Thursday, October 18, 2012

Press Releases: Rating the campaigns

Published in the Portland Phoenix


When reporters are trying to get info on candidates to share with voters, campaign staff hold the keys to the kingdom. They can get answers, arrange meetings, and share information. Or they can decide not to do those things. Campaigns with small staffs or tiny budgets aren't necessarily worse; neither does more money and experience guarantee a better level of communication.
We spoke with many political reporters around the state, from many of the largest news outlets. We promised them anonymity in exchange for candor. Here's what we learned about what's behind the scenes in the biggest race in Maine, the chase for the US Senate.
ANGUS KING His campaign is very fast to respond to inquiries, and serious about staying on top of developing stories. Sometimes that concern develops into a "tizzy," as one reporter put it. Reporters agree that the King campaign is the most worried of all six candidates' about ensuring it's coming across well in the media. The campaign started "thin-skinned," according to one reporter, and while the attitude has improved, that tendency to be "nitpicky over small things" remains, with one person calling the campaign "really sensitive." At times King's staff will question the premise of a reporter's story, or even suggest an alternative topic or angle that would be more favorable to their man. Nevertheless, getting to actually speak with King is quite easy.
CHARLIE SUMMERS Initially, the campaign struggled to communicate with the media, but when Lance Dutson was replaced as the top spokesman, things improved significantly, reporters agree. (Though that hasn't meant returning multiple communiques from thePhoenix.) Dutson's successor is Drew Brandewie, whose regular job is as press secretary for the US Senate office of Texas Republican John Cornyn, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (See how much the GOP wants to win this race?) Under Brandewie, the campaign responds "efficiently and telegraphically," to questions, and issues more email announcements (too many, in some opinions). The campaign "thinks through all of the political calculations" relating to press inquiries; according to one reporter, Summers's practice of skipping candidate debates and forums extends to "actively avoiding" the press. The candidate himself can be very difficult to get on the phone, but "you can stalk him" with some success.
CYNTHIA DILL Reporters panned this campaign, with many reporters using phrases like "something of a disaster," "ill-prepared," and "complete mayhem" to describe its media interaction. Things began reasonably well with former Kennebec Journal editor Bob Mentzinger at the helm, running a "professional, smooth" operation. But mid-campaign he was replaced by former Press Herald top editor Jeannine Guttman, who regularly issues statements on Dill's behalf but is rarely in actual substantive contact with reporters, and has been slow to respond to many inquiries from multiple parties at different publications. (Scheduler Kate Cadena has been very helpful, though.) And one reporter described having a better experience with Guttman than with Mentzinger, but agreed that non-email contact was infrequent.)
ANDREW IAN DODGE is "happy to talk," personable, and extremely fast to respond. (Anecdotal example: I sent him an email, and in response he personally called my direct office line less than 30 seconds after I hit "Send.") Fewer reporters were able to describe interactions with him (and with Danny Dalton and Steve Woods), citing their supervisors' decisions to pay those efforts significantly less attention than the King, Summers, and Dill campaigns.
DANNY DALTON is also "happy to talk," but often expounds at great length on material "beyond the scope of the campaign," such as the whereabouts of Taliban commanders in Afghanistan and the activities of the brother of Afghan president Hamid Karzai. He can be dismissive of those who seek to discuss other issues.
STEVE WOODS is the candidate who most impressed reporters at the outset as being a serious candidate, if a political unknown. But after an initial flash of activity, Woods "disappeared" from the inboxes of many reporters. While he is quick to respond when contacted by the press, his lack of direct outreach may have doomed his campaign.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Youth Culture: Bullies beware

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Wells rapper and man-about-town Spose is not a fan of bullies — or pulling punches. His song "Jimmy!" on his recent album The Audacity!details bullying, victimization, and comeuppance (karmic and otherwise), starting with describing Jimmy as "a troublemaking popular kid" who picks on Chris. Over the course of the song, Jimmy degrades into robbing and "doing coke off the floor again/while Chris graduates as the valedictorian."

To make the song's video, Spose is working with Project Aware, a local youth-driven non-profit opposing bullying and dealing with other aspects of teen health (sexual, physical, and mental).

As another element of that collaboration, Spose is headlining a fundraiser for Project Aware that plainspokenly hands victims of bullying a possible weapon (words only!) to use against their tormentors. The event's title is "Don't Be A Douchebag." (It also features performances by other musicians, including some young players from the Maine Academy of Modern Music.)

The name is in keeping with his approach of talking to young people in their own language. "I've always kind of tried to touch on serious issues in a relateable manner," he says — not shying away from being "brutal and honest." He definitely doesn't want to "talk down to the kids like it's a high school assembly."

