Happy Friday everyone! This is an exciting weekend for Democrats – it’s time to caucus! There will be nearly 100 total events across the state, with 10 in Penobscot county alone and one in Hancock County. Whether you’re a registered Democrat seeking a delegate nomination, or you’re just excited to support your favorite candidate, it’s a great time to come out to a caucus and spend time with like-minded people who want to make a difference. If you are curious where your closest caucus location might be, we’ve got you covered! Check out the Maine Democratic Party list of events to find a location that works for you. I hope to see some of you at EMCC Rangeley Hall in Bangor!
Before you head out to caucus this week, come out and be seen with the Visibility Brigade! As usual, you can find them on the Essex St overpass this afternoon at 3:30 pm.
Last but certainly not least – our own Mary Ann Larson wrote a phenomenal letter to the editor that was featured today in the Bangor Daily News. Take a moment to read her letter here.
…And don’t forget! Check out details for the Susan Collins Empty Chair Town Hall and register to come and have YOUR voice be heard! We hope to see you there!
- NEWS
- State of the Union fact-check: Trump exaggerates on economy, immigration…
- Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump
- Maine coalition urges state legislature to pass reforms on housing crisis by 2026
- Susan Collins supports “Save America Act”
- Celebrating Black History Month
- LEGISLATION
- ACTIONS
- Event: Attend an event!
- Petition: Sign “A Winning Democratic Strategy” Petition
- Contact: Oppose the SAVE Act, MEGA Act, and Save America Act
- Letter: Tax the wealthy to fund programs for Mainers!
- Letter: Support childcare funding
- Contact: Support Sexual Abuse Survivors
- Letter: Write a letter to the editor
- Contact: Call or email your legislators
- Boycott: Pressure companies to stop working with ICE
- Donate: Give to a food bank
- EVENTS
- RESOURCES
Do you want to become more involved? Would you like to help with the website and communications? Help organize events like rallies and visibility actions? Or do you just want to keep up with what we’re doing? Sign up to volunteer with Indivisible Bangor — your level of involvement is up to you!
Weekly member meetings are on Zoom, with in-person meetings on the first Wednesday of the month. As always, check out our Bluesky and Instagram for the latest info.
NEWS
State of the Union fact-check: Trump exaggerates on economy, immigration…
Scant in Trump’s speech: acknowledgement of the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, which he vowed during his presidential campaign to end. He also didn’t discuss the release of government files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an issue Trump pivoted on after undermining efforts to release them, although some Epstein victims were in attendance.
… is anyone surprised? Read Politifact’s full article here.
Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump
The Justice Department has withheld some Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor, an NPR investigation finds. It also removed some documents from the public database where accusations against Jeffrey Epstein also mention Trump.
Read the entire article here.
Maine coalition urges state legislature to pass reforms on housing crisis by 2026
At the Maine State House on Thursday, members of Build Homes Build Community addressed legislators directly with what housing-related bills they’d like to see passed.
The group’s 2026 legislative agenda includes support for bills that focus on three main areas of need identified by the coalition: Innovate, Streamline, Fund.
Read the entire article here.
Susan Collins supports “Save America Act”
Despite Mainers voting overwhelmingly to reject the voter suppression measures list in Question 1 last November, Senator Collins has decided that she supports even stricter voter suppression measures.The bill recently passed in the House and will be up for vote in the Senate soon. From Bangor Daily News:
Trump has framed the bill as a national voter ID push, although it is slightly different than that. Democrats have argued it could still bar millions of people from voting, with the liberal Brennan Center for Justice saying 21 million Americans lack ready access to the documents that would be required to prove citizenship. Noncitizens are barred from voting in federal elections.
Read the entire article here.
Celebrating Black History Month
In celebration of Black History Month, we will be sharing local Black History and Black Community resources throughout the month.
The origins of Black History Month date back nearly a century to historian Carter G. Woodson, who sought to bring national attention to the role African Americans have played in shaping the United States. These efforts gained momentum on college campuses in the mid-20th century, and in 1976 the observance received formal federal recognition, underscoring the importance of honoring contributions that had long been underrepresented in historical narratives.
Maine’s history reflects the presence, resilience, and impact of African American communities. From early participation in maritime industries to landmarks such as the Abyssinian Meeting House, the state’s first Black church, these stories are woven into Maine’s past. Exploring this history provides valuable context for understanding both the state’s development and the diverse experiences that continue to shape it.
