<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Please pass along to others in your group or area. Thanks.<div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>FROM ED SCHLICK:<br>
<div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px"><font face="Times New Roman" size="6" style="font: 21.0px Times New Roman"><b><i>PERSONAL INVITATION</i></b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Times New Roman"><br> <br> This is a personal invitation to attend the Feb. 12 organizational meeting of the Maine People’s Veto Alliance (MPVA). We are in the process of getting individuals with a background of involvement in different Maine economic, social, environmental, health, civil rights and education areas to begin a discussion and possible organization of resources to effectively and efficiently use the constitutional right of Maine voters to use the <b>People’s Veto.<br> <br> </b>Information on the time and place of the initial meeting is outlined below. While the printed agenda will not be finalized or distributed for another few days Rep. Seth Berry, former House majority leader, has agreed to speak on the present situation in the Maine Legislature. There will also be a speaker on the legal requirements and problems of using the <b>People’s Veto.<br> <br> </b>As Acting Executive Director of MPVA I will outline a proposed operating system for the new organization and a time line for future meetings and for getting support from both individuals and organizations in the various major areas such as education, environment, labor, business, health, arts, civil rights, natural resources and more.<br> <br> The meeting will end with an open discussion of the problems that Maine progressives face in uniting to prevent the Governor and Legislature from forcing Maine to accept a series of measures that a majority of Maine voters strongly oppose.<br> <br> Among those who have indicated they will attend the Feb. 12 meeting and who I will call on for some brief remarks during the discussion period are:<br> <br> <b>(Note: Confirmed)<br> Ed Gorham</b> – former long time President of the Maine AFL-CIO<br> <b>Brownie Carson</b> – former (just retired) Executive Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine<br> <b>John Carr</b> – President of the Maine Council of Senior Citizens which has represented and worked in the interest of Maine seniors for more than 20 years.<br> <b>Neil Rolde</b> –Former Maine legislator and Maine Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1990. He is also the author of a number of books and articles on Maine with a long-time involvement in the arts in Maine.<br> <b>Gordon Glover</b> – former President of the Natural Resources Council of Maine<br> <b>William Murphy</b> – Director of the Maine Bureau of Labor Education<br> <br> <br> <b>(Note: Contacted – confirmation pending)</b><br> <b>Rachel Talbot Ross – </b>NAACP Maine State Director<br> <br> Hoping you will be able to attend,<br> <br> Ed Schlick<br> Acting Director MPVA<b><br> <br> If you click on this headline it will take you to a MBBN radio interview about MPVA:<br> <br> </b><a href="http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/15023/Default.aspx"><font face="Verdana" size="5" color="#1e00ff" style="font: 16.0px Verdana; color: #1e00ff"><b>Maine Progressives Mobilize to Derail LePage Agenda</b></font></a><b><br> <br> </b></font><font face="Arial" size="6" style="font: 24.0px Arial"><b>MAINE</b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Times New Roman"><b> </b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="7" color="#eeece1" style="font: 37.0px Times New Roman; color: #eeece1; background-color: #0f0081"><b>PEOPLE’S VETO ALLIANCE</b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" color="#eeece1" style="font: 16.0px Times New Roman; color: #eeece1"><b><br> </b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Times New Roman"><b>Contact: </b><br> Ed Schlick<br> MPVA Acting Executive Director<br> PO Box 112<br> Richmond, ME 04357<br> Cell 522-5376<br> E-mail <a href="mailto:eschlick@roadrunner.com">eschlick@roadrunner.com</a><br> <br> </font><font face="Times New Roman" size="6" style="font: 21.0px Times New Roman"><b>FORM ALLIANCE TO EXERCISE PEOPLE’S VETO<br> </b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Times New Roman"><br> </font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 19.0px Times New Roman"><b>The formation of a Maine Peoples Veto Alliance (MPVA) has been announced by MPVA Acting Executive Director Ed Schlick of Dresden</b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Times New Roman">. <br> </font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 19.0px Times New Roman"><b><br> “The recent actions and appointments of the LePage Administration make it clear that it will take a statewide, grassroots organization of progressive Maine citizens to keep a minority of right-wing activists from setting our state back 50 years” said Schlick</b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Times New Roman"><b>.</b> <br> <br> **************************************************************<br> </font><font face="Times New Roman" size="6" style="font: 21.0px Times New Roman"><b>ALL WELCOME TO FEB. 12 ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING<br> OF MAINE PEOPLE’S VETO ALLIANCE<br> <br> </b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Times New Roman"><b>REMINDER: People will meet for the initial organizational meeting of the </b><u><b>Maine People’s Veto Alliance at about noon (to allow time for a meal and/or a beer), Saturday Feb. 12 at the Old Goat Pub, Main St., Richmond</b></u>. Any Maine resident is welcome to attend and observe and/or participate. The purpose of the Alliance is to promote cooperation, efficiency and effectiveness among Maine organizations in making use of the constitutional right to demand a statewide election <b>(a People’s Veto)</b> to approve or disapprove any bills or parts of bills passed by the Maine Legislature this year.<br> <br> The <u><b>actual meeting will begin about 1:30 p.m.</b></u> and be over by about 3 p.m. Proposed rules of operation for the MPVA will be presented for anyone to take back to their organization for discussion and potential approval at the next MPVA meeting Saturday Feb. 26. Individuals can sign up if they wish for on-going progress report e-mails and are welcome at any future meetings. <br> <br> Organizations interested in participating in the Alliance will have two weeks to suggest modifications of the MPVA rules of operation and an additional two weeks until the March 12 meeting to decide whether nor not to formally join the Alliance and name a delegate from their organization to a voting membership on the MPVA Steering Committee. However, after the MPVA is formed an organization may join or leave at any time it wishes.<br> <br> <b>If it appears the weather will be seriously bad Feb. 12 an announcement will be sent out and the meeting will be held at the same time and place Saturday, Feb. 19.</b></font></p></div></div></body></html>