Apologies for the late send today, life got in the way of the full newsletter. We have a lot to talk about this week — the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, Trump’s ridiculous 60 Minutes interview, Donnyland, and more — but that’s all going to have to wait until tomorrow because we have something more pressing tonight.
Bangor City Council meets TONIGHT at 7:00 PM and there are two items on the agenda that need bodies in the room:
ICE Ordinance
Councilor Beck’s ordinance limiting Bangor’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement has been months in the making and tonight is the night. Show up and tell the Council to pass it!
Councilor Mallar Ethics Referral
Councilor Mallar’s hot mic comments calling multilingual students “probably all illegals” are being voted on to refer to the Board of Ethics. The ethics referral is a necessary step, but the Board is advisory with no power to impose consequences. Nothing short of his resignation is truly acceptable.
City Hall, 73 Harlow St. Doors open at 6:30.
You can also participate via Zoom – pre-register here. Public comment is 3 minutes per speaker. Can’t make it? Email councilors@bangormaine.gov.
I’ll be back tomorrow with the full newsletter!
If you’re tired of living in Donnyland, show up on May 1st. MayDay Strong is a mini-general strike against the authoritarian regime in Washington — no work, no school, no business. Join us at Broadway Park on Broadway in Bangor from 3–6 PM for music, speakers, and solidarity. Sometimes the best ride at the theme park is the exit!
P.S. Our friend Elliot Benjamin’s letter to the editor was published in the Midcoast Villager. Check it out if you can!
Indivisible is planning their next large scale action: Mayday 2026!
They have posted a whole participation guide on how you can participate and find events. Check it out here!
❗We are deeply disappointed that Maine Congressman Jared Golden has once again voted against the House War Powers Resolution bill, this time casting the only Democratic vote against the bill, which resulted in the bill being defeated by one vote. Sign the petition to tell Congress about it here.
❗The War on Terror-era legislation that authorized decades of civil liberties-eroding mass surveillance is set to expire on April 19. Congress should let it die. Tell Congress to say no to warrant-less AI Mass surveillance here.
❗The ACLU has created a form to tell Congress NOT to authorize any additional funds here.
❗Head over to take action on our site, or visiting 5calls.org to demand Congress take action NOW!
Click on links below to jump to that section. You can still scroll down to access all other content. These links may not work in the email version of this newsletter and mazy require going to the actual post to navigate.
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
Cumberland County officials vote to remove ICE from jail contract with feds
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to drop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from its contract with the U.S. Marshals Service to hold federal detainees at Cumberland County Jail.
The board voted 3-1 to drop ICE from the agreement roughly eight months after dozens of constituents began showing up to commission meetings to advocate for such a move.
Read the entire article here.
Graham Platner wants to tax billionaires in his newly released tax plan
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner rolled out an expansive tax proposal centered on increasing taxes on extreme wealth, closing corporate loopholes, and restructuring the federal tax code to shift more of the burden away from working- and middle-class Americans.
The plan calls for a 5% tax on wealth over a billion dollars, higher taxes on capital gains, and new limits on inherited wealth transfers. It also proposes raising revenue by taxing large corporations, with the goal of funding expanded public investments and reducing reliance on regressive state and local taxes.
Read the entire article here.
Eliot Cutler accused of violating probation for a 5th time
Former two-time Maine gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler is accused of violating his probation for a fifth time, according to a motion for probation revocation filed Tuesday in Hancock County.
The motion alleges that on April 21 in Ellsworth, Cutler violated probation conditions by maintaining encrypted files on a computer or account under his control without written permission from probation and parole, and by failing to disclose passwords or access keys for electronic devices in his possession.
Read’s full 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.
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 “Iran War Concerns” Petition
As United States citizens from various political perspectives, we have serious concerns about the current war in Iran and the justification that was used for initiating it.
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: 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.
Letter: Tell Congress: Stop President Trump’s illegal boat strikes
The Trump administration is murdering civilians in international waters. We need answers so we can stop the killing.
Since September, the Trump administration has ordered dozens of lethal strikes on civilian boats near Venezuela, killing over 150 people in clear violation of domestic and international law. For weeks, the Trump administration has promoted unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims about the people being targeted, even though investigations show that the strikes killed fishermen who were simply trying to make a living for their families. The administration is reportedly relying on a secret legal memo that wrongly claims these killings are lawful and that anyone involved in the strikes would somehow be immune from prosecution for murder or other crimes, yet they refuse to make the memo public.
Letter: Reject the Deportation & Detention Agenda
The Big Ugly Bill funneled enough money for ICE and Border Patrol to fund their terror for years to come. We have already seen how dangerous this is in communities across the country. Now the administration is trying to use this money to do a massive expansion in detention facilities across the country. They have been buying up properties, and sometimes actually converting warehouses into camps that will hold human beings, often in dangerous and horrifying conditions.
We have a chance to stop this expansion in its tracks, in partnership with experts across the country, by speaking up and demanding our elected officials speak up too. This is already working – and even some Republicans are criticizing the warehouses – from Pennsylvania, to Tennessee, and beyond. So let’s keep up the pressure.
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!
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!