From Recognizing Black History Month, University of Maine at Augusta.
LEGISLATION
This is a list of important bills to keep an eye on. Click on the bill number to get more details. Please take some time and contact your legislators with your opinions!
- Check complete bill listing here: https://legislature.maine.gov/Calendar/#PHWS. Set the date range in the upper left corner. This listing also shows work sessions if you want to weigh in on any of those.
- Find the text of any bill here: https://legislature.maine.gov Or click through on the calendar, on the bill number, which is a link. Then read the pdf or the word version (link in upper left area). Form your own opinions!
- Instructions for testifying are here: https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/
If you know of other important legislation, please let us know and we’ll add it to the list!
Maine
Economy
LD 229: An Act to Bring Fairness in Income Taxes to Maine Families by Adjusting the Tax Brackets and Tax Rates
LD 1879: An Act to Support Maine’s Agricultural Economy by Increasing Revenue from the Corporate Income Tax
Education
LD 1089: An Act to Permanently Fund 55 Percent of the State’s Share of Education by Establishing a Tax on Incomes of More than $1,000,000
LD 1414: An Act to Support and Sustain Maine’s Child Care Workforce
LD 1955: An Act to Increase Child Care Affordability and Early Childhood Educator Stability
LD 2066: An Act to Establish the Child Care Employment Award
LD 2175: Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 115: The Credentialing of Education Personnel, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Education, State Board of Education
LD 2192: An Act to Protect Students by Ensuring Schools Have Complete Information About School Employees and Applicants for Employment
Environment
LD 276: An Act Regarding Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
LD 474: An Act to Improve Maine’s Environment and Protect Natural Resources
LD 1870: An Act to Establish a Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program to Impose Penalties on Climate Polluters
LD 2174: An Act to Replace the Maine Waterway Development and Conservation Act with the Maine Renewable Energy and Associated Transmission Development and Conservation Act
Healthcare
LD 2206: An Act Expanding Access to Oral Health Care by Creating a New Path for Obtaining a License to Practice Dentistry
LD 2208: An Act to Offset Federal Cuts to Health Insurance for Certain Maine Families and Seniors
LD 2209: Resolve, to Direct the Department of Health and Human Services to Develop Innovative Models for the Delivery of Dental Services to Expand Access to Oral Health Care Throughout the State
Human Rights
LD 1383: An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violations
LD 335: An Act to Safeguard Reproductive Rights
Immigration
LD 2106: An Act to Prohibit the Disclosure of Nonpublic Records Without Proper Judicial Review
Tribal Sovereignty
LD 395: An Act to Restore Access to Federal Laws Beneficial to the Wabanaki Nations
LD 785: An Act to Enact the Remaining Recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act
Federal
H.R.22: SAVE Act
H.R.7300: Make Elections Great Again Act
H.R.7296: SAVE America Act
ACTIONS
Event: Attend an event!
Events are easy to attend and only require a small amount of time investment – some you can even attend from the comfort of your own couch! Take a look at the upcoming events below and register.
Petition: Sign “A Winning Democratic Strategy” Petition
This petition lists a number of items that Democrats should pledge to do.
Contact: Oppose the SAVE Act, MEGA Act, and Save America Act
Take action on the SAVE Act, the MEGA Act, and the Save America Act. These anti-democratic bills could be fast-tracked through Congress, with the Save America Act passed in the U.S. House last week (SAVE Act passed in the House last year). These laws would require voters to prove their citizenship by showing a passport or birth certificate in order to register to vote — a requirement that would disenfranchise millions of voters. According to the Brennan Center, “21 million American citizens don’t have these documents readily available.”
This bill would especially burden military voters, tribal voters, rural voters, and survivors of natural disasters. Plus, are you someone who’s married and changed your name? Or just someone who’s changed your name? You, too, could be affected. This could also affect Mainers living near the border who might have been born at a Canadian hospital to U.S. parents.
The MEGA Act would prohibit the use of mail-in voting (like absentee voting) and Ranked Choice Voting. The bill promotes voter roll purges and criminalizes clerical errors by election workers. It’s a package of terrible ideas built upon false, debunked theories that our elections are not secure. Maine has the right to conduct our elections, which are already fair, transparent, and accessible. Let’s reject this federal intervention.
