A Final Message Before Election Day

Dear Neighbors of District 13,

This year has been shocking like no other. COVID upends our lives. Businesses struggle. Schools navigate uncharted territory. Political campaigns bombard us with meanness and lies, turning us against each other.

But I write to you today - one last time before Nov. 3rd - with a message of hope.

I believe there is more light than darkness, more that binds us than tears us apart. I know with certainty that when we harness this spirit, we accomplish great things together.

I grew up on my family’s farm in Nobleboro. From Lincoln Academy, I went to Harvard College, and after graduation packed up Dad’s truck and headed home. Looking back, my life has one big theme: I love our home. I love that we welcome and care for each other as neighbors, regardless of political persuasion. We are independent but build strong community. We snowmobile, fish, hunt, hike, and work hard to reside in this beautiful place, living on the land with respect and freedom.

Love for home is why I am running for the State Senate this year, challenging Dana Dow. I promised and delivered a 100% positive campaign. We are grounded in community values, not Party or ideology, as reflected by endorsements from Sheriff Todd Brackett, Former Chair of the Lincoln County Republicans Les Fossel, the Maine Council on Aging’s 2020 Legislator of the Year award, and dozens of community members and organizations.

As State Senator, I will build on my track record of effective, bipartisan, community-based leadership to fight for a resilient Maine, where broadband, education, healthcare, transportation, farms, fisheries, small businesses, and our natural resources sustain us in the future and honor the past.

Solutions to these challenges depend on good politics, yet most of us feel that the political system is badly broken and no longer represents our interests.

That's why our campaign stands for a new direction. We are re-inventing politics as public service. It’s not a promise but a fact that shapes everything we do. It’s why I choose to fight for our home as a State Senator who stands beside you. It’s why, when COVID hit, we organized a 200-strong volunteer team telephoning over 13,500 seniors, regardless of political affiliation, checking that everyone was okay, coordinating food deliveries, prescriptions, rides, and more.

As State Representative, community-based politics meant that my bills won bipartisan support and that each one originated in conversations with you. Thanks to a Nobleboro nurse, a new law protects sexual assault kits. Hearing the need for jobs in growth industries, we now have green jobs legislation. Talks with seniors shaped my rural transportation bill. Learning from retirees, I introduced a Resolution to Congress to reform Social Security Offsets. In regular “Coffees with Chloe,” I continue to learn from your concerns and find solutions.

Next year will be a time for rebuilding. We are only at the beginning of what we can accomplish together: a powerful new community-based politics. Join us for the sake of all that we love.

For Community,

Chloe

Maine Council on Aging 2020 Legislator of the Year

The 2020 MCOA Legislator of the Year Award recognizes and celebrates the sustained efforts of legislative leaders who have worked through the COVID-19 crisis collaboratively with communities, institutions, governments, and businesses to develop and implement solutions that have improved the health and safety of older Mainers.

"Representative Chloe Maxmin may be a new face in the Maine legislature, but she is already a strong voice for Maine’s older adults. As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she enlisted more than 200 volunteers to contact and triage the needs of more than 3,000 older residents living in her district. The more than 12,000 calls made by Chloe and her volunteers resulted in groceries and prescriptions being delivered, rides to doctor appointments being arranged, and masks and social support being made available. One of the volunteers involved said that Chloe is the type of person we need in office, “one who has the compassion and empathy to reach out to her constituents.” Aside from her immediate and impressive response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she also sponsored a key bill regarding transportation for older people in the legislature, and has continued to make older people a primary focus of her work as a lawmaker. The Maine Council on Aging is proud to honor Representative Maxmin as the 2020 Legislator of the Year."

Our Campaign

The deep crises that we face in Maine stem from a political system that has lost touch with its people because we keep electing individuals who are not transparent, responsive, or accountable. The theme that I hear most in my conversations with you is that we deserve to feel represented. This is our big work together.

We are building a new kind of politics that is rooted in community and values, not partisanship. We know that real representation starts with the people of Maine. Our work is about respect, listening, inclusivity, and fighting for each other. This is important now more than ever as we recover from COVID-19. What kind of world will we build?

We’re committed to a 100% positive campaign. We believe in a politics that can bring us together, not tear us apart. We will build it together, and what we build will last far beyond Election Day.

There are so many issues facing our community, and I am here to talk with you about anything that you’re thinking about or is impacting your life. I will be honest and open about my views on the many challenges and opportunities in our community.

We also wanted to share our broad campaign platform. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all that we stand for. It is merely a reflection of some of the most important issues that we hear from the people of District 13.

Please reach out anytime to talk about these issues or any others on your mind! 207-200-6224.

There are four broad themes:

1) Resilience: This is at the heart of our campaign. It means strength in District 13 to protect our past, feel secure in the present, and stay strong in the future. Resilience is about withstanding any challenge while holding on to all that makes our community special.

Resilience is more than a thought--it needs to be baked into our public policy. We need resilient energy systems that ensure that Mainers don’t sit in the dark for days after the storms that are only getting stronger and stronger. We need resilience in local agriculture, supporting farms across the region that take care of the land, feed our communities, and make sure no one goes hungry. Small businesses are also the core of a resilient community, building a local economy that can sustain itself. We also need a resilient coastal economy that supports our fishermen and our fisheries for years to come. Lastly, it's about a strong education system that can support our children and teachers without crippling property taxes.

2) Broadband: Everyone in District 13 needs access to broadband. As COVID-19 has shown us, connection to the Internet is essential to access emergency resources. We also know that education--for young folks and adults--is more accessible when broadband is available. It is also how we ensure that residents can move to our community to build their business and their life.

3) Transportation: Access to some mode of transportation is the great equalizer in rural communities. It is vital that we have those systems in place. It is how rural communities access food, jobs, healthcare, family, and all that we rely on to survive and thrive.

Maine DOT released its Maine Strategic Transit Plan , which concluded that transportation access is far below demand. In Lincoln County, only 12% of need is met; Knox County is only 7%; Kennebec has 15% of need met. In the 2016 Shared Community Health Needs Assessment for Lincoln County, transportation is one of the biggest health factors leading to poor health outcomes in our community.

Transportation access is an essential need for our community.

4) Healthcare: Accessible and affordable health care for rural Mainers is more important now than ever as COVID-19 surrounds us. It must be a human right. Part of this is ensuring that our rural health centers have the funding that they need to keep their doors open and service the community. Healthcare access also includes resources for the devastating opioid epidemic in our community and support for mental health. These are parts of our community’s health that touch all our lives but often receive the fewest resources. That must change.