TABOR II defeated, Excise Tax change defeated, Consolidation laws upheld, Medical Marijuana expanded

by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

BATH -- In a nail biter, Question One appears to be headed to victory as of presstime. Voters narrowly approved the repeal of gay marriage rights by a 52.75% - 47.25% margin, although by 6:10 Wednesday morning, some 13% of precincts had not yet reported returns.

The question was fought in newspaper editorials and letters, as well as highly emotional television commercials, both for and against the question.

Governor John Baldacci pointed out on Tuesday night that it took three votes to obtain equal civil protections for gays and lesbians in Maine, and indicated that this issue would return.

There was no response to Coastal Journal calls to the Yes on 1 campaign by presstime.

Locally, Question 1 was defeated in Sagadahoc County, Cumberland County, and Knox County, and only approved by a razor-thin margin in Lincoln County.

Other statewide election results included the decisive defeat of TABOR II, Question 4 on the ballot, by a 60.39% - 39.61% margin. Christopher St.John, executive director of the Maine Center for Economic Policy said, "The proponents of Question 4 said they wanted Maine people to decide, and the voters appear to have decided decisively that they did not want to put Maine government on auto-pilot. We hope that the proponents will now accept the repeated expression of Maine voters to allow our current systems of representative government and budgeting to work as designed."

This was TABOR’s third try at the Maine ballot box. Each time it has been soundly defeated by voters. There was no response from the Yes on 4 camp by presstime. Bruce Poliquin, local developer and now candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, had championed TABOR II, holding rallies around the state for its passage, but most commerce organizations in the state, including the state Chamber of Commerce, withdrew its support for the measure in late September.

Question 2, which would have decreased automobile excise taxes at the municipal level, also went down to defeat by a 74.15% - 25.85% margin. The proposal would have charged drivers with older cars the rate they pay now, but lowered the excise tax for those with newer or more fuel efficient cars. Municipalities had warned that changing the excise tax rules would result in higher property taxes.

Question 3, which would have repealed school consolidation laws, was also defeated. By a margin of 58.51% - 41.49%, voters agreed to stick with consolidation. Small towns are feeling the pinch as costs are being shared more equally between larger towns in districts and smaller ones for support of middle and high schools, which led to the potential revolt.

Locally, only Lincoln County voted to repeal consolidation.

Question 5, the Maine Medical Marijuana Act, was approved by a large margin. Mainers who use marijuana to relieve the symptoms of certain medical conditions will now have easier access to the drug. The margin was 58.61% - 41.39%.

Question 6, a transportation bond issue, was approved by 65.26% - 34.74%. The bond will be federally matched. The overall $637 million capital project plan includes 125 bridge projects, 228 miles of long-life paving and 34 miles of highway reconstruction.

And Question 7, a constitutional amendment that would grant municipalities more time to check signatures on People’s Vetos and other measures went down to defeat by 52.20% - 47.80%. Question 7 is seen by many election officials as a minor adjustment that will make a major difference for town clerks. Those clerks are responsible for certifying signatures on petitions gathered in the name of a people’s veto, which nullifies a law passed by the Legislature, or a citizen’s initiative, which proposes a new law. The certification process requires looking up each name to verify the signer is a registered voter and comparing the signatures.

Locally, Knox County voted in favor of Question 7.

State elections, especially the gay marriage repeal vote and TABOR II drove 50% of eligible voters to the polls yesterday, a record for an off-year election in Maine.

Locally, there were a few races and measures, too. In Friendship, voters approved the sale of beer and wine in town limits.

In Brunswick, there were three races for town councilor:

At Large

Joann King 66%

Karen Klatt 34%

District 3

Suzan Wilson 53%

Hailey Daugherty 47%

District 4

John Perriault 60%

Jason Bergquist 40%

In Woolwich, David King and Jack Shaw won the two available seats on the board of selectmen, defeating Michael Moody.

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