Maine campaign heats up

With the prospect of a November referendum on same-sex marriage in Maine all but certain, pro-equality advocates are gearing up for a bruising battle to preserve the state's marriage equality bill, signed by Gov. John Baldacci in May. Since January, Maine Freedom to Marry has been ramping up a vast field campaign to identify pro-equality voters. Without a presidential or gubernatorial race to bring voters out, Maine Freedom to Marry campaign manager Jesse Connolly said grassroots fieldwork is essential to finding voters who support marriage equality and to turning them out at the polls on Election Day.

"This campaign is really about having one-on-one conversations with Maine voters. ... We're raising money, we're building a campaign, but we're really excited about this great work the field effort has been doing," said Connolly.

Yet campaign finance reports suggest that pro-equality advocates may face an uphill battle. Thus far, anti-gay activists have outpaced pro-equality advocates in fundraising. Much of that money has come from the national religious right organizations that backed the successful campaign to pass California's Proposition 8 last year. The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices released campaign finance reports this month for both Stand for Marriage Maine, working to overturn the marriage equality bill, and Maine Freedom to Marry, working to preserve it. Stand for Marriage has raised more than twice as much money as Maine Freedom to Marry. Among the top Stand for Marriage donors were anti-gay activist Maggie Gallagher's National Organization for Marriage, the religious right powerhouse Focus on the Family, and the national Knights of Columbus. Those three organizations raised $241,000 of the total $344,000 that Stand for Marriage brought in between April and mid-July.

The power of the grassroots

Connolly said that the Maine Freedom to Marry's sister organization, Equality Maine, began initial planning for a potential referendum on same-sex marriage in 2006. The state's referendum process includes a "people's veto," which allows voters to nix recently passed state laws at the ballot box. Equality Maine knew that any successful marriage equality bill would be met with a referendum to repeal it. This past November, Equality Maine took to the polls on Election Day to ask voters to sign cards in support of marriage equality. They identified 33,000 voters in favor of marriage equality.

Since January, Connolly said the campaign has been sending canvassers to homes across the state, as well as phone banking and collecting postcards at different events to identify pro-equality voters. He believes that when supporters of equality explain the need to extend marriage to same-sex couples, they will be able to win over many voters.

"It's really about having that direct connection with the Maine voter, talking about what it means and why it's important for them to support our effort," Connolly said.

Connolly has an impressive track record when it comes to communicating with voters about LGBT rights. Back in 2005 Connolly, who is straight, served as campaign manager for Maine Won't Discriminate, a successful effort to defeat a people's veto of the state's LGBT non-discrimination law. Anti-gay forces had defeated non-discrimination bills at the ballot box in 1998 and 2000, but Connolly's 2005 campaign succeeded where earlier campaigns failed.

"I think hearts and minds have changed. ... I also think we ran a professional campaign, and that's what we're going to do this year," said Connolly, who has taken a leave of absence from his role as chief of staff to Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree to oversee the campaign.

Maine Freedom to Marry has also received support from activists in Massachusetts. Matt O'Malley, political director of MassEquality, said the organization did some work earlier this year to aid Equality Maine in its effort to pass the marriage equality bill. Since June, MassEquality has sent groups of volunteers to Maine twice a month to canvas on behalf of Maine Freedom to Marry.

Ian Grady, who is heading up MassEquality's Maine canvassing efforts, said that on July 18, MassEquality canvassers identified 106 new voters who support marriage equality. Every two weeks he travels to the state with a team of volunteers. Between 10 and 17 people make the trip to go door-to-door.

"We've been getting fantastic rates. The vast majority of the conversations we've had have been very positive," said Grady. He said most voters he and his fellow canvassers have contacted were aware that the state passed a same-sex marriage bill in May, but most were unaware that it would be the subject of a November referendum.

Grady said MassEquality has also run phone banks to identify voters in Maine, and he expects that both the canvassing and phone banking efforts will grow in intensity in the run-up to November.

Marty Rouse, national field director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), said HRC has also been putting resources into supporting Maine Freedom to Marry's efforts. Since January HRC's field organizer Jeremy Kennedy has been working fulltime in Maine on behalf of Maine Freedom to Marry. Rouse said HRC will likely send more field staff as the campaign continues. Rouse praised the work that Equality Maine and Maine Freedom to Marry have done over the years to build grassroots support.

"I think Equality Maine can win if they continue this strong field campaign and if they raise the funds they need in the next few weeks," said Rouse.

Early money is like yeast

Rouse said while Maine Freedom to Marry is running an effective campaign, there is a crucial need to close the funding gap between pro- and anti-equality forces - and quickly. According to campaign finance reports, Stand for Marriage Maine took in more than $343,000 between April and mid-July, while Maine Freedom to Marry raised only $147,000 in the same period. Rouse said the only way to avoid the same outcome as California is for LGBT advocates to pour money into the state early.

"Clearly our opponents are smart, and they know the importance of early money. And if we want to win this fight, people need to ante up today. The money must come in the next several weeks. What happened in California is significant money came in the last few weeks [of the campaign]. We need to put in money now," said Rouse. Maine Freedom to Marry's campaign finance report shows that HRC donated $25,000 to the effort in June, as well as farming out Kennedy to the organization, providing consulting support, and conducting phone banking.

