takes place a week later. Mr. Beth says that he trusts local people about whom to support because we know the area better than central management does. ”Central management” are not the words Justin Beth used, but the meaning is appropriate. Justin Beth is very enthusiastic about the cause of the Green Party. Although I may not always agree with every official position of the Green Party, I will register as Green Party, because, as Mr. Beth explained, they need people to register in order to run a candidate on the official election ballot.
Since my gut feeling at the time of the conversation was with Alyssa Allan as the best choice, Mr. Beth sent her an introductory letter and offered support from the Green Party.
I have another gut feeling that Mr. Beth, who kept emphasizing that though the time is short, there is a long-term agenda, sees Alyssa as central management material.
However, at the time of my conversation with Mr. Beth, I was unaware of a third Boothbay Harbor candidate: Devyn Campbell
Devyn is a commercial fisherman supported by the fisherman. His style is very forthright, coming across as someone who says what he means and means what he says. Right now the developer activists are trying to undo ordinances that protect the working waterfront. Devyn Campbell will surely not allow that to happen.
I like Allyssa but at this time Boothbay Harbor needs Devyn Campbell
However, It is great that Justin Beth has reached out to Allysa at this point. I liked her but wondered if she was not trying to please too many factions at once- which is a plus in the fact that she recognizes a wider range of interacting factions, but at the same time can make it uncertain what she will support when it counts. Time will tell. Now that JustinBeth has reached out to Allysa Allan, can she be persuaded to go Green? If enough people register Green, will there be a Green Party Candidate for Representative, Senator, or Governor of Maine? Now, I’m talking long-term goals.