UPDATES
The Forecaster published an Op-Ed by Perry Newman discussing the importance of keeping Maine competitive in the global economy as well as attracting foreign investment to the state. Newman goes on to argue that Eliot Cutler is the best choice for governor, writing:
“Independent candidate Eliot Cutler has the relevant business credentials to enable Maine to capitalize on the challenging but very real opportunities presented in the global economy.”
You can read the full article here.
The Portland Press Herald published an Op-Ed by Ron Bancroft asserting that Eliot Cutler is the only candidate who is capable of bring the reform to state government that Maine needs. Bancroft writes:
“Cutler is a man of significant ability at a time when the state needs a governor with more than ordinary competence.”
You can read the full article here.
The York Weekly, York County Coast Star and Portsmouth Herald have endorsed Eliot Cutler for Governor, saying that “this is the ideal time for an independent leader to forge solutions that have less to do with political ideology and more to do with what is best for the people of Maine.” Here is an excerpt from the endorsement:
Maine must turn itself around — and quickly — if it is to stop the bleeding and ultimately prosper, and it is going to take a determined leader, a visionary and a skillful negotiator, to accomplish this. That is why we are endorsing Independent Eliot Cutler for governor.
The USM Free Press has endorsed Eliot Cutler for Governor:
In this hotly-contested race for governor, Eliot Cutler stands out from the bitter partisan politics as the best overall candidate.
The Republican candidate, Paul LePage, was effective at tapping into the rage of an electorate struggling with near 10 percent unemployment. It made for exciting television. But it also made him incoherent, and ultimately, an embarrassment to Maine on the national stage.
The Democratic candidate, Libby Mitchell, ran a strong campaign and we applaud many of her ideas. If we were choosing a candidate based solely on their education plan, Mitchell would likely be our choice. But ultimately, her other ideas failed to measure up to the magnitude of reform Maine needs to spur job growth, and her insistence on touting her years of experience in the state house failed to inspire faith in her ability to change state government.
(We would like to acknowledge that Mitchell was the only candidate to reply to a questionnaire we distributed to all five candidates, proving that she respects college students enough to reply to their e-mails.)
We commend Cutler for recognizing the fact that governors cannot directly create jobs. At a time of high unemployment, other candidates have based large parts of their campaigns on pushing forth the notion that they will somehow create jobs. This is somewhat dishonest, and we feel that Cutler has taken a more realistic approach. What a governor can do is help to create the conditions necessary to stimulate economic growth in our state. Cutler recognizes that the high costs of doing business in Maine discourage new industries from locating here. He proposes reducing these costs, including healthcare and electricity costs, to entice businesses to invest in Maine. In addition, he proposes cutting government expenditures, which will help to reduce the tax burden on Maine businesses. We feel that this is a common sense approach to economic stimulus in our state.
In addition, Cutler recognizes that cutting taxes across the board is not the route to fixing our state’s budget deficit. It’s easy, and politically attractive, to make this campaign promise, but it is an irresponsible policy. Cutler has promised to make our state government more efficient and more cost-effective. We feel that this is a much more desirable approach to correcting our state’s budget. We commend Cutler not making (empty) promises of wide-ranging tax cuts.
Cutler has also stressed the importance of improving our state’s education system, and we agree that there is a need for reform. He recognizes that our teachers are underpaid, and realizes there is not enough incentive to bring and keep quality educators in our schools. One particularly creative idea is Cutler’s education plan to change the lock-step salary schedule in favor of a system that rewards educators who provide the state’s children with superior service.
We believe that although giving teachers an incentive to improve the quality of education sounds good on paper, it could be very difficult to implement a merit-based pay system for teachers and caution Cutler that the gauge of a good teacher isn’t always reflected in test scores.
Cutler acknowledges the key role played by public schools in our states many small communities by not supporting mass consolidation. Cutler also believes that our state’s community colleges and public universities need to work more closely together to deliver the secondary education necessary for the success of our generation and future generations. Greater coordination among these institutions is a key part of his education plan. However we encourage Cutler to recognize the very different roles university and community colleges play in this state; one is not interchangeable with the other.