Rouse said that HRC has committed to donating $125,000 to the marriage effort in Maine. According to Maine Freedom to Marry's campaign finance report, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has donated $10,000 to the pro-equality effort, and Boston's Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) has provided staff to assist the campaign. There are no other contributions by national LGBT organizations listed in the report.

Connolly has been in contact with many national LGBT organizations about contributing resources to Maine, although he declined to specify which organizations he has spoken with and what commitments they have made.
"We're talking to the national groups about strategy and help with financial commitments, and we're very pleased with our effort, so we're going to continue to have those conversations with them," said Connolly.

The Gill Action Fund, a Colorado-based LGBT political action fund that, according to the Los Angeles Times, contributed more than $350,000 to California's failed "No on Prop 8" campaign, has not yet contributed to Maine Freedom to Marry. Joanne Kron, spokesperson for Gill Action Fund, said the fund does not comment on its donations to state campaigns.

Dan Hawes, director of the Academy of Leadership and Action for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said that the Task Force is in conversations with Maine Freedom to Marry about taking a role in the effort to defeat the people's veto, although it has not yet made a formal commitment.

"We're really taking our lead from the Maine campaign, from Maine Freedom to Marry," said Hawes, who added that the Task Force may provide support in terms of funding, staff, or a combination of both. He said the Task Force would make initial decisions about its role in the Maine campaign in the next few weeks.

Hawes said while the Task Force has not yet finalized its role in the referendum campaign, it has worked closely with Equality Maine in the effort leading up to the passage of the state's marriage bill. In February the Task Force sent two field organizers to Maine for two weeks to train Equality Maine's grassroots field team in the run-up to the votes on the marriage bill. In late April, in preparation for the votes in the Maine legislature, the Task Force held an intensive, three-day campaign training for 140 activists in Portland. The Task Force also donated $40,000 to Equality Maine earlier this year to help in their efforts to pass the marriage bill.

"Because we knew that if the bill was going to pass it would be on the ballot, we started working with Equality Maine in February both to help their work to pass the bill and to build the infrastructure to prepare to defeat the referendum," said Hawes.

A survey of Maine Freedom to Marry's donor list shows much stronger grassroots financial support for the organization compared to its anti-gay counterpart. The Maine Freedom to Marry campaign finance report shows more than 300 donors between April and mid-July, many of them Maine residents and many of them small donors giving between $25 and $200. By contrast, only four private individuals donated money to Stand for Marriage Maine; the rest of their funding came from the aforementioned religious right organizations and from various Catholic archdioceses in and out of state. Rouse said the grassroots support for the pro-equality side is important, but he said the campaign also needs large donors to give Maine Freedom to Marry the resources necessary to mount an effective campaign.

"Many more donors have contributed on our side than the opponents' side, and that shows us the deep and broad support for marriage equality [in Maine]," said Rouse. "However, it is absolutely necessary that people and organizations with deep pockets across our country need to step up to the plate, because when we win in Maine, it's more than Mainers who win. This victory will have national implications for the marriage equality movement."
When Baldacci signed the marriage bill in May he became the first governor to sign marriage equality legislation without being pushed towards doing so by a court ruling. Marriages are slated to begin in the state in September, but if Stand For Marriage Maine collects the approximately 55,000 signatures needed to place the marriage referendum on the ballot-Connolly said he fully expects them to hit their goal-the beginning of same-sex marriage will be delayed pending the vote in November. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire have all legalized same-sex marriage, as did California prior to the passage of Prop 8.

Expect the hate to intensify

Pro-equality advocates expect that anti-gay activists working to pass the Maine people's veto will resort to the distortions and negative campaigning that have been used in other states. Stand for Marriage Maine has hired Sacramento-based Schubert Flint Public Affairs, which ran the "Yes on Prop 8" media campaign, to work on its own ballot campaign. Schubert Flint created a series of powerful ads in California, including a series claiming that marriage equality would have a negative impact on children and schools. Many credit Schubert Flint's ads for winning support for Prop 8. Connolly said he hopes they do not export such divisive tactics to Maine.

"We're expecting an intense debate, but I think we do campaigns differently in Maine than they do in California. The legislative debate was civil, and I hope this is civil as well," said Connolly.

HRC's Rouse believes Maine Freedom to Marry is prepared to counteract any negative rhetoric from the anti-gay campaign. He said that "Yes on Prop 8" gained traction by turning the focus away from protections for same-sex couples and towards other issues like children and schools. He expects Stand for Marriage Maine may try similar tactics.
"They were talking about other things [in California], and we can expect the same thing in Maine," said Rouse. "We win on the merits, but if we lose, we're not going to lose on the merits. We're going to lose because of a bunch of lies and distortions that are not refuted properly."

For more information on how to volunteer for Maine Freedom to Marry visit www.mainefreedomtomarry.com. To sign up for a MassEquality canvassing trip to Maine or to learn about other opportunities call Ian Grady at 617.878.2365 or visit www.massequality.org.