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home > radio > maine news > news story Maine NewsMaine Democratic Party Ousts Hoffman Supporters
Two members of the Maine Democratic Party's executive committee have been ejected from their posts for supporting Herbert Hoffman's independent bid for the U.S. Senate. Lu Bauer, of Brunswick, and David Bright, of Dixmont, circulated petitions for Hoffman whose effort to remain on the fall ballot was challenged by Democratic leaders Thursday before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Bright says he's disappointed that the Maine Democratic Party seems to be ignoring some of its long-time institutions -- particularly those that encourage different points of view. In the world of reality television, the inability to devise successful alliances frequently produces disastrous results. Surprisingly, that's what happened to two members of the Maine Democratic Party who circulated petitions for independent U.S. Senate candidate Herbert Hoffman instead of supporting Congressman Tom Allen, the party's nominee. David Bright, of Dixmont, says he always knew that he served on the executive committee of the Maine Democratic Party at the pleasure of state committee leaders. He says, "They've basically voted us off the island." But he was surprised that those same leaders opted to vote him off the committee post he's held for 18 months simply because he is backing Hoffman. Bright and Lu Bauer, of Brunswick, were both relieved of their positions last week just days before the party went to the state's highest court to argue against Hoffman's inclusion on the fall ballot. Bright, a long-time Democratic activist is married to Jean Hay Bright, a Democrat who unsuccessfully opposed U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe in 2006. He says he wonders whether the party is veering away from some of its basic tenets: "You know I believe that there are some values and some institutions in the Democratic Party that I think we're ignoring lately. We're becoming, sort of, a follow the money party. I think people need to be able to stand up and have their say, and I don't think that many people on the ballot is a bad thing." Arden Manning is the executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, and he says there were some issues about Bright's allegiance to Hoffman while sitting in on leadership meetings in which Democratic strategy might be discussed: "A number of members of the Democratic state committee thought it was a bit of a conflict of interest for David Bright to be sitting on the executive committee while he supported an opposition candidate." Manning says that prior to last weekend's state committee meeting in Fort Fairfield, Bright was given the opportunity to resign from the party's executive committee. Manning explains that "David refused. There are very few meetings that I've been to where everybody agrees on something. There's always a huge debate, and I have to say in Fort Fairfield, with the exception of David and a few of his friends who were there, the vast majority of people who stood up just said 'David, please resign.' This is a conflict of interest, you know, you need to be able to identify it's a conflict of interest." Bright disputes the notion that he would have ever been privy to secret planning sessions for the Allen campaign: "Basically, I found that on the executive committee basically you set the agenda for the next meeting, and we have not done anything of substance. Any information that's come out in that meeting about the coordinating campaign - I've learned more from the public emails and the public speeches of people than that." Bright says the party's determination to shut the independent candidate out of the race and pull votes away from progressives has reinforced some of his own private perceptions about the party: "This is not an isolated incident, you know, there is a culture there that once we get with a candidate we need to do everything to support that party candidate. Jen Weber, communications director for the Republican Party's Victory 2008 effort, says she knew Democratic leaders were determined to keep Hoffman off the ballot but she underestimated their resolve: "I think it's surprising - the lengths the Maine Democratic Party and Tom Allen are going to silence not just the voices of more than 4,000 people who signed petitions to get Mr. Hoffman on the ballot, but people within their own leadership who do not support Tom Allen. Despite his own falling out with party leaders, Bright says he still plans to remain a Democrat and attend the national convention as a delegate for Senator Barack Obama. In the meantime, he'll be working on his organic farm -- and supporting Herb Hoffman.
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