Cutler has devoted nearly his entire career to public service. He helped former Maine Senator Ed Muskie craft both the Clean Air (1963) and Clean Water (1972) Acts. These two hugely important pieces of national policy have been instrumental in cleaning up Maine’s environment. The Androscoggin River, for example, was once so polluted by the paper mills along its waters that it was, at times, impossible to even see the water under the layer of pollutants. Today, thanks largely to the Clean Water Act, the Androscoggin is better known for its recreational opportunities than for its pollution levels.
Following his time with Senator Muskie, Cutler went on to become the Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science in the White House Office of Management and Budget. This experience overseeing national budgets will be helpful in trying to fix Maine’s own budgetary shortcomings.
Click here to read the full endorsement at usmfreepress.org
The Times Record has endorsed Eliot Cutler for governor. You can read the full endorsement below:
The gubernatorial campaigns of Democrat Libby Mitchell and Republican Paul LePage reflect the fundamental failing of two-party politics, which is its tendency to frame the voters’ choice on Election Day as an “either-or” decision. In this corner, LePage, the conservative darling of the tea party. In that corner, Mitchell, the liberal favorite of the teachers’ union.
Those are simplistic portrayals, of course, but recent polls suggest that both candidates have not expanded their political base beyond their most fervent supporters.
We believe that’s symptomatic of a polarized Maine electorate, in which a considerable number of people are attaching more blame — assigning more responsibility — to state government for what’s wrong with their lives than ever before. Fair or not, that perception is one of the major challenges facing our next governor.
LePage taps into the anger of disaffected Mainers quite well, but has utterly failed to make a coherent and persuasive case that he’s capable of turning things around. His carelessness with facts, self-indulgence with angry rhetoric and extremist views (for example, on environmental protection) are not what Maine needs to climb out of a deep hole.
Mitchell has had the impossible task of persuading voters who might be skeptical of her 12 terms in the Maine Legislature that she’s willing and able to change how the people’s business is conducted in Augusta. Her campaign, as a result, has spent considerable time defending her record — correcting unfair and inaccurate portrayals of what’s wrong with state government — without providing persuasive evidence she’d be a different governor than fellow Democrat John Baldacci has been for eight years.
But this is Maine, a state where independence is valued more than unswerving allegiance to a political party. We don’t have to accept a “lesser of two evils” choice. In Eliot Cutler we have an independent candidate for governor who offers a thoughtful, detailed and convincing vision of how we can make Maine the “best turnaround state” in the country.
We believe Eliot Cutler — hands down — is the best candidate to bring people of different political persuasions together and with them lead our state forward to a better future.
Early in his campaign, Cutler promised he would always speak with candor. He also said he wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. He’s kept both pledges.
Here’s but one example of Cutler’s candor: “Despite what other candidates tell you, governors don’t create jobs. What governors and governments can do is create the conditions in which people and businesses will invest, prosper and create new jobs. We haven’t done that in Maine; in fact, we have done just the opposite. We have created barriers that discourage Maine businesses from expanding and other businesses from locating here.
But Cutler’s critiques of Maine government and economy don’t stop with blunt descriptions of “what is.” He’s taken the next essential step of showing us what “could be,” offering detailed plans on how to fix state government and our economy.
On one issue after another — restructuring government; reducing health-care costs; improving public education; fixing welfare; reducing energy costs; protecting the environment; creating jobs; fostering the creative economy — Cutler has shown Maine voters what kind of governor he would be.
His analyses always begin with “context” — a succinct description of the problem needing to be solved. Next, he lays out “objectives” and “guiding principles”: Goals to achieve and the values that will guide our efforts to reach those goals. Then “means to those ends.” No one should doubt that as governor Eliot Cutler will have done his homework on any given issue. His website at www.cutler2010.com bears that out.
We believe Eliot Cutler has the vision, energy and leadership skills to govern our state wisely — from “the middle” — working for the betterment of all Mainers.
He knows that in order to attract new jobs, we need to lower the costs of energy, health care and government. His ideas for reform on all three fronts are bold and hold promise for a better future.
On Nov. 2, let’s make him our next independent governor of Maine.