Letter: Tax the wealthy to fund programs for Mainers!
The state legislature is starting its budget process – where the rubber hits the road in terms of what our state really values. Here’s what your legislators need to hear from you:
- DON’T conform to the Trump administration’s corporate tax giveaways, as the right is pressuring them to do
- Support bills in the legislature, like LD 1089, LD 229, and LD 1879, to raise taxes on individuals with incomes over $1 million, modernize our tax brackets so people who make $60,000 aren’t paying at the same tax rate as people who make $600,000, and make sure that our state collects taxes from massive corporate profits. These could pass as bills, or end up in the budget – either way, legislators should fight for them!
This action is sponsored by our friends over at Maine People’s Alliance.
Letter: Support childcare funding
Next week, our legislators will be considering a number of bills that will make Maine’s childcare system stronger.
This includes LD 1955, which will provide $15 million in ongoing funding for the Child Care Affordability Program. This will provide immediate relief to children and families who are currently on waitlists, while also ensuring future families can access affordable childcare without delays as they work, pursue education, or engage in job training.
LD 2066 will make the Child Care Affordability Program Educator Employment Award permanent. This will ensure that current employees at licensed childcare programs receive tuition support and will help to both recruit and retain qualified staff. And lastly, LD 1414 will increase infant and toddler payment rates through the Child Care Affordability Program for eligible families—making it easier for providers to offer affordable care for the youngest kids.
This action is sponsored by our friends over at Maine People’s Alliance.
Contact: Support Sexual Abuse Survivors
Ask your Congressional Representatives to co-sponsor and support “Virginia’s Law”, a bill that would remove the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits related to sexual abuse and trafficking. This law, named after Virginia Guiffre an Epstein abuse survivor and outspoken advocate for justice, would empower survivors by giving them a legal means to seek justice with no expiration date. Given the horrendous treatment survivors have gotten through the unredacted release of their names in the current Epstein Files release, this is a small step Congress can take to redress the harm done.
More details on this in the Guardian.
Letter: Write a letter to the editor
Letters to the editor are published regularly in the local newspapers from Mainers who support the brutal tactics of the authoritarian Trump regime. Write a letter to set the record straight. Click the button to go to the Bangor Daily News “Submit a letter or column” page, the Portland Press Herald “Letters to the editor” page, and the “Letter to the Editor” page at the Ellsworth American.
Contact: Call or email your legislators
If you want an easy way to actually do something, check out 5calls.org. You enter your location, pick an issue you care about, and it gives you your representatives’ phone numbers and a script. That’s it. Calling your elected officials is one of the most effective forms of civic engagement there is!
If you are more comfortable with sending emails to our Maine congressional delegation in Washington, click the links/buttons. This is a good option if you have lengthy comments or questions.
Boycott: Pressure companies to stop working with ICE
Vote with your wallet and boycott companies and services that work with ICE! Check out the full list here.
Donate: Give to a food bank
Please DONATE to a local food pantry- food, personal items, and even cash. Faith Linking in Action maintains a database of all food pantries and free meals– organized by both location and day of the week– in the Bangor area. Check it out here.
ActivateMaine has created a site, SNAP Into Action: “a statewide effort to help those who are affected by the freezing of benefits due to the Government shut down.” If you know of any food drives that are happening, please visit this site to add it to the database!
EVENTS
Weekly Events
Vigils in the Bangor Area
Tuesdays
11:00 am @ the Federal Building
Wednesdays
12:00-1:00 pm @ the town center – Details
Bangor Visibility Brigade
Fridays
3:30 pm @ Essex Street Overpass
Virtual Events
Thursdays
7:30 pm – League of Women Voters Youth Advocacy Team – Details
Monthly Events
Monthly Indivisible Bangor Meeting
5:00 pm Every first Wednesday @ Zoom
Trainings
Democracy Not Theocracy
February 26, 2026 – Thursday – 6:30 pm
How to recognize and resist authoritarianism and White “Christian” Nationalism. Click to learn more and register!
Sponsored by Multifaith Justice Maine
Future Events
Maine Democratic Party Caucuses
February 28, 2026 – Saturday & March 1, 2026 – Sunday
Click the Register button to find the location nearest you!
