My Name is Ethan Strimling

Ethan Strimling, All Towns

Sunday, December 2

My name is Ethan Strimling. I’m a State Senator and committed progressive from Portland, and I am running in the Democratic Primary in June to represent Maine’s 1st Congressional District.

Of course I hope you’ll vote for me, but you have months to decide that. Right now I'm inviting you to join me in a discussion about this country and how it needs to change.

This campaign started with a large discussion: supporters hosted house parties in 70 towns in our district. People invited their friends over and welcomed me to join them. We sat in living rooms and stood in kitchens, and like you do on this site every day, the people who came out spoke openly and freely. I did something hard for a politician; I shut up and listened. And when you do that, it’s amazing what you’ll hear.

People told me what was on their minds and in their hearts. Hundreds of good people shared their lives, their concerns and hopes for the country. More than anything else, the folks I met were concerned that no one in Washington seems to be listening to their cares, concerns and opinions.

Regular, middle class Mainers feel neglected, like they’ve been shut out of the conversation.

I heard it a lot: middle class Americans feel forgotten by Washington.

The DC elite want our votes, but when it comes to tax policy they only seem to care if you’re from the top income bracket.

Single-payer health care? Why should they care? They’ve got coverage, and regular Americans can just pop a Ricola in their mouths if they feel sick.

It’s fine to load the national debt on our kids and grandkids to fight a war we never needed, but when it comes to investing in alternative energy or college loan programs or Katrina relief, we hear, “Oh, we can’t afford that.”

The people I’ve met think the country’s priorities are out of whack. Well, guess what? They’re right.

Here are a few stories I heard in some of those homes;

• In Shapleigh, I talked with a retiree, a man who worked hard all his life, paid his taxes, saved carefully, and looked forward to a decent retirement. But now he has to go back to work because everything — from taxes to heating to health care — is so much more expensive than he had so carefully planned for.


• In Saco, I met a man whose kidney cancer is now terminal. It would have been treatable if it had been caught early, but in his hourly job he did not have health insurance, and he couldn’t afford physicals, so it was detected too late. I can’t even begin to imagine how it feels for him and for his family.


• I heard from a Portland couple struggling to pay a second mortgage on their house because their two boys are both in college.

I wish these stories were rare and unique, but they aren’t. You have probably heard about similar struggles in your community. Good people caught up in situations not of their making; people we all want to help and can’t help.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Our elected leaders are making bad choices, and these daily struggles facing middle and working class Americans are the direct consequences of those bad choices.

That’s why I'm running for Congress. I have always believed that Government can be a force for good, for change, for progress. But you need people in government who care, who understand the issues and who have good values. Government can’t do a lot of things, but there are some things it can really help with. It can give people a boost or a helping hand, or an opportunity, when none would otherwise be there. That’s my value, my belief.

The late, great Molly Ivins used to like to point out that the Constitution gives the government six specific jobs, one of which is to “promote the general Welfare.” I feel that it’s long past time we started making our government live up to its promise.

So let me hear from you. Please share your stories, your opinions, and your ideas about how our district, our state, our country and our world can be made better. What do you think government can or can’t do? What are your concerns?

With your help, and with you behind me, I will fight every day in Congress for what I’ve fought for in the Maine Senate: to make taxes fairer, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, bring our troops home, and increase wages and benefits for working families so that we can finally focus on closing the divide between the rich and the rest of us that has grown so wide in the past 6 years.

I hope I can earn your support and that you will take some time to ask me questions, to learn more about me, and also tell me your stories and ideas so that I can also learn more about you. If you visit my website, you can learn more about my experience in the Maine Legislature, where I have served since 2002, and in my ten-plus years as executive director at Portland West, a nonprofit working with at-risk and lower income children and families. You can also learn about my positions on other issues.

I look forward to your feedback and comments, and to speaking with you more throughout this campaign.

Sincerely,

-Ethan