2013 Legislative Scorecard

After a concerted grassroots effort during the last election, both houses of the legislature this last session saw progressive majorities, though not enough to override a gubernatorial veto.

This was a shift from the previous session, which came when Governor Paul LePage won the Maine governorship with a plurality of the votes on Election Day in November, 2010 and Republicans won a small majority in the House and a larger one in the Senate.

The new administration and 125th Legislature ushered in a new set of priorities, following a game plan drafted in advance by national right-wing groups and fueled by the energy and anger of the Tea Party backlash. LePage and his allies went after Maine’s environmental protections, unions, pensions and workplace laws, immigrants, health care protections and fundamental voting rights. In almost every issue area, they’ve took the side of out-of-state corporations over Maine communities, people and small businesses.

Despite the new majorities, progressive leaders attempting to make progress in these areas still face an uphill battle against Governor LePage and a Republican minority that seem reluctant to govern cooperatively.

The following scorecard of voting records of members of the 126th Maine Legislature showcases a sample of bills from across the issue areas that are most important to the members of the Maine People’s Alliance. Legislators’ overall percentage scores should give a sense of where they stand not just on the individual issues, but their fundamental values, specifically on building strong communities, investing in the future and advancing fairness, equality and justice for all Maine people.