That said, the 27-year-old has matured since his earlier, more flamboyant work, and while he still uses rap's approach and stylings, he's more careful about his language now: "I try not to use 'bitch' too often," Spose says.

Project Aware co-founder Carl Lakari says lots of words in common parlance have been "used to hurt kids," Lakari says — including "jerk" and "idiot." But kids adapt them and often co-opt their uses. (Cf. "queer," "nerd," and "geek.")

"This is their language. This is from their perspective," Lakari says, observing that he and Spose came up with four possible names for the event, the other three of which were less forward. "Without question, and with vehemence," the Project Aware kids chose "Don't Be A Douchebag."

"I took a risk," Lakari admits. "I could have stopped it, but I felt like I would have been disempowering the youth" — the very people he created the organization to serve.

It's very much along the lines of how Project Aware approaches youth service differently from other organizations. For example, there's the 35-minute dramatic short April's Heart, filmed by the film club at Sanford High School, released in 2010 and showing raw and unfiltered scenes of teenage life in today's world.

Lakari says his goal is to "allow youth to have a voice . . . without judgment" — which at times means having open conversations among teens and adults about boundaries, consequences, and risky behavior.

Spose approves: "Their videos were brutal and hard-core and they weren't flowery and After-School Specials," he says of what attracted him to work with the group. "That's what kids are really going through."

In response — and in recognition — Spose promises to deliver "a full all-ages set that's not scaled-back and boring" on Saturday. And on Friday evening from 6 to 7 pm on WCYY (94.3 FM), he and Lakari and several teens will be on the air with Mark Curdo to talk about the issues facing teens.

Deliver a big blow to bullies everywhere: Listen on the radio, and head to the show.

'DON'T BE A DOUCHEBAG' | benefit for Project Aware | with Spose, Dean Ford, Better Than, God.Damn.Chan, Steiner Street, Running Gags, Beware of Pedestrians | October 13 @ 1-5 pm | Asylum, 121 Center St, Portland | $5, all ages

Laurels: Tapley racks up another award

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Portland Phoenix contributing writer Lance Tapley, who has covered conditions in the Maine State Prison and throughout the state's corrections system since 2005, will be honored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine for "outstanding advocacy for prison reform."

The recognition, in the form of the 2012 Roger Baldwin Award (named for an ACLU founder and former director), will be presented on Thursday, October 25, at the University of Maine Wells Conference Center in Orono.

Tapley, who recently contributed to the New York University Press anthology The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration & Abuse, has won many previous honors for the ongoing series, including from the national Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the regional New England Press Association, and the Maine State Bar Association.

His reporting "became the catalyst for reforms that have helped make the prison safer for both prisoners and guards," said ACLU-Maine executive director Shenna Bellows, in a press release announcing the award.

"Maine has become a model for other states on solitary reform," said Bellows. "We would not be this far along without the reporting of Lance Tapley."

Please join us in Orono to celebrate Tapley's work, which totals nearly 100 stories to date. (See links to all of them at tinyurl.com/PhxMainePrisons.) It's free and open to the public; the evening's events begin at 6:30 pm.

Youth Culture: Bullies beware

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Wells rapper and man-about-town Spose is not a fan of bullies — or pulling punches. His song "Jimmy!" on his recent album The Audacity!details bullying, victimization, and comeuppance (karmic and otherwise), starting with describing Jimmy as "a troublemaking popular kid" who picks on Chris. Over the course of the song, Jimmy degrades into robbing and "doing coke off the floor again/while Chris graduates as the valedictorian."
To make the song's video, Spose is working with Project Aware, a local youth-driven non-profit opposing bullying and dealing with other aspects of teen health (sexual, physical, and mental).
As another element of that collaboration, Spose is headlining a fundraiser for Project Aware that plainspokenly hands victims of bullying a possible weapon (words only!) to use against their tormentors. The event's title is "Don't Be A Douchebag." (It also features performances by other musicians, including some young players from the Maine Academy of Modern Music.)
The name is in keeping with his approach of talking to young people in their own language. "I've always kind of tried to touch on serious issues in a relateable manner," he says — not shying away from being "brutal and honest." He definitely doesn't want to "talk down to the kids like it's a high school assembly."
That said, the 27-year-old has matured since his earlier, more flamboyant work, and while he still uses rap's approach and stylings, he's more careful about his language now: "I try not to use 'bitch' too often," Spose says.
Project Aware co-founder Carl Lakari says lots of words in common parlance have been "used to hurt kids," Lakari says — including "jerk" and "idiot." But kids adapt them and often co-opt their uses. (Cf. "queer," "nerd," and "geek.")
"This is their language. This is from their perspective," Lakari says, observing that he and Spose came up with four possible names for the event, the other three of which were less forward. "Without question, and with vehemence," the Project Aware kids chose "Don't Be A Douchebag."
"I took a risk," Lakari admits. "I could have stopped it, but I felt like I would have been disempowering the youth" — the very people he created the organization to serve.
It's very much along the lines of how Project Aware approaches youth service differently from other organizations. For example, there's the 35-minute dramatic short April's Heart, filmed by the film club at Sanford High School, released in 2010 and showing raw and unfiltered scenes of teenage life in today's world.
Lakari says his goal is to "allow youth to have a voice . . . without judgment" — which at times means having open conversations among teens and adults about boundaries, consequences, and risky behavior.
Spose approves: "Their videos were brutal and hard-core and they weren't flowery and After-School Specials," he says of what attracted him to work with the group. "That's what kids are really going through."
In response — and in recognition — Spose promises to deliver "a full all-ages set that's not scaled-back and boring" on Saturday. And on Friday evening from 6 to 7 pm on WCYY (94.3 FM), he and Lakari and several teens will be on the air with Mark Curdo to talk about the issues facing teens.
Deliver a big blow to bullies everywhere: Listen on the radio, and head to the show.
'DON'T BE A DOUCHEBAG' | benefit for Project Aware | with Spose, Dean Ford, Better Than, God.Damn.Chan, Steiner Street, Running Gags, Beware of Pedestrians | October 13 @ 1-5 pm | Asylum, 121 Center St, Portland | $5, all ages

