Accompanied by state and local GOP candidates and officials, U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe greeted local business owners and wooed potential voters during a visit to Main St. Damariscotta Aug. 10.
Congressional Candidate Dean Scontras, District 51 State Representative John McKane (R-Newcastle), and District 20 State Senator David Trahan (R-Waldoboro) joined Snowe on her brief tour.
While Scontras, McKane, and Trahan all sought to reach out to voters before the upcoming November elections, Snowe, who is not up for reelection until 2012, took time to speak with business owners and about the Small Business Lending Bill pending before the Senate and other issues important to area residents.
Arriving in mid-afternoon at Waltz Pharmacy, Snowe was welcomed by a small gathering of local GOP officials, including Edgecomb Republican Chairwoman Jessica Chubbuck and Lincoln County Chair Jim Carlton. The party members, along with several aides from the Scontras campaign and the Senator’s offices in Washington and Augusta, provided an entourage for Snowe and Scontras as they stopped in at several stores on both sides of Main Street.
Most were surprised, and thrilled, to see their representative from the Senate.
“It was terrific to see her in person…you always see [senators] on TV all the time,” said Muffy Myles, an employee at Weatherbird.
Main St. shoppers from both here and away stopped to thank Sen. Snowe for her work, or to discuss the economy and recent healthcare overhaul.
Snowe is currently home in Maine for the Senate’s summer recess. The Senate will reconvene after Labor Day. According to Snowe’s Director of Communications, John Gentzel, the Senator will be doing a series of walking tours throughout Maine during the recess.
“She gets some great ideas walking around and meeting people,” said Gentzel.
Snowe said that the summer recess will give her time to hear from Maine citizens about how the economy is affecting them personally.
“I’m going to get a tempo of the State from all of this,” said Snowe.
When the Senate reconvenes Sept. 13, Snowe said she would continue working on the stalled small business lending bill, “first and foremost.”
The Democrats were unable to muster a 60 Senator majority before the summer recess to end a Republican filibuster on the bill. Though she was one of the main architects of the bill, Snowe joined with her fellow Republicans to maintain a filibuster.
While some Democrats say that the Republicans are unnecessarily stalling a bill that they themselves helped author in order to deny President Obama a legislative victory, some Republicans counter that the Democrats aren’t considering their amendments and that the bill doesn’t go far enough to create jobs.
The current bill before the Senate would encourage community banks to increase lending to small businesses.
Though the primary reason for Snowe’s visit was to meet with constituents, the Senator did get to do a little shopping: She left Damariscotta with a new pair of pink and white slip-on shoes, some lotion, and a green watch.
“There is no substitute for being out and about,” said Snowe, as she walked out of Stars, green watch around her wrist.
