Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Pat LaMarche and I was a candidate for the office of Governor of Maine in 1998. That was a very interesting time. There were five candidates that year. Candidates for the highest office in the state have a rigorous entree to the ballot. Angus King, Tom Connolly, Jim Longley, Bill Clarke and I all submitted the requisite signatures to have our names placed before the voters for consideration.

Unfortunately there were many times when only three of the candidates would be mentioned by the media. Frequently, the incumbent, the Democrat and the Republican were the only candidates that the press bothered to acknowledge. On one occasion, one of Maine’s largest daily newspapers even listed four candidates, deeming it valuable to include Bill Clarke while continuing to leave my name and picture out entirely.

That has all changed now. And we Greens owe a big “thank you” to the Democratic leadership. It is a pleasure to open the paper or turn on the TV or radio and absorb the name of the Green Party candidate as it is proclaimed loudly and clearly by announcer or in print. I must admit, at first I thought the Democratic Party elite had nerve. They, after all, turned their backs on their own candidate during the 1998 election. The influential politicos at the top of the party threw their support behind the independent incumbent, while their party standard bearer waged a valiant effort to support his ideals and maintain his party’s political status.

Fortunately for the Democrats in 1998, the entire Democratic Party rank and file didn’t heed the banter of the party powerhouses. The Democrats would have lost party status if they had all turned in support of the governor and then the party would have had to either dissolve or rebuild. This is a crossroad that we Greens have faced on a number of occasions and over which we have triumphed.

But now weeks have passed since the Democratic leaders first began their struggle to silence our candidate. And my dismay at their hypocrisy has been replaced with gratitude. They have done for my candidate, Jonathan Carter, what we alone could never have done just four years ago. They have gained statewide recognition for the tireless efforts of his campaign and his supporters. The average Mainer is now intimately aware of the enormous struggle and subsequent success story a clean election campaign actually requires. Jonathan Carter has submitted more than 3,000 $5 checks from individuals who feel he should have the opportunity to be heard. These contributors, along with those who voted for the clean election process in the first place, want a level playing field and a healthy debate. The whining of the Democratic Party upper crust has merely helped get that word out to the people.

So, thank you. By the way, I am curious to know what the rank and file of that party is thinking. These people may be found all over the state of Maine. Some of them work, for the time being, at Hathaway. Some used to work in the paper industry before their layoffs. Some are currently struggling to give health care benefits to the employees of their small businesses. Some are those employees hoping the business stays afloat. The last eight years have not presented well for these folks, even with the democratic leadership supporting the independent incumbent. I wonder if this rank and file would like to hear what Jonathan Carter has to say. I guess the leaders of the Maine Democratic Party are afraid of the same thing.

Pat LaMarche is a radio morning show host in Augusta and one of two Maine representatives to the United States Green Party.