The Portland Press Herald published an article on a recent poll of likely voters in the Maine gubernatorial election. The poll conducted by Critical Insights showed Republican Paul LePage in first, at 32%, and Eliot Cutler and Democrat Libby Mitchell in a statistical dead heat for second place with 19% and 20%, respectively. Offering analysis of the poll, political scientist Michael Franz of Bowdoin College said:
“Those numbers would suggest that Cutler is starting to show the Mitchell supporters that he’s a better option.”
You can read the full article.
The Maine Democratic Party’s mailer against Eliot Cutler is one the most shameful, patently false attacks ever made against a candidate in Maine politics. No one in the race for governor has stronger environmental credentials than Eliot Cutler.
Eliot helped Ed Muskie write the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and went on to serve as Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Thomas C. Jorling, former assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, describes Eliot’s critical role in the enactment of the landmark Superfund law while at OMB this way:
“Had Eliot Cutler not risked his career by taking the issue to the President, there likely would be no Superfund today. The cause of environmental protection owes Eliot a tremendous debt of gratitude.”
After leaving government service, Eliot went on to build one of the largest environmental law firms in the country.
Here is the truth about each of the Maine Democratic Party’s lies:
LIE #1: Eliot Cutler has been working as a lobbyist for big oil companies most of his career.
Eliot Cutler has been registered as a lobbyist only four times in his 36-year career as a lawyer, and never once has he been a lobbyist for an oil company. These are the four times that Eliot has been registered as a lobbyist.
1. During the 1990’s, Cutler & Stanfield represented the City of Bridgeton (MO) in litigation opposing the expansion of Lambert Field, the St. Louis airport. Partners and associates of Cutler & Stanfield met with members of Congress from Missouri and other states in order to explain the City’s position on the project. Eliot was the leader of the Cutler & Stanfield team representing the City of Bridgeton, and may have participated in some of these informational meetings.
2. Also throughout the 1990’s, Cutler & Stanfield represented the City of Burbank (CA) inthe City’s successful litigation against the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority regarding a proposed expansion of the Burbank Airport. Partners and associates of Cutler & Stanfield met from time to time with members of Congress from California and otherstates in order to explain the City’s position on the controversial project. Eliot was a member of the Cutler & Stanfield team representing the City of Burbank, and recalls occasional telephone conversations to provide information about the litigation to Representative Howard Berman (D-CA) and other members whose districts either included or abutted the Airport.
3. At Cutler & Stanfield, Eliot represented the Lehigh Northampton (PA) Airport Authority. The firm registered as a lobbying representative of the Authority in order to enable the firm’s lawyers to brief members of Congress on the airport’s expansion plans. Eliot did not participate in those meetings.
4. During the 2003-2008 period, Akin Gump represented the New York State Energy Research/Development Authority (NYSERDA) in efforts to force the federal government to clean up nuclear waste from the West Valley Spent Fuel Reprocessing Plant. Ultimately, Akin Gump represented NYSERDA in a lawsuit filed against the U.S.government. For a period of time, Eliot headed the Akin Gump team on the NYSERDA case, and recalls meeting with then-Representative Tom Reynolds (R-NY) and his staff on one or two occasions to brief them on the status of the matter. Rep. Reynolds had urged NYSERDA to be more aggressive in its efforts.
LIE #2: Cutler helped China National Offshore Oil Company try to buy a major American company…
Eliot was never involved in a 2005 attempt by the China National Overseas Oil Corporation (CNOOC)to purchase Union Oil Company of California, better known as Unocal and now part of Chevron. Other lawyers at Akin Gump represented CNOOC in 2005, but Eliot was working on other matters at the time, including a major case in Spain. The CNOOC-Unocal deal collapsed after members of Congress expressed concerns over the purchase by a Chinese company of a company that owned oil and gas resources in the United States. (Most of Unocal’s oil and gas assets were located in Asia, which is what attracted the Chinese, but a relatively small amount — less than 1% of total U.S. production — was located In the United States.)
Commenting a few years later, well after the deal fell through, Eliot said in an interview that “had CNOOC come to us earlier… [it] would have made the deal much easier to get approved.” He went onto say, in several speeches and interviews in the U.S. and in China, that if CNOOC had sought Akin Gump’s advice before structuring the transaction, Akin Gump likely would have advised the Chinese to make the purchase in association with a U.S. partner that would have acquired the U.S. assets, leaving the Asian assets to CNOOC.
