My focus is on Maine and my family, not on Washington.

I care deeply about Maine and our state’s future, and will continue to work to put us on the path to economic growth and prosperity. But that work, for me, is here at home, not in the Congress.

I am committed to helping President Obama win re-election, to supporting Democrats throughout Maine and helping the Democratic Party retake the State House and the State Senate this fall.

This election presents a tremendous opportunity for a new voice in the United States Senate and represents a chance for Democrats to make an important gain. I am committed to supporting the Democratic nominees for the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and I will do everything I can to help them be successful.

I want to express my appreciation and gratitude for Sen. Snowe’s years of service to Maine. Sen. Snowe has never waivered in her commitment to our state, and, at times, she has taken bold stands, bucking the most extreme elements in her own party to do what is right.

Cathy Newell, past president of the Exchange, was there for the Grand Opening.

The Bethel Area District Exchange, a nonprofit organization that supports a food pantry that helps people in crisis, celebrated a Grand Re-opening today in a new location.

The Exchange takes donated clothing and resells it to raise money to provide folks who are in trouble with food. This organization, and its many volunteers, do inspiring work.

A few months ago, then Exchange President Cathy Newell told me that the organization needed to find a new home or it would not be able to continue its mission.

Bethel Park, a housing complex managed by Stanford Management, had a vacant space that was a near perfect fit. At Stanford, we decided it would be a great public-private partnership to put the space to work for the community and are donating the location to the Exchange.

Working with the Exchange, we were able to get the space in shape and ready for work. The Exchange started its work again about two months ago in its new home, and we celebrated the Grand Opening on Dec. 16.

“This space is absolutely critical. We would not be able to exist without it,” said Betsey Foster, the president of the Bethel Area District Exchange.

The Exchange, and its many friends and supporters, are great examples of what dedicated people can do to make a difference in the lives of others.

I was honored to be able to attend the Grand Opening and to be joined by a great group from Stanford Management.

The ad does a great job of explaining why the issue of same-day voter registration is so important. But the campaign needs our help to get the ad on the air. I hope you’ll check it out, consider helping if you can and share it with all of your friends.

Voting rights are worth fighting for. Vote Yes on 1 on November 8th.

http://www.protectmainevotes.com/tv-ad

In a lengthy public statement, Olsen laid out a stinging indictment of the governor and his unwillingness to stand up to special interests, support his rhetoric with action and manage state government. Olsen went so far as to predict that the administration would cover up a report that would be unflattering to the department and some members of the fishing industry.

But there was one piece of information, if true, that demonstrates a dangerous vindictiveness on the part of the governor and an economic short-sightedness that could hurt Maine’s chances for economic recovery.

According to Olsen, LePage ordered: “No further collaboration with the City of Portland to develop measures to return our groundfish boats to Maine, despite the work already done to secure the support of visiting Commerce Department officials. Portland was against him, he said, and we will not work with that city. Rather than work with Portland, he said, we’ll build a new port somewhere.”

It sounds absurd that the governor would turn his back on the largest city and one of the economic engines that helps to drive our state.

But when you consider this comment and the last-minute push to change school funding statewide, which was led by State Senate President Kevin Raye, who’s from Washington County, and supported by Gov. LePage, there’s a disturbing pattern emerging.

That change cost Portland schools about $1 million in funding.

Portland may have a lot of Democratic voters, and certainly LePage won his election by pitting rural areas of the state against more urban areas. But we are all Mainers. We are one state. And we all rise or fall together. Dividing people might have worked in a splintered election. But leadership demands bringing people together.

The governor is elected to serve all of the people of the state, to protect and grow our economy, and to balance the overall good of the state against parochial divisions.

Instead, Gov. LePage appears to be falling back on a vindictive and mean-spirited campaign that rewards his supporters at the expense of the well-being of the entire state.

That’s not acceptable. The governor owes all of us an explanation.

Here’s a link to Olsen’s statement: http://www.kjonline.com/news/Olsen-releases-statement-on-resignation.html

I hope you’ll check out my post on Huffington Post.

http://tinyurl.com/42ezmw2

The state banned billboards, removing more than 4,800 signs from highways.

It was a tough decision, but it has helped to cement Maine’s identity as a place that takes environmental stewardship seriously.

Here’s my take on Huffington Post:

http://tinyurl.com/63na5rw

I can still remember my dad explaining to me that Maine didn’t junk up our driving experience with ugly signs. There was too much to look at that was beautiful and the signs were clutter. I notice it now every time I’m on the road somewhere else that Maine is different without the signs.

I was proud of that difference when I was 10, and I’m proud of it now.

I hope you’ll check out this op-ed on the subject that I wrote for the Brunswick Times Record:
http://tinyurl.com/6avumpe

1. Mentors and Sponsors: Develop more industry wide and company-specific programs for both mentorship and sponsorship. Tie sponsorship goals to pay or career advancement. Such programs should include succession planning and “co-mentoring,” which allows advice to flow from junior to senior levels. Involve men and women.

2. Leadership Wisdom Portal: Create a nationwide portal for insights and advice on leadership for women, pooling the resources of multiple media companies. Include formal career advice and discussion of the “unwritten rules” of being a woman in the workplace. Take better advantage of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

3. Women on Boards: Get more women on the boards of companies by having the SEC require all listed companies to set and disclose their own goals for adding women to their board, and then explain their progress in their SEC report. Goals should include training programs for women interested in board membership.

4. P&L Leadership: Companies should establish a program to train and encourage women to take leadership positions that involve profit-and-loss expertise specifically, and enable them to transition into these roles. Companies should establish specific targets and incentives to this end.

The high stakes game of chicken that’s going on in Washington is hurting our country.

Short-term continuing resolutions are no way to run government. Every few weeks, we find ourselves waiting to see if we can kick the dented can down the road just a little further.

With half the current fiscal year already over, Republicans and Democrats should stop wasting so much time and effort and pass a CR for the rest of the year, and then get busy on the real work of the next budget. The Bangor Daily has it right. http://tinyurl.com/6ah6szd

The arguments have done little to solve long-running political arguments, but have done a lot to create uncertainty. Everywhere you go, people want to know about their Social Security check, about whether their taxes will be due or processed, about whether our men and women in uniform will get paid and about a long list of other critical government services.

It’s no way to run a government or a country. But there’s no worry for Congress. Members paychecks aren’t on the line.

If Congress can’t figure out a way to do its work in good faith, something that has been clearly lacking from the Republican side of the aisle where they keep moving the goal line, then they certainly shouldn’t get paid.

A government shutdown would have tremendous consequences on millions of families and businesses. Members of Congress should at least feel some of that sting in their own wallets. They shouldn’t get paid.