MPBP releases People's Report Card to grade legislators

Maine People Before Politics today is releasing to the public their first ever People’s Report Card.

A report card based on 13 key votes in the 125^th Maine Legislature, the People’s Report Card is designed to educate the public on the work of their legislators in regard to policies that promote economic growth, reform Maine’s regulatory environment, restrain government spending and their willingness to resist the influence of the special interest groups that have long dominated the halls of the Maine State House.

“We’re very excited to be able to offer this report card to the public,” said Jason Savage, executive director of Maine People Before Politics. “These scores will help the people of Maine bypass all of the white noise surrounding Maine politics and public policy and get right to what’s important – how their elected officials have represented them.”

The report card scores legislators on a variety of bills critical to economic growth & job creation, red tape reform, controlling state spending and many that were strongly opposed by powerful special interest groups during the 125^th Maine Legislature.

Only six legislators scored zero on the report card, two in the Maine Senate and four in the Maine House. In total, seventy-three legislators scored below 20, indicating they cast no more than two favorable votes out of thirteen. Of these seventy-three, sixty-one reside in the House, twelve in the Senate. 

In contrast, forty-four legislators scored a perfect -100-, five in the Maine Senate and thirty-nine in the Maine House. In total, eighty-eight legislators scored above -80-, indicating they cast at least eleven favorable votes out of thirteen. Of these eighty-eight legislators, seventy reside in the House, eighteen in the Senate.

“Only a few legislators failed to score at least one favorable vote in the People’s Report Card,” said Savage. “But a significant number demonstrated an unwillingness to work across the aisle on these key issues and instead pander to special interest groups. We’ve appropriately marked them in the report card to ensure the public is fully aware of their dismal records,” said Savage.

The People’s Report Card is available on the Maine People Before Politics website atwww.MainePeopleBeforePolitics.com

In addition, Maine People Before Politics has provided social media infographics on their Facebook page which can be viewed and shared by the public to inform their friends and family about the voting records of their elected officials. Find Maine People Before Politics on Facebook here.

Direct link to the People’s Report Card: http://www.mainepeoplebeforepolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/report_card_final.pdf