Hopefuls’ voting records compared> 3 lawmakers united on spending limits

The four candidates for Maine’s 2nd District congressional seat have been busy selling their slogans, speeches and white papers on the issues.

Three of the four — state Rep. Richard Bennett, R-Norway; independent state Rep. John Michael, Auburn; and state Sen. John Baldacci, D-Bangor, have records from their legislative service. Only Green Party independent Charles FitzGerald has never held elective office.

NEWS reporters John Ripley and Susan Young reviewed the roll call votes for Bennett, Michael, and Baldacci for the 116th Legislature, the most recent. The accompanying graphic concentrates on three areas — political reform, civil rights and general topics that have surfaced during the congressional race.

Many of the issues reviewed here died in the House, and did not reach a vote in the Senate. This explains why although the boxes might show a “YES” or “NO” vote for Bennett and Michael, an “X” sometimes appears under Baldacci’s box. An “A” means the lawmaker was absent from the vote.

In addition, many issues in the Senate are voted upon without a roll call vote. As a result, a few of the Senate boxes show that although there were no roll calls, Baldacci reported how he voted.

Political reform

House members debated a number of reform proposals during the recent session, ranging from publicly financed campaigns for state candidates to term limits to a bill that would establish more severe penalties for violations of state election laws.

For example, Bennett, Michael, and Baldacci all voted to kill a bill that would establish voluntary spending limits for state candidates, such as legislators. They also sided against a measure to kill a proposal to establish a line-item veto for the governor.

Bennett and Michael also voted against a measure to kill a term limits bill, effectively supporting the idea of term limits. Baldacci voted for the measure, effectively voting against term limits.

Civil rights

While all three voted for a bill that would remove from state law a 48-hour waiting period for a woman to have an abortion — which was said to be inconvenient to rural women — the lawmakers often were at odds on other issues.

On the issue of parental notification for a minor to have an abortion, the Senate did not vote during the 116th session, although Baldacci supported the issue in a bill during the 115th Legislature. During the 116th, Bennett voted for parental notification, while Michael sided against it.

The chart also shows that although Bennett voted against the gay rights measure, Baldacci and Michael supported it. On a bill to expand civil rights laws to protect a person engaging in legal activities, such as protests, from violence because of their race, color, and sexual orientation, Baldacci voted yes, while Michael and Bennett both voted no.

Other issues

This section involves an array of issues, including a proposal to cut off aid to welfare recipients for additional children and a bill that would require a two-thirds vote in the Legislature for tax increases.

On LD 714, Bennett voted against a measure to kill a bill that would allow small businesses to opt out of Worker’s Compensation insurance if they had liability and medical policies. In the Senate, Baldacci voted to kill the bill, while Michael did not vote.