There goes the neighborhood.
You and I must make our voices heard TODAY if we want to prevent the destruction of single-family residential neighborhoods in our state.
Maine First Project has long warned that the woke Left and their Foreigners First agenda are coming for the suburbs and rural Maine.
And if LD 2003 (the Section 8 Suburbs bill) is enacted, it will put an end to home life as we know it in the Pine Tree State.
If this “emergency” bill passes, forget about Maine ever being considered The Way Life Should Be again.
The Section 8 Suburbs bill is scheduled for a public hearing this coming Monday, March 7th.
We must act today!
There are two ways you can make your voice heard to protect local control of zoning decisions.
- Prepare and submit written testimony for the Labor and Housing Committee to consider at the public hearing. You can submit your testimony here. You’ll need to click the dropbox and select the Labor and Housing Committee. Then the date of 3/7/22. And you’ll then click on LD 2003. At that point, you’ll be allowed to upload or type out your written testimony for consideration.
- Call YOUR state Representative and state Senator. You can find their contact information here.
Again, the public hearing is Monday, so we must act TODAY!
I know it’s a big ask of your time. But LD 2003 must not pass, or our neighborhoods will look just like the worst parts of South Portland.
That fact is, just a couple of weeks ago, Maine First Project rallied the troops, and Maine Patriots made their voices heard.
Thanks to the persistent phone calls and binders-full of testimony submitted against LD 1939 — which would have functioned as a gag order on parents voicing their concerns at school board meetings – a majority on the Criminal Justice Committee voted “Ought Not to Pass” yesterday!
Your relentless pressure even convinced some Democrats to vote no on a bill that was expected to sail forward with a thumbs up to the full legislature.
We must not rest on our laurels — Maine needs you to act again!
It will require the same persistence to prevent LD 2003 from passing unanimously in committee, allowing the Legislature to let the bill fly to the Governor’s desk without a roll call.
The same “non-profit” slumlords who have stuffed their pockets with government subsidies for low-income housing are licking their chops at the big payday that’s barreling its way through the Augusta swamp.
In the name of “affordable housing” and “racial equity,” they are poised to override local zoning ordinances that protect single-family neighborhoods from high-density Section 8 apartment projects.
And the bill is getting bipartisan support from wobbly Republicans. It even has a GOP co-sponsor!
They need their feet held to the fire. The public hearing is this coming Monday, so please take action TODAY to protect Maine neighborhoods.
- Prepare and submit written testimony for the Labor and Housing Committee to consider at the public hearing. You can submit your testimony here. You’ll need to click the dropbox and select the Labor and Housing Committee. Then the date of 3/7/22. And you’ll then click on LD 2003. At that point, you’ll be allowed to upload or type out your written testimony for consideration.
- Call YOUR state Representative and state Senator. You can find their contact information here.
Maine First Project ally Heather Sirocki of Scarborough — my friend and former seatmate in the front row of the House chamber — understands what’s at stake:
“Our so-called housing shortage is being driven by a variety of factors, many of which may, in fact, be temporary,” Heather told me. “Droves of terrified people moved to Maine to ride out the pandemic. While some may stay permanently, some are already moving back to their home states.”
“Many so-called “asylum seekers” recently arrived in Maine and have been housed in subsidized units and in hotels; it is unclear how many will stay in Maine once they experience the high heating costs of a cold winter,” Sirocki continued. “Young people fresh out of college are now facing the realities of soaring inflation and high energy costs, which are forcing young people to consider moving back home with parents to save money. The market will adjust to supply and demand, as it has for decades, without Augusta’s central planners.”
“If we transition to a system that does not allow local control and promotes largely unfettered statewide growth, what may we anticipate?” Sirocki questioned. “What happens, if we create a bubble that bursts?”
“Naturally, a shift and shaft could occur with local costs borne by property taxpayers,” Sirocki warned. “Homeowners and renters are already being squeezed by staggering heating fuel prices and electricity bills; more newcomers in a community can strain our already stressed supply chain and create more shortages and strain our schools, public safety system, healthcare, roads, the electric grid, etc.”
“We have had Home Rule for decades in Maine,” Sirocki pointed out. “Local people live in and love their unique and different communities. Once LD 2003’s new requirements are voted into statute, all municipalities will need to redraft their local regulations to comply with the new laws. Why would we give away our local control?”
“The proposed new remote “Review Board” would be filled with people no one has ever heard of; it is purely political,” Sirocki concluded. “The power brokers would rule over us from Augusta, and all seven members of the board would be appointed by the sitting Governor with incredible power to pick and choose winners and losers. Think about that. For these reasons, I oppose LD 2003.”
I couldn’t agree more! Well said Heather!
Larry, you and I need to make sure the Labor and Housing Committee considers what Heather Sirocki has to say at their public hearing this coming Monday morning, March 7th.
- Prepare and submit written testimony for the Labor and Housing Committee to consider at the public hearing. You can submit your testimony here. You’ll need to click the drop box and select the Labor and Housing Committee. Then the date of 3/7/22. And you’ll then click on LD 2003. At that point you’ll be allowed to upload or type out your written testimony for consideration.
- Call YOUR state Representative and state Senator. You can find their contact information here.
Again, the public hearing is early Monday morning, so we must act NOW!
Maine families have a right to live in their single-family homes without their neighborhood turning into the slums of Portland.
Anything less than an “Ought Not to Pass” vote on LD 2003, the Section 8 Suburbs bill, is simply unacceptable, and will be remembered come November!
Thank you for your support and patriotism. Together we will restore Maine to The Way Life Should Be.
Sincerely,
Hon. Lawrence Lockman
Maine House of Representatives, 2012-2020
Co-founder & President
Maine First Project
P.S.
If LD 2003 passes, Section 8 housing is coming to your neighborhood!
The swamp critters who inhabit the Legislature and the Nanny State Nonprofit Industrial Complex in Augusta are about to impose top-down control of local neighborhoods across the state.
They need their feet held to the fire. The public hearing is this coming Monday, so please act TODAY to protect Maine neighborhoods.
- Prepare and submit written testimony for the Labor and Housing Committee to consider at the public hearing. You can submit your testimony here. You’ll need to click the drop box and select the Labor and Housing Committee. Then the date of 3/7/22. And you’ll then click on LD 2003. At that point you’ll be allowed to upload or type out your written testimony for consideration.
- Call YOUR state Representative and state Senator. You can find their contact information here.
Thank you for taking action!
It’s worked in the past, in fact as recently as a couple of weeks ago, when Maine First Project supporters made their voices heard and scored an “Ought Not to Pass” majority vote against a bill that would have bullied and intimidated parents across the state who are speaking out at school board meetings.
Your action TODAY can protect residential neighborhoods from the woke mob of authoritarians at the Statehouse.