Senator Collins: “Start Putting …..Mainers Ahead of …Special Interest Supporters.”
New Group Launched Today to Monitor Senator Collins Votes.
Today, a group of Mainers announced the launch of the 16 Counties Coalition, a grassroots education campaign encouraging Senator Susan Collins (R) to listen to the voices of Mainers on health care and taxes and to fight for access to quality, affordable care and secure financial futures that every Mainer deserves. The campaign will focus on Senator Collins’ votes on these key issues and encourages her to start putting families and working Mainers ahead of her special interest supporters according to a press release issued this afternoon.
“In recent years, Senator Collins has begun putting the interests of drug donors and special interests ahead of working families in Maine who are struggling to make ends meet, said Willy Ritch, executive director of the new group. “Senator Collins has taken over $1 million from drug companies and insurance companies while taking votes that drive up premiums and cause Mainers to lose access to health care. If that wasn’t enough, she was crucial in passing Republican tax bills that gave those big companies that support her a huge tax cut while putting critical programs like Medicare and Social Security at risk.”
“We started the 16 Counties Coalition to amplify the voices of Mainers whose lives have been worsened because of Senator Collins’ actions,” Ritch said. ‘We want to make sure that she hears the voices of Mainers tho have been negatively affected by her choices.” Ritch was formerly on the staff of Rep. Chellie Pingree (D).
The 16 Counties Coalition launches with an Advisory Committee made up of Mainers from each of the State’s 16 counties.
“I’ve supported Senator Collins in the past, but it seems like she’s stopped listening to Mainers,” said Julie Eaton, of Deer Isle, an Advisory Committee member. “I’m trying to make a living by lobstering and trying to figure out how to pay for health care, but she’s not doing anything to help us out. Instead, she votes to give giant tax breaks to big drug and insurance companies. We’ve got some serious problems here in Maine and I wish Senator Collins would start paying attention and do what needs to be done to solve them,” Eaton concluded.
The 16 Counties Coalition is a year-long grassroots advisory campaign aimed at amplifying the voices of families and working Mainers and encouraging Senator Susan Collins to vote in favor of the people she was elected to represent and defend. The campaign will mobilize members through their small and large-scale events, through digital action and through television, radio and digital ads.
The Cumberland County Advisory Committee member is Stretch Tuemmier
For more information, please contact Chris Glynn, Director of Communications, at: chris@mainersmomentum.org
NOTE: One reason that Collins does not listen to southern Mainers is because she never comes here. One shocking example of this occurred at a meeting last month at the Merrill Auditorium rehearsal hall regarding the influx of immigrants from the southern border; Collins was a no-show. Governor Janet Mills attended and spoke as did US Rep. Chellie Pingree who spoke at length on the situation in Portland. Collins did not attend and rather sent her office manager. When asked if she, Kate, had anything to say, she declined. Total silene. Collins couldn’t even muster enough interest in Portland to prepare a statement to be read by Kate. Ouch!
MHN.com attended the meeting, but has been so swamped with material, has not been able to write about it. This slight by Collins stands out for mhn.com as a take-away from the meeting.
Isn’t she supposed to represent everyone in the state, not just a select few wealthy donors from out-of-state?