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Outsiders: Also on the ballot, and making good points

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Three candidates you haven't heard a lot about from the mainstream media are, nevertheless, running for US Senate. Danny Dalton, Andrew Ian Dodge, and Steve Woods are perhaps like the much-maligned but ultimately more heroic Greasers gang in the classic SE Hinton novel The Outsiders. They're not polished, refined campaigners or politicians — and they definitely lack the slicker appeal of the more popular and seemingly successful crew that Hinton called the Socials. But each of these underdogs has noteworthy credentials, experience, and ideas. In fact, if you think standard politicos are part of the problems in Washington, you might consider taking these men more seriously than the Big Three. They're certainly more likely to "stay gold," maintaining their philosophies and political stances upon arriving at the Senate.

STEVE WOODS,THE ENTREPRENEUR
In the sprawling Falmouth building that houses his privately owned mini-conglomerate, Woods laughs at the irony of being a marketing executive running on what he calls an "anonymity platform." Then he rails against mainstream media — specifically the Portland Press Herald — for failing to cover his campaign adequately. He has a point: While the press talk with King, Summers, and Dill about health-care issues, one of Woods's firms is actively engaged with big players in the health industry, giving him broad perspective. (He supports the Affordable Care Act, not as a finish line, but as a starting point.)
But rather than elaborate, he moves on, observing that when the press talk with the Big Three about energy and environmental issues, perhaps they might want to talk to a guy who has a solar-powered office campus (complete with electric-car charging station), a rainwater-reclaiming roof, and a green-living marketing firm, Viridescence. He might have something to say on those topics, too.
If only he weren't so upset that when talk turns to jobs, nobody calls him — "I've created 100 jobs here" and invested millions in Maine as part owner of the Maine Red Claws, and as a partner in the Thompson's Point redevelopment project, he says. He complains that high taxes and onerous government regulations have made running small businesses harder than ever.
Which reminds him that democracy is on the wane ("woe is the republic" is a frequent refrain), and that civic involvement is dropping, and that elected officials are incompetent and —
Well, that's the real problem. Listening to Steve Woods talk is like drinking from a firehose. There's delicious, refreshing substance that can bring great relief and growth, but There's. Just. So. Much. Of. It.
Perhaps it's the relentless drive — and let's say it, passion — that has landed him at what he terms the "kids' table" of this US Senate race. It could be his own admission that "I probably entered the process a little naively," expecting a more level media playing field. Maybe it's his idealism about American civic obligation.
"Public service is a privilege," Woods says. He's serious when he says he won't accept the $174,000 salary a senator receives, and will seek to have it sent directly from the US Treasury to several Maine-based charities.
It's a way to achieve his goal — which is not to change history (he thinks none of the candidates will), but to "change the dialogue, and . . . to change democracy in America," bringing civic engagement back from the cliff of cynicism.
But this wish is tempered with a harder reality, such as when he condemns today's broken political system with lines like "institutional lying has become part of the fabric of our political system" and accuses not just the leaders but also the followers of failing to protect the American experiment. "In effect, it's all our fault," he says, following that with an admission that it's an uphill slog to seek votes from people while telling them they're the problem.
ANDREW IAN DODGE, THE RABBLE-ROUSER
Dodge got into this race because of a promise to his father, who died shortly afterward. A Maine Tea Party Patriot coordinator whose vow to drive Olympia Snowe from office failed to win him the Republican primary, Dodge declared independency after the loss and has tried to wax more libertarian (including speaking recently before a USM appearance of Libertarian Party veep candidate James Gray) while keeping his ultra-conservative but very personable campaign going for the November election.
Dodge's conversation is punctuated with an occasional English-accented word or turn of phrase, recalling his work for, as he describes them, "unsuccessful" UK parliament races, as well as his time studying at the University of Hull in Yorkshire, almost 20 years ago. He regularly refers to his studies — which also include a 1989 BA in political science from Colby College — as qualifications for his Senate run.
His is an off-beat effort, perhaps most obviously distinct from most candidacies by its bright-yellow comic-book "kapow" logo. Dodge embraces this aesthetic, even "opening" for a trio of metal bands in Gardiner the night after the USM event.