Hancock County Democratic Party Caucus
February 28, 2026 – Saturday – 10:00 am
Many of us have been disappointed that the Democratic party has not done more to fend off the current Republican assault on our democratic institutions and moral values. But we cannot succumb to cynicism or despair; giving up not an option.
We all need to show up, be vocal, and force the party do what it needs to do. What it was designed to do. When we raise our collective voices, the party leadership will be forced to listen to us. And as history shows, the Democratic Party can be a powerful force for democracy and the rule of law.
Our participation is what creates the power. Together we can make a difference. But to do so we must build solidarity. There are literally thousands of Registered Democrats in Hancock County that we haven’t heard from or met. Your voice may be like a single strand of spider silk, but a rope made of spider silk is stronger than steel (1). Please come to the caucus and use your energy to steer the ship in the right direction! Carpool with other Registered Dems and get there early for the best parking.
Singing Our Solidarity
March 7, 2026 – Saturday – 3:00 pm
The Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine along with co-
sponsors Indivisible Bangor, Pax Christi Maine, Faith Linking in
Action, and Food and Medicine is pleased to invite the community
to join us as we sing together and support our neighbors and
communities impacted by ICE raids and detention in Maine.
Music leadership by Women With Wings, by Judd Esty-Kendall,
and by others. Songs will be easy to learn and joyful to share.
The community is invited to raise our voice of concern, hope, and
love together in shared music. The event is hosted by St John’s
Episcopal Church.
No music/singing experience needed.
Donations will be collected to support the Maine Solidarity Fund.
The fund is an initiative of the People’s Coalition for Safety and
Justice, a collective of frontline organizations, cultural anchors,
and direct service providers with deep ties to Maine’s immigrant,
and Trans communities.
Map and directions: https://stjohnsbangor.org/map-and-directions
For more information: (207) 862-3638
NO KINGS PROTEST
March 28, 2026 – Saturday
days
hours minutes seconds
until
In 2025, millions of Americans came together in nonviolent protest to oppose the growing authoritarian actions of the Trump administration and affirm that this nation belongs to its people, not to kings. Since then, people have continued to rise up nonviolently against the Trump administration’s ongoing brutality and abuses of power, including the latest escalation in Minnesota. The No Kings Coalition is activating an immediate and ongoing nationwide digital organizing effort leading up to our next mass mobilization on March 28, including a flagship event in the Twin Cities.
Susan Collins Empty Chair Town Hall
March 30, 2026 – Monday – 6:00 pm
Susan Collins hasn’t held a Town Hall in over 25 years. She is supposed to represent Mainers, yet refuses to face her constituents. That’s why Indivisible Bangor, alongside many other co-sponsors, is holding one for her. Enough is enough – it’s time YOUR voices are heard. We’ve invited Senator Collins to attend twice, but we’ve received no response.
All are welcome to attend to speak or listen. Those that wish to speak will have two minutes to do so.
Doors will open at 5:30pm and the Town Hall will take place from 6pm-8pm. Space is limited so all are encouraged to arrive early.
RESOURCES
Friends of Indivisible Bangor
ICE In Maine
Maine’s Attorney General Aaron Frey has started an ICE tip-line Citizens are urged to report intimidating and excessive federal enforcement behavior to CitizenReporting.OAG@maine.gov.
“Emailers should be advised that any content sent may be subject to public dissemination under Maine’s Freedom of Access Laws.”
The ICE resources that have been listed in previous newsletters can be found here.
Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition has published a resource hub here.
ACLU Maine – Know Your Rights
If you see what you identify as an ICE vehicle in your town call the ICE Watch hotline in Maine: (207) 544-9989. You can also text them a photo of what you believe to be an ICE vehicle, or any ICE actions in your area.
Legislator Contact Info
The names of our senators and representatives listed below are links that go right to their official congressional contact form pages. The telephone numbers are links that should open your phone app to call that number. It’s that easy!
Senator Angus King
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292
Senator Susan Collins
DC: (202) 224-2523
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019
Waterville: (207) 873-5713
Congressman Jared Golden
DC: (202) 225-6306
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767
Find your State Representative:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Find your State Senator:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Our government in Augusta:
Governor Janet Mills
Email Governor Mills
Call (207) 287-3531
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows
Contact Secretary Bellows
Call (207)626-8400
Attorney General Aaron M. Frey
Contact Mr. Frey
Call (207) 626-8800
Questions or comments? Contact George!
