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A full house of credit union advocates attend the 2024 League Legislative Forum.
Credit union advocacy was on full display on September 10 for the return of the League’s Legislative Forum. Representatives from credit unions across Maine gathered for a day of political insight at The Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, hearing from a range of political figures and members of the League’s Governmental Affairs team.
“It was great to have so many credit union advocates in the room for important conversations on staying involved and advancing credit union powers to benefit our members’ financial lives,” reflected Robert Caverly, the League’s Vice President of Advocacy & Outreach.
Elise Baldacci
After a warm welcome from Elise Baldacci, President of the League, the audience heard from the keynote speaker, Mo Elleithee, regarding political polarization in America. Elleithee worked in Democratic politics for more than 20 years and is the founding Executive Director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service.
During his remarks, he examined today’s political climate and why it is how it is. In touching on our nation’s polarizing political history, he explained how “our politics have always had an edge, but it feels worse” now—a feeling he attributes to four main things.
First: “the big sort,” or the way that people physically separate themselves by living in communities of like-minded and similar individuals (which in turn isolates them from differing perspectives and causes them to disregard them as truth). Second to blame is a lack of trust—or the belief that our institutions and those who are supposed to help are failing us. Third is the fact that “our information ecosystem is toxic,” as the separation between people contributes to how and where we get our information. With the internet (as opposed to flipping through broadcast television channels), the algorithm decides what we see and makes the population more susceptible to misinformation. Finally, he claimed, “our incentive structure is out of whack” and that there is a divide between people wanting a leader and a representative; similarly, people want common ground, but on their terms. All of these contribute to a system in which polling favors polarization.
Mo Elleithee
Elleithee summed it up by discussing this polarization in the context of the upcoming election, noting that “the real problem in America is access to opportunity.” While many people look at politics as “left vs. right,” he talked about the important dichotomy of “front vs. back,” where those at the “front” of the line are those at the top of the economic bracket. With this contrast, people have a mindset of “go forth and prosper, but don’t pull the ladder up behind you before I can grasp the first rung.”
Following Elleithee’s insight into political polarization, Pat Callaghan joined him in front of the audience for a question-and-answer session. Callaghan has an extensive history covering many notable stories on NEWS CENTER Maine (WCSH6 in Portland and WLBZ2 in Bangor), and much of his time in broadcast has been spent in the political sphere. Both Callaghan and attendees had an opportunity to ask for more information, gain clarity, challenge thoughts, and deepen their understanding on this topic. The conversation covered rank choice voting, the electoral college (and possible reform), if polls are beneficial, and much more.
Following their discussion, League Director of Governmental Affairs Krista Simonis shared how the League supports credit unions through advocacy efforts. She explained how the League helps to clear the path from any hurdles credit unions may be facing. With an emphasis on trust and listening to credit union needs, the Governmental Affairs team aims to create a strong position for credit unions in the regulatory and legislative landscape. One of the biggest ways this is accomplished is through visibility, credibility, and persistence as they track bills that could impact this industry (and engage accordingly). Simonis also reviewed the League’s political endorsement process.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Ellen Parent.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows introduced the afternoon portion of the event in discussing e-titling and election integrity. She explained how she focused her platform on technological modernization to allow the government to serve people better by reducing delays and errors and by creating a centralized, streamlined process. She discussed the security of Maine’s elections, listing ample checks and balances in place to track and report on all aspects of voting. Ellen Parent, the League’s Director of Compliance, joined Secretary of State Bellows at the end for a moderated conversation with the audience.
The day’s events wrapped up with Representative Sawin Millett, Jr.’s discussion with Caverly on the importance of public service. He briefed the group on how the state’s budget functions and pushed how crucial community involvement is in being a good public citizen—encouraging people to get involved and build a strong local community full of diverse opinions and perspectives.
Rep. Sawin Millett, Jr. and Robert Caverly.
The Legislative Forum provided many opportunities to discuss issues of importance, gain understanding, and communicate differences. A silent auction fundraiser for CULAC was run at the event, raising critical funds for continued credit union advocacy.
“The most important thing any credit union advocate can do is vote, regardless of party or who you support,” explained Caverly. “Making sure our credit union voice is heard at the ballot box is critical to the continued success of our movement.”
Advocating for our credit unions is one of the League’s top priorities, and we look forward to continuing our efforts alongside our many credit union advocates!