Oasis of political hope emerges in Maine

It’s tempting for any conscientious citizen to turn cynical about current American politics. Money – obscene amounts questionably collected – dominates national political campaigns. Attack strategies and negative ads drive the presidential nomination and election processes. The pattern of White House deceit accelerates. The incompetence of some federal government officials leads to tragic consequences. Corruption and scandal are common.

Time for despair? No. There are oases of hope in the nation’s political desert, and one of them is in Maine.

It became visible at a recent meeting of almost 100 citizens representing faith-based and labor organizations in an area stretching from Gardiner and Augusta to Waterville and Skowhegan, and including several statewide church and union groups. They adopted a constitution, elected officers and approved their name, The Kennebec Valley Organization. It was a dynamic gathering of people of conscience, devoted to lifting the quality of life in their communities, with priorities on health care and good jobs.

Their “Founding Event,” in a Waterville church hall lasting more than two and a half hours, was extraordinary in several respects, compared with the hundreds of meetings I have attended over the years as a reporter or participant.

Except for lively music during registration, a spread of homemade cookies and brownies, and frequent moments of quick humor, the meeting was all business – and extremely well run. The agenda of speakers and actions, in increments mostly of

10 minutes each, was followed precisely. No one launched into windy speechmaking or provoked petty debate.

It was evident that the preparations for the meeting had been thorough and that those who reported on the substantive issues of health care and job opportunities had done their homework. The woman who reported on six months of “listening campaigns” to assess health needs detailed one: Police in Gardiner estimate that 80 percent of the young persons they encounter have emotional or mental health problems – but only two Gardiner police officers have received specialized training to deal with those problems.

The new organization is impressively realistic. There were no pronouncements at the meeting about transforming national policy or ending international conflicts. The stated and written goals are worthy but winnable. The purposes are practical, and the arena of action will be local.

A positive spirit prevailed throughout the afternoon. It was clear that the organization will take on establishment authorities unresponsive to urgent human needs, but none of the speakers attacked or disparaged those they will engage. That was the refreshing opposite of so many political conventions.

The Kennebec Valley Organization is independent, and thus not at risk of becoming ensnarled in larger bureaucracies or dependent on far headquarters. It is the newest wing of a network of five similar organizations in New England, and the first in Maine.

The funding for its work comes from a variety of sources, 14 local or regional sponsoring groups, and from portions of grants from nine other organizations ranging from the Maine Community Foundation to the Ford Foundation.

One intriguing element of the new organization is the seeming juxtaposition of the two main types of sponsors, churches with their spiritual aspirations and labor unions with their focus on gritty economic issues.

But their differing postures seem to supplement each other smoothly. At the founding meeting, the Right Rev. Chilton Knudson, Episcopal Bishop of Maine, spoke of “rugged, bold idealism.” Ned McCann, secretary-treasurer of the Maine AFL-CIO, bluntly stated a tough reality facing the organization. “This is hard work. We’re going upstream … in these efforts to improve the lives of ordinary people.”

One immediate problem is to overcome its relatively small size – nine member groups and about 100 individuals. That compares to as many as 28 member groups with 600 participants in the other five wings of the New England network. Dan Koehler, staff organizer in Waterville, acknowledges that it is “always a struggle” to build a new organization, and that his target is at least 20-member groups.

But in terms of sheer energy, motivation and enthusiasm, the people who gathered at the founding event have a good chance of achieving that target – and more.

With their trust in one another, pragmatism, abiding fairness and devotion to progress for their communities and neighbors, they demonstrated something else at their meeting.

It’s called democracy.

Winthrop Griffith, of Owls Head, is an independent writer.