My wife and I just attended the Hands-Off! Rally and March in Augusta with 3,000 other Mainers! It was peaceful and rowdy at the same time: very inspiring. One of the speakers said that over 60 billionaires bankrolled the Republicans in the last election, and 83 billionaires bankrolled the Democratic Party. She said both parties are complicit in letting the oligarchy control our government. The next presenter was a Maine legislator, and she talked about bills that were voted down last week in Augusta. All of the Republicans voted for six bills that would have helped make abortion illegal, and they all voted for a bill that would have made contraception inaccessible. All the Democrats voted against these bills, so it made a difference that the Democrats have a three-seat majority!  Another presenter talked about how the oligarchy keeps us busy fighting cultural wars about things like reproductive freedom, so they can go unnoticed while they continue winning their class war against us, privatizing government agencies and widening the income gap. 

      Democrats will win big time when they commit more to representing the poor, the oppressed, the working families, and the middle class; working together to make everyone’s lives better. And when they do that, we’ll have the power to end subsidies to the fossil fuel corporations. We’ll finally make some progress on climate change!

Third Act Maine’s co-lead Molly Schen organized the Hands Off rally at Monument Square in Portland, which also drew thousands, including Maine’s State Senator Angus King!

Meanwhile, Molly’s fellow co-lead, Tom Mikulka and hundreds of friends were at Erskine Park in South Portland at the entrance to the Casco Bay Bridge.

The Lewiston-Auburn area  standout was on the Longley Androscoggin bridge, downtown between Lewiston and Auburn which drew an estimated  400-500 people. Third Act Maine member Nancy Greene shared her experience:

Third Act was well representing in Farmington, Maine!

Big oil companies such as Exxon, Chevron, and Shell have known for decades that more fossil fuels would mean fiercer storms, more floods, homes destroyed, and lives lost. It’s time to join Vermont and New York in holding polluters accountable. We’ve heard that other states have similar legislation in the works as well.

Devastating storms have already impacted cities and towns across Maine. It’s only a matter of time before the next climate disaster comes. If polluters aren’t the ones paying for the damage, that leaves the people of Maine on the hook – again and again and again.

You can support the soon to be released Make Polluters Pay Act by signing this petition by Maine Conservation Voters.

The Climate Superfund is a 2025 priority action of Maine’s Environmental Priorities Coalition, a statewide alliance of 39 conservation, climate action, and public health organizations.

Central Maine Hub

Central Maine Hub actively focused on defending democracy. Hub members attended a big rally at the State House, a smaller gathering outside Senator Susan Collins’ office in Augusta, two demonstrations near Tesla chargers at the Waterville Elm Plaza (One of which was mentioned on the Racheal Maddow Show!) and a “Dump Trump” rally with 50 other protesters on downtown Main Street in Waterville. The Hub is coordinating with Indivisible. They’re emailing, calling political representatives, and writing letters to the editor.

Western Mountains

Well over 200 concerned citizens rallied at a standout organized by Western Mountains Third Act on March 1 in downtown Farmington. Protesters were greeted frequently with beeping horns and waves from passersby. There were very few dissenters. Protest participants cited reasons for standing up:

“I’m very frightened and angry for our democracy” – Wendy

“We have to speak. Silence is capitulation” – Ellen

“I’m a queer woman, and I have a non-binary child.” – Sara

Lincoln County Hub

In Lincoln County, Third Act Maine has teamed up with Indivisible, Maine Dems and other groups for weekly demonstrations at the Damariscotta/Newcastle bridge on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. When the gathering of democracy advocates began several weeks ago, only a handful of folks participated. After Trump and Musk took a chain saw to the federal work force, 400+ people have been showing up.

“This is the new normal, and for the sake of future generations and all life on this beautiful planet, if we want a fighting chance, the time to show up is NOW” –  Marnie Sinclair, Third Act Maine

Greater Portland Hub

Greater Portland Third Act Maine members have been protesting in Augusta and in Monument Square in Portland week after week. Television interviews and meeting a woman, 80+ with her granddaughters,  are a few highlights.

“I think you would have your gas tank partly refilled by this raucous group of mostly elders. It was lots of fun and my batteries are recharged.” – Tom Mikulka, Third Act Maine

On February 23rd, ten members of Third Act Maine sang their way into the Portland office of Senator Collins. They met with her representative and expressed grave concerns about the powerful senator’s deafening silence on cuts to federal services, veterans, and USAID.

They presented a letter to Collins, pressing her to:

• Speak out against the arbitrary cruelty of Elon Musk’s unconstitutional actions
• Speak out to defend the Constitution and Congress’s power of the purse
• Lead efforts to build coalitions with Republican and Democratic senators against cuts of crucial programs and grants
• Schedule a Town Hall Meeting with constituents to hear questions and concerns.

For more news and ways you can can get involved and make a difference check out our March newsletter.

In 2024 Third Act Maine (TAM) was honored to be accepted as a member of the Environmental Priorities Coalition (EPC), a statewide alliance of conservation, climate action, and public health organizations. Collectively, these organizations identify a slate of policy priorities to act on the climate crisis, further environmental justice, protect land, water, and wildlife; and cultivate healthy Maine communities. On Tuesday, January 14, Deb Fahy and Dick Thomas represented TAM at the rollout of the EPC’s nine priority bills for 2025 to legislators at the Maine State House.

TAM is actively supporting the climate change superfund bill currently in development. Modeled on similar bills that passed in Vermont and New York recently, this legislation would make fossil fuel companies help pay for damage caused by climate change. Maine Youth for Climate Justice is taking the lead on this bill, and TAM is proud to be a partner supporting them in this important work, fulfilling our mission to “uplift youth.” TAM volunteers Deb Fahy and Cletis Boyer are representing us in the EPC.

Check out Third Act Maine’s latest newsletter on Substack for more Maine actions on behalf of the climate.

In Cape Elizabeth, the Greater Portland Hub gathered together to get out the vote with a postcard party using the well-organized campaign “Vote Forward” to focus on registered voters in swing states.

One attendee wrote, “I’m leaving very upbeat. You covered the whole gamut–spiritual and action.”

We enjoyed four amazing speakers: Arctic explorer and researcher Susana Hancock, artist Robert Shetterly on truth-tellers, Kathleen Miel on legislative policy and our role in the Environmental Priorities Coalition, and Nicole Diroff on remembering to love the natural world of which we are a part. We wrote letters to get out the vote in swing states and ended the day with song with the Pick-Up Climate Choir.

Afterwards, keynote speaker Susana Hancock posted on Instagram, “It’s so uplifting to be surrounded by passionate people using their minds, skills and dreams to change their communities.”

Check out our latest newsletter on Substack for ways YOU can help save Democracy and the planet!

Photos by Deb Fahy, Tom Mikulka & Nancy Anderson. Many thanks to Universalist Unitarian Church of Waterville, Maine for hosting!