Maine citizens can only hope Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Brennan changes underwear more often than he changes sound bites.

In October 1993 the Aroostook Republican reported, “While admitting there was `no magic button one can push’ to create jobs and enhance the state’s business climate, Brennan said success is possible through increased attention on … value added resources. `We have to continue to work toward adding value to our natural resources. Instead of sending a tree out in a three-foot by three-foot by three-foot piece of wood … hopefully we can send some of that out, with value added, as a desk, a chair or something else.’ ”

Twenty years earlier, almost to the day, the Lewiston Daily Sun wrote, “Although he claimed to have `no magic answers,’ he did make several suggestions toward improving Maine’s economic situation. One of Maine’s natural resources is wood, and Brennan said the state could `add value’ to that resource by establishing a furniture industry.”

When he was running for governor in 1990, Brennan told the Ellsworth American, “I will get the state out of the liquor selling business and let the private sector handle it.” But he could have saved his breath by handing the reporter a copy of the Maine Sunday

Telegram of March 24, 1985, in which the then-governor is quoted assaying, “I’d like to get Maine state government out of the one business it is in — the liquor business.” Or how about the May 6, 1981, Lewiston Journal: “Gov. Joseph E. Brennan predicted today that `come a year or two,’ his proposal to turn Maine’s retail liquor sales over to private business `will become the law of the state.’ ”

Brennan has made much of his government restructuring plans during this campaign. A Portland Press Herald story on April 8, 1994, read, “Brennan said Maine must streamline its court system by adopting a unified trial court. He said separate district, superior andadministrative courts create confusion, duplication and needless expense.” Those who read the Kennebec Journal will, no doubt, find that familiar. “One of Brennan’s major goals,” the KJ reported, “is to streamline the court process, and he is considering legislation that makes one trial level out of the district and superior court systems the state now uses. He said the proposal … would eliminate duplication of work.” That was on Aug. 9, 1976.

It may well be, as Brennan’s TV ads remind us, “time to get back to work on Maine’s future,” but it appears Joe has a few leftover chores he needs to clear up first.

SELF-ESTEEM

Charlie Summers, Pam Cahill and Paul Young aren’t about to let one defeat shatter their psyches. The three Republican losers are hard at work preparing to be shut out for the second time this year. They’re running for secretary of state.

Summers got whomped in the GOP 1st Congressional District primary in June, while Cahill and Young went nowhere in their search for the party’s gubernatorial nomination. Since they all gave up their legislative seats, they were left without platforms for launching future futile attempts at high office. To remedy that, the three will seek support from Republican legislative candidates, who’ll choose the party’s nominee for the secretary’s job in early December.

The only trouble is, the constitutional offices, which include secretary of state, are filled by the majority party in the Legislature. For the GOP to assume that status, it will have to win at least 94 House and Senate seats, a net gain of 21 seats from its current impoverished situation.

Just for the record, Democrats seeking the job include the incumbent, Bill Diamond (who also got pounded in a congressional primary in June), as well as state Rep. Anne Larrivee of Gorham and James Mitchell of Freeport, neither of whom is recovering from a recent political setback.

THE SMOKER YOU GET

Advocates of a referendum to legalize marijuana in Maine are distributing leaflets extolling the virtues of Green Party gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Carter. Trouble is, the small sheets of paper appear to violate state election laws.

The handouts state that Carter “is the only candidate for Governor to support legalization of hemp,” and favors “Grassroots Democracy.” What the leaflet doesn’t say is who paid for it. Maine law requires all materials promoting a candidate to contain the name and address of the sponsoring person or group.

When asked about the omission, a volunteer for the Maine Hemp Initiative accused the questioner of being “mired in mainstream party politics as usual.” The Carter campaign, located having a beer in a bar in Portland’s Old Port, said it was aware of the problem, and was working to correct the flyers.

Al Diamon is a television commentator, free-lance writer and weekly NEWS columnist.