BELFAST, Maine — The energy was high, the conversation was loud, and the mood was upbeat on Monday evening when more than 50 community members — Democrats and independents — turned out at the Marshall Wharf Brewing Company in Belfast to meet Waldo County delegates elected over the previous two days to send to a Democratic U.S. Senate nominating convention on Saturday, July 25.
Delegate Annie Henstrand, an active member of Indivisible Waldo County from Searsmont, said, “What a week, right? Honestly, it was just fantastic to see old friends and meet new ones tonight. I’m on the Troy Jackson slate, and getting elected as a delegate — I don’t take that lightly, it’s a real responsibility. I’ve been volunteering on Troy’s campaign since early this year, so I get why I ended up on that slate. But the vibe tonight said it all: let’s unite, and let’s send Susan Collins out the door. Let’s go!”
According to the Maine Democratic Party, more than 17,000 Democrats voted in county delegate nominating meetings this past weekend — in person and from home — to make sure every corner of the state had a voice in electing 500 delegates to the convention. Waldo County’s 15 delegates and 3 alternates; who live in Belfast, Frankfort, Liberty, Lincolnville, Monroe, Northport, Searsmont, Stockton Springs, Thorndike, and Winterport; were elected from 118 candidates by nearly 800 voters across the county. Waldo County Democrats have an additional 5 automatic delegates who will be attending the convention on Saturday: WCDC Chair Paige Zeigler, and Democratic State Committee members Laura Baker, Sarah Hardy, Matt Williams, and Sara Salley.
Valerie Tate, vice chair of the Waldo County Democratic Committee, said, “I’ve been genuinely amazed by the engagement and the outpouring of appreciation from voters for the process that the Maine Dems pulled together in such a short window. And personally, I was uplifted by the support we got from our sister state committees across New England. Here in Waldo County, we had four volunteers come in from Vermont and Massachusetts to help with the tech side, and honestly, we couldn’t have done it without them.”
As the delegates introduced themselves to voters, the harbor-side beer garden filled with chatter and laughter. Some of the conversations were about the huge turnout of people voting for delegates. Many focused on organizing to defeat Susan Collins in November. One topic that kept coming up was how to ensure that Democratic candidates would be elected to the Maine state house and senate, as well as county offices, and the 2nd Congressional District.
Madison Cook, the 29-year-old who won a write-in campaign for the RSU 71 School Board last year and is now running for the Maine House of Representatives in District 39 (Belmont, Northport, and Belfast) said, “I’m honored to be a delegate for Waldo County, but honestly, what matters most to me is that this energy doesn’t stop with the U.S. Senate campaign. We must work to elect progressive leaders up and down the ballot. Our values need to show up not just in Washington, but in Augusta at the state house and senate, on our select boards, and on our school boards, too.”
