Immediately following a standing room-only meeting at the Friends Meeting House in Damariscotta on Monday, Jan. 30, a contingent of Lincoln County Indivisible members drove to Sen. Susan Collins’ Augusta office to deliver three citizen petitions about the flood of events unfolding in Washington, D.C.
Lincoln County Indivisible gathered more than 300 signatures over the previous weekend on two petitions, one asking that Collins join Sen. Angus King in voting against the confirmation of Scott Pruitt to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the second requesting that she vote against the confirmation of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education.
A third petition was assembled during Monday’s meeting in sincere appreciation of Collins’ public statement of opposition to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries as running “contrary to our American values.” Collins has joined King and Rep. Chellie Pingree in denouncing the ban. The petition also asked her to propose that any further confirmation hearings be halted until the executive order is rescinded.
Michelle P. Michaud, staff assistant to Collins, accepted the petitions in the Augusta office.
Lincoln County Indivisible is part of the growing “Indivisible” movement in the United States that began after the 2016 election. Its mandate is to mobilize and focus grassroots engagement with Lincoln County’s congressional delegation in order to resist President Trump’s agenda. To date, approximately 20 Indivisible groups have formed in Maine alone.
More than 60 people came to Lincoln County Indivisible’s first meeting on Jan. 23, and participation has increased in each of the two subsequent meetings. More than 170 individuals have now joined the group. The group’s next public meeting will be at the Friends Meeting House on Belvedere Road in Damariscotta at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4. The group can be followed on Twitter at @LCIndivisible. Additional Lincoln County Indivisible contact information is forthcoming.
