Rural Mainers need to stay in touch with their lawmakers

Each year, when the Maine Legislature first convenes for a new session at the Maine State House in Augusta, and when Congress convenes at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., I think of how digital communications change how we connect with our elected officials, and how our elected officials connect with us.

The opportunity to live and work in rural Maine while staying up to snuff on how and what our elected officials are doing is better than ever. Sure, there is always room for improvement, but the ability for us right now to watch and listen to our elected officials as they consider and vote on new laws is as near as our smart phones.

And we don’t have to be content to just watch and listen. The same smart phone we use to watch video streams and listen to podcasts lets us send our elected officials instant email and text messages. Oh, and I often forget, we can still make phone calls.

Why is this digital communication technology important for rural Maine?

During the 1990s, serving as a communications staffer in the Maine Legislature, I worked with senators and representatives from all areas of the state. That was a great way to find out what issues were important to people living in all 16 Maine counties; on which issue legislators agreed and disagreed. Sometimes, as the communications staffer (aka “press guy”), I was called upon to write press releases for and against the same issue.

I was surprised how many legislators, mostly, but not exclusively, representing southern Maine counties, had never been to rural counties. Oh, they may have shopped at the Bangor Mall once, or driven I-95 to and from Canada. But as far as living, working; having close friends, relationships in rural Maine? Not so much.

Yet, these same legislators were often the deciding votes on issues important to rural Maine.

With the advent of digital communications, Maine elected officials and rural Mainers have open lines of communication with each other. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram) and web forums/sites run by local businesses, organizations, activists — these are opportunities for Southern Maine legislators to better understand rural Maine.

As far as I can tell, videoconferencing at legislative committee public hearings is still not a regular option for Mainers. That puts Mainers living and working far from Augusta at a disadvantage when they want to speak for or against measures at hearings. I will look further into this. As communicating face-to-face with family, friends, co-workers, customers, through Skype, Zoom, Facetime, and other apps grows more commonplace, rural Maine will have a tougher time accepting that same connection can’t happen with their state legislators at public hearings.

I’m sure digital communication is improving the situation, but as recently as the 1990s, based on my experience working in the State House, the percentage of their constituents legislators heard from on major issues was statistically zero. One legislator said he heard from more constituents on proposed new laws affecting dogs and cats than on proposed tax increases.

With the legislature and Congress back in Session, this is a time for rural Mainers to build communication networks all over. Start with local legislators and Maine members of Congress, then reach out to other Maine legislators, and members of Congress.

Rural Maine is a great place with great people, now with the advantage of staying in touch with the world without leaving home.

Scott K. Fish has served as a communications staffer for Maine Senate and House Republican caucuses, and was communications director for Senate President Kevin Raye. He founded and edited AsMaineGoes.com and served as director of communications/public relations for Maine’s Department of Corrections until 2015. He is now using his communications skills to serve clients in the private sector.