Dear Friends,

We invite you to become a 2023 member of the Frances Perkins Club of the Lincoln County Democrats. Please consider joining our effort to honor the continuing legacy of Frances Perkins:

Grounded by summers with her grandmother in Newcastle, Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor, was the lead advocate of the New Deal for Social Security, the 40-hour work week, workers’ compensation, and unemployment insurance, as well as for laws regulating child labor. Lincoln County Democrats share her values rooted in the needs of working people.

We take heart from the aspiration articulated so ably by Frances Perkins:

The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.”

In November, more than 130 Lincoln County Democratic Committee (LCDC) volunteers from across the county delivered a slate of Democrats who will ensure that the hard-earned gains of the past three, pandemic-infused years will not be lost and that our dream of a Maine where each person’s contribution is valued will endure. We’re grateful if you were among the volunteers who contributed so generously of their time. Thank you!

How We Won in Lincoln County

LCDC needed to convince Green, Independent, and, yes, Republican, voters that returning Democratic majorities to Augusta was the best direction for Maine’s future. To do that, we asked folks to give of their time—and they did just that:

> Volunteers staffed the office, painted signs, wrote letters to the editor, developed messaging tools, created videos and social media graphics, designed and addressed postcards, planned events, marched in parades, knocked on doors, phone banked, ran town committees and much more.

> Well-trained canvassers visited nearly 3,000 households in the summer and fall and then kicked into high gear to knock on 5,000 doors in the final six days for our Get Out The Vote (GOTV) phase. Our GOTV numbers were among the top three in the state!

> Our volunteers supported more than a dozen events that drew Democratic leaders and candidates from the Blaine House, the State House, and the U.S. Congress to Lincoln County.

Statewide and locally, the results were clear. Maine recorded historic midterm election voter turnout. In Lincoln County, 1,622 more voters cast ballots in 2022 compared to 2018. Of the 12 races with a Democratic candidate, we won 10. Our campaign energy helped generate victories for candidates up and down the ballot, including two of the most hotly contested races in Lincoln County. Gov. Janet Mills topped her vote tallies in every town in the county, receiving 2,177 more votes than she received in 2018 and State Sen. Cameron Reny won her race for Senate District 13 by more than 2,000 votes, the largest margin of victory in that race since 2012.

Help Us Build on This Momentum

We are carrying this energy into 2023, keeping our campaign volunteers engaged so we can hit the ground running when the 2024 campaign begins.

We’ll support our Democratic town committees with voter outreach to connect with disengaged and young voters and reach out to new residents. LCDC will also work with town committees to identify candidates for local office, ensuring our communities are led by people who share our values while building our bench for future state and federal elections.

You can support these efforts by becoming a member of the Frances Perkins Club. Please consider joining fellow Democrats in support of this important initiative by downloading this form to print or send its equivalent with your check to make your generous contribution today. You may also donate securely online here. Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

/s/Geoffrey Bates
Fundraising Initiatives Leader

/s/Kelli Whitlock Burton
Chair, LCDC

Frances Perkins Photo Courtesy of the Frances Perkins Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational organization based in Newcastle, Maine. The Frances Perkins Center, founded in 2009, is not affiliated with the Frances Perkins Club of Lincoln County Democrats which was founded in 1996 as a way to recognize donors who make an investment in the Committee’s grassroots organizing efforts with an annual gift of $150 or more.