"I'm perfectly happy to say things that piss people off," he says — and so he does, not shying away from taking fairly absolutist stands, and brooking little moderation. He rejects the idea that humans are influencing global climate change, thinks Paul Ryan's budget-reform plan does not go far enough in cutting federal services and spending, and would abolish the federal Department of Education. He opposes the Affordable Care Act and objects to federal funding of any kind for Planned Parenthood (even for non-abortion services). He's against raising taxes on the rich, and instead promotes a "flat" tax system — as well as the dramatically reduced federal spending such a system would mean. He wants to expand NAFTA and lower barriers to trade with other English-speaking countries. At the same time, he wants to "de-fund the UN and suggest it move elsewhere" from its current New York home.
Endorsed by the Libertarian Party of Maine, he also is in favor of some left-wing causes: same-sex marriage, food sovereignty, and marijuana legalization. On immigration — his wife is English — he favors easing the legal arrival of skilled workers while wanting "strong border defenses," as his website words it. He wants to slash military funding, too, and eliminate all forms of corporate welfare.
And his logic is generally consistent — if at times arriving at politically questionable suggestions. Government is too big, and should be dramatically reduced, he argues, returning direct exercise of sovereignty to the people (or, if collective action is necessary, the states). That includes privatizing Social Security and Medicare, programs he has claimed are poorly managed and wasteful despite their overwhelming effectiveness and popularity among citizens of all political stripes.
He doesn't think much of traditional politicians, though, and sums up his competition this way: "I find it hard to believe that I'll be any more of a pretentious ass than some of the others who are running."
DANNY DALTON,THE EX-COP
Dalton's a details man, as you might expect from a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent who spent more than a decade chasing narcotics cartels across the globe. Also a former Air Force and Army serviceman, Dalton's approach is bold and direct.
For example, this question: "Why are we bothering to spend $700 billion on a military that can't win a war?" Much of his campaign energy is spent talking about waste and incompetence in government agencies, specifically law-enforcement and military organizations. He has reams of allegations on the tip of his tongue, with sometimes-excruciatingly exhaustive explanations.
There's also his work history. He left the DEA in 2005, objecting to ineptitude he saw throughout the government. And then he went to work for the State and Defense departments, at least some of the time as an employee of Blackwater, the controversial paramilitary company that was ultimately expelled by the Iraqi government and fined by the US State Department for misconduct, including alleged illegal arms dealing.
After seeing even more fraud, waste, and incompetence (the three may be his favorite words, he uses them so much), in 2008 he apparently became some sort of international private investigator. That effort was funded with his own money and did, he says, a better job investigating terrorists and drug-traffickers than the federal agencies tasked to do that work, including those for which he used to work.
Upon offering the information he and his network uncovered to top-level federal agents, he found himself rebuffed. (It's unclear whether that was related to his requests for reimbursement for the expenses he incurred — which he says are minuscule when compared with the costs of supporting a uniformed American soldier in an overseas combat zone.) So he took his complaints elsewhere, seeking audiences with Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. He met with their staffs, but says he was never able to talk to either of the women directly. In any case, they didn't want his information either, he says, and referred him to some of the agencies that had already declined his information.
This led him to enter the Senate race, accusing both Snowe and Collins of failing in their duties as elected officials by refusing to even look at what he was presenting.
At the same time, he took advantage of basically every chance opportunity to present US law-enforcement personnel with what he had learned. He tells the story of being stopped at a border crossing, and then trying to hand over a dossier of information on the whereabouts of an alleged Taliban commander in Afghanistan — to a Border Patrol supervisor near Canada. He continues to profess amazement that the officer was uninterested in his data.
It may stick in his craw because for a time he worked for the Department of Homeland Security's effort to get law-enforcement agencies to share information better. But he views it as part of something much larger: "That's the problem — the two parties. Everything else is a symptom of that problem," he says.