HELP WANTED

Gov. Baldacci is looking for hundreds of good men and women to fill vacancies on about 300 state boards and commissions. That means a task for the governor. It also means opportunities for Mainers who have time and energy and would like a chance to help make the state and its institutions run well.

The boards and commissions range from the Advisory Board for Guides to the Workers’ Compensation Board and includes various licensing and regulatory bodies and many advisory committees. Among them are the Board of Environmental Protection, the Animal Welfare Advisory Council, the Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

Some require professional qualifications and recent experience or residence in a particular area, such as a congressional district. But the public members of some of the boards require only an interest in the subject. Some of the positions pay as much as $100 a day or more plus mileage, meals (with a $5 limit for lunch) and lodging, some much less and some nothing at all. Many require attendance at monthly meetings in Augusta or Hallowell.

In charge of recruiting is Gwethalyn Phillips, chairman of boards and commissions in the governor’s office. She circularizes various state license holders and consults with such outfits as he Maine Council of Senior Citizens, but she is always looking for additional applicants. Just because Mr. Baldacci is a Democrat and Ms. Phillips is former chair of the Maine Democratic Party doesn’t mean that you must be a Democrat to be considered.

She suggests that anyone interested in an appointment check the state Web site for a list of boards and commissions. That means going to www.maine.gov, finding, under “Agencies,” the “Secretary of State,” and clicking successively “Corporations, Boards and Commissions,” “Boards and Commissions,” and “List of Boards and Commissions.” Under “Statutes” elsewhere in the site, are the official descriptions of the various boards and commissions, with details on qualifications and compensation. Some boards, such as the Council on Children and Families are named by the president of the Senate or the speaker of the House, and inquiries may be made to a member of the Legislature.

A list of the actual vacancies comes out the first of each year and is available at the office of the secretary of state. Last January’s 48-page booklet is still fairly current.

Don’t worry if it sounds as if new appointments seem to go to the same old faces. Any elected official has certain obligations to repay. But the new governor is casting a much wider net than that to bring in enough applicants for all the spots he must fill. Just pick out a board or commission that sounds interesting and send your resume to Ms. Phillips at the Office of Boards and Commissions. It’s up to you.