The only oil company or oil services company that Eliot has ever represented was Bridas, an Argentine company that completed a major transaction in 2010 involving the creation of a South American joint venture with CNOOC.
LIE #3: .…Cutler is proposing to abolish the Maine Board of Environmental Protection, which enforces the Maine’s environmental laws.
Eliot believes we must have strong environmental laws because these laws protect our most valuable assets. But he also believes we can do a better job of environmental permitting and enforcement. Eliot has called for abolishing the Board of Environmental, not the Department of Environmental Protection, which actually enforces Maine’s environmental laws. Eliot believes that despite the laudable efforts of the volunteer members of the Board of Environmental Protection(BEP), the BEP is no longer necessary to protect Maine’s environment. Forty years ago when major environmental regulations like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were brand new, the BEP provided a critical check on an untested and politically vulnerable regulatory system.Today, in contrast, Maine has a strong Department of Environmental Protection staffed by hardworking, competent professionals, and public participation in the permit review process today is robust, as it will continue to be under Eliot’s plan. Eliot will replace the Board with a three-judge appellate court from which an appeal can be made directly to the Maine Supreme Court. This will preserve both the predictability of the regulatory process and the ability to appeal Department decisions.
LIE #4: Protect Maine’s Coast and Environment from Offshore Drilling on Election Day.
No candidate has spoken out more forcefully or more often against drilling off the Maine coast than Eliot.
“Anyone who has read a newspaper or seen a newscast in the past few months has to be horrified at what has happened in the Gulf of Mexico and deeply concerned about whatcould happen to our Maine coast in a similar situation,” said Cutler. “As governor, I will not allow it to happen. They will have to drill right through me to get to the Gulf of Maine.”
- Cutler 2010 news release: Cutler Repeats Firm Opposition to Oil Drilling Off The Maine Coast, August 13th, 2010
Please join us in setting the record straight about Eliot’s outstanding environmental record and repudiating the Maine Democratic Party’s politics of lies and distortion.
CONTACT:
TED O’MEARA
ted@cutler2010.com
207.699.4401
PORTLAND, Maine — In a powerful surge of support over the last two weeks, Independent candidate for governor Eliot Cutler now is the choice of 26% of Maine voters, virtually tied with Democrat Libby Mitchell and closing in fast on Republican Paul LePage.
According to a poll conducted over the weekend for the Cutler campaign, the current match-up is as follows:
The statewide poll was conducted between October 15 and 17 for Cutler 2010 by Keith Frederick, who has many years of experience in Maine and has been polling for the
Cutler campaign since the summer of 2009. The sample size was 400, giving the poll a margin of error of 4.9%.
“As we have said before, polls are only a snapshot in time, but this latest poll confirms what Eliot has been experiencing as he campaigns around the state — voters are making up their minds and moving to him in huge numbers,” said Cutler 2010 campaign manager Ted O’Meara.
According to O’Meara, this weekend’s poll was the latest of four polls that the Cutler campaign has conducted since the Primary in June. “Taken as a series, these polls show three unmistakable trends,” he said.
1. Cutler’s support has doubled since the first Post-Primary poll in early July, and he has picked up 11 points in just the last month.
2. Paul LePage’s vote is steadily trending down.
3. Libby Mitchell has been stuck in a very narrow band the entire campaign and now appears to have peaked and is fading.
“These new numbers shatter that myth and clearly demonstrate that a vote for Eliot Cutler is a vote for the only candidate who is steadily gaining support,” said O’Meara. “Maine voters are tired of the same old partisan politics and negative campaigning. Eliot Cutler is offering them a positive, issue-oriented campaign and voters are clearly responding.”
This year Maine people agree that only one candidate for governor — Eliot Cutler — has the skills, vision and detailed plans to be Maine’s next governor.
Hi!
We want you to star in our final TV ad! Please email us your a photo of you (or you and your family) and we may use it in a video montage of Cutler 2010 supporters.
Please help us end the campaign with a wonderful ad about the Cutler 2010 community! Please email pictures to Joseph@Cutler2010.com.
Thanks! See you on TV!
