Michaud to lead Senate Democrats > Independent pushes for co-presidency

WINTHROP – The Democratic bloc in the incoming Maine Senate elected its leadership team Wednesday night, unanimously voting for Sen. Michael Michaud of East Millinocket as its candidate for Senate president.

The 17-member Democratic caucus chose Sen. Beverly Daggett of Augusta to serve as floor leader in the upcoming two-year legislative session and selected Sen. Sharon Treat of Gardiner to serve as assistant floor leader.

The elections came only after several hours of discussions at a restaurant outside the capital. Those talks included a closed-door meeting with the reigning power broker in the new Senate, independent incumbent Jill Goldthwait of Bar Harbor.

After that session, Goldthwait told the NEWS that she would serve as Senate president to resolve the current impasse which finds the chamber with 17 Democrats and 17 Republicans. Compared to the chaos in Florida, the deadlock in the Maine Senate is “no big deal” and “an exciting opportunity,” she said.

Goldthwait, by virtue of her position as the lone independent in the chamber, has been pushing both party blocs to work out an arrangement that would presumably split committee chairmanships between Democrats and Republicans and might involve having leaders from each caucus share a co-presidency.

“Nobody was campaigning, lobbying or anything else in there,” Goldthwait said after emerging from a private dining room.

Goldthwait reiterated her belief that the deadlocked results of the Nov. 7 statewide elections should be honored by a division of authority in the new Senate.

“I feel very deeply that the responsibility of managing the people’s business should be shared,” she said.

Goldthwait, Michaud and Republican Sen. Richard Bennett of Norway have been conferring in recent days on various options.

Goldthwait said Wednesday she believed a deal must be struck by the end of the week to allow time for organizational planning and to head off a showdown vote for Senate president that would pit two numerically matched caucuses against one another.

The new Legislature convenes next Wednesday, when such a vote would be expected.

Michaud made little direct mention of the Senate standoff in his public remarks to his colleagues following his nomination.

“We are faced with uncertainties,” he allowed, “and we’re going to have a very difficult session with a lot of new challenges coming up.”

At the same time, Michaud expressed confidence that Senate Democrats could address the priorities of a traditionalDemocratic agenda, citing issues ranging from health care to the environment.

Daggett gained the Number 2 slot in the caucus by besting the current assistant Democratic floor leader, Sen. Anne Rand of Portland.

Treat won the deputy position over two rivals, Sens. Marge Kilkelly of Wiscasset and Neria Douglass of Auburn.

Indicative of a still developing Democratic response to Goldthwait’s entreaties were comments after the caucus voting by Treat, who told her colleagues Democrats came out of the elections without retaining their majority, “so we have to get used to it.”

She pledged to employ the talents of the entire Democratic bloc “in whatever power-sharing arrangement we get.”