Senate President Troy Jackson: “When forced to choose between fundraising from special interests and working for their constituents, Republicans chose special interests. Make no mistake, they chose wrong.”
Last week, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee (SRCC) announced a series of in-person fundraisers with registered lobbyists and their clients during the month of August, just days after blocking the Legislature from reconvening for a special session, tentatively scheduled for August. Furthermore, We the People PAC, a group associated with three House Republican lawmakers, is hosting a fundraiser on August 13. According to Maine Ethics Commission statutes and rules, political action committees like the SRCC and We the People cannot fundraise from registered lobbyists or their clients while the Legislature is in session.
This week, Republican lawmakers again denied a proposal from Senate President Troy Jackson and House Speaker Sara Gideon to reconvene the Legislature to mitigate hardships Maine families and small businesses are facing, despite their own claims earlier this year that problems Maine people face “require urgent action from the Maine Legislature.”
Now, with the election less than 90 days away, legislative Republicans have shown their hand: scheduling a slate of fundraisers during the potential special session period, demonstrating that raising money from lobbyists and special interests to fill their campaign coffers is more important than doing their jobs and working for constituents.
“When forced to choose between fundraising from special interests and working for their constituents, Maine Republicans chose special interests. Make no mistake, they chose wrong,” said Maine Senate President Troy Jackson. “Maine people are counting on the Legislature to reconvene and support Maine families and small businesses, but Republicans have decided it’s more important to fundraise. Mainers deserve lawmakers that work for them, not ones that play political games in the middle of a pandemic.”
###