Campaign Update, Dec. 4th: Keeping it real in Maine

Corey Hascall, Portland

Dear friends,

Welcome winter! I hope everyone stayed safe in our first big snow storm of the season. If this storm took you by surprise- don't you worry. We'll have plenty more opportunities to practice our storm survival techniques.

Ethan Strimling for Congress is Keeping it Real in Maine

We have some great news to share. Because of so many of you, the Ethan Strimling for Congress campaign has brought in almost $162,000 from Maine people alone. In fact, our campaign has raised more money in state than ANY other Congressional Primary Candidate! Check it out by clicking on the link below to the Open Secrets web site.

Ethan Strimling: Top CD-1 Recipient of In-State Contributions

I think this news says so much about the grassroots philosophy of our campaign and about our candidate who is out there every single day fighting for Maine people. But more than that, it says something about you. Thanks to every person that helped us get to this point. We've met hundreds of you from all walks of life in towns all across the 1st Congressional District- and we've seen first-hand how hard you work for your money. We are truly honored every time we receive a contribution- whether it is $10 or $1,000. We know that every dollar we receive comes with your hopes and dreams for Maine's future. We want you to know how seriously we take that. Thank you.

A New Ethan-08 Team Member!

Another bit of great news. Fundraising rock star, Stephanie Hart, will soon join the Ethan-08 finance team. Welcome aboard! Stephanie's service to Maine people is long. She ran finance for Gov. John Baldacci's re-election campaign, and ran a winning field program for John Kerry for President in Maine. Stephanie has also worked with a long line of Maine statesmen including Senator George Mitchell, Congressman Tom Andrews, and Governor Joe Brennan. What can we say? Steph has skills and she knows how to pick a candidate. We are thrilled to add her to our campaign family.

Getting Local Across Maine's 1st Congressional District

Team-Ethan has (of course) been very busy since Thanksgiving.

Last week we visited the shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works. Many thanks to union locals #6 and #7 for showing us the ropes and for pointing us in the direction of some great breakfast sandwiches!
Ethan meetings people at BIW

On Thursday night, we were proud to be part of the unveiling of the AIDs Memorial Quilt here in Maine. The quilt has been an important tool across the country in educating people about HIV-AIDs. It has helped raise awareness, honored friends who have died, but more importantly, the quilt has inspired thousands to take action to help fight the disease here in America and across the globe. It was a great honor for Ethan to read the first names on the quilt. FMI and to see how you can help, please visit www.AidsQuilt.org.

And this morning, Ethan visited the folks at the Heart of Biddeford's Donut Club. This is a group of small business owners that meet monthly to discuss ways to work together to improve downtown Biddeford's business atmosphere. Many thanks to HoB and to all of the people who came for sharing their thoughts and concerns with Ethan, and also to Reilly's Bakery for hosting, and for those fabulous chocolate frosted donuts!

Ethan responds to the President's press conference today on Iran

Finally, this morning President Bush held a press conference and stated that Iran, despite the fact that the country no longer has nuclear weapons, is a danger to American security. Please read Ethan's response by clicking the following link:

STRIMLING:
BUSH CONTINUES WAR RHETORIC DESPITE LATEST FINDINGS ON IRAN

Please be safe in your travels with this snow. Onward and upward friends!

Corey