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Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics
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1 LUG 2026 · Pillars of Democracy: Nonpartisan Civil ServiceWe talk about the value of a nonpartisan, professional civil service in sustaining a functioning democracy. We covered the struggle to depoliticize the civil service going back to the end of the nineteenth century and bringing it up to date. We're now seeing the ranks of civil servants slashed, with some positions converted into political appointments. Where is this heading? What are the risks? If the "deep state" consists of well educated professionals, are they the natural enemy of autocrats? How is it playing out in this moment? And how is it playing out in Maine? Moderator: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters MaineGuests:
https://umaine.edu/cohen/people/dr-ryan-larochelle/, Senior Lecturer at the Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the University of Maine
https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/democracy-forwards-rob-shriver-elected-to-national-academy-of-public-administration-2025-class-of-academy-fellows/, Managing Director of the Civil Service Strong and Good Government Initiatives at Democracy Forward
7 MAG 2026 · Host Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine and guests talk about how commercial and government surveillance is ever growing, encompassing license plate readers, location tracking, facial recognition and other biometric data. How do these invasions of privacy threaten free speech? What protections should individuals and civil society adopt to protect civil liberties?
28 FEB 2026 · We'll talk about how civic courage and neighborliness create solidarity under stress. How are communities under pressure holding it together? -- in Minneapolis, in Maine, and in other communities around the country. What do we have in common with pro-democracy resistance movements around the world? Special guests:
- Oliver Kaplan, Associate Professor, Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, University of Denver, Visiting Scholar, Stanford University, Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law
- Amy DeBeck, Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Castine
- Julia Edwards, SoPo Helps Mutual Aid Network
21 GEN 2026 · January 16, 2026 Democracy Forum
Constitutional Crisis: Can Democracy Survive Billionaire Economics?
22 LUG 2025 · Host Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine and Guests Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State and Joyce Vance, from the University of Alabama School of Law discuss federal and local actions on election security, voter access, and confidence in elections and consider how local and federal voter suppression laws and regulations may restrict participation by eligible voters.
20 GIU 2025 · This will be the fourth program in our series on the constitutional crisis.
While ordinary life goes on for most of us, some Mainers are living in fear.
Host Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine and guests will discuss civil liberties, habeas corpus, due process, immigrant detentions and deportations.
Guests:
https://www.aclumaine.org/, Executive Director, ACLU Mainehttps://michigan.law.umich.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/our-faculty/barbara-l-mcquade, Professor from Practice at Michigan Law, author of the book, https://barbaramcquade.squarespace.com/. She is also a host of the podcast, SistersInLaw.
https://ilapmaine.org/, Executive Director, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
20 MAG 2025 · Host Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine and guests discuss the repercussions of the federal administration's policies on funding health and science research and delivery, nationally and here in Maine.
Guests:
Art Blank, Former CEO, MDI Hospital
Amy Fried, Professor emerita of political science at the University of Maine
Dr. Nirav Shah, Former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention and former principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
22 APR 2025 · Host Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine and guests discuss who is being affected even now, right here in Maine. In what ways is this moment outside the norm? Will we adapt to the heat of rapidly changing federal policies or resist?
Guests:
Samuel R. Bagenstos, Frank G. Millard Professor of Law at the University of Michigan.
Ryan Dennett, Program Director, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners AssociationLauren McCauley, Editor, Maine Morning StarAmy Wisehart, President, Maine Library Association
28 MAR 2025 · We talk about private equity, what is it? Does private equity contribute to wealth and income inequality, erode confidence in shared services and institutions, and undermine faith in capitalism and democracy? Does private equity always work that way? Has private equity come to Maine? How can Maine protect its people from the worst outcomes?
- Brendan Ballou, former federal prosecutor and Special Counsel for Private Equity at the U.S. Department of Justice, author of the book, https://www.plunderthebook.com/.
- http://https//legislature.maine.gov/house/house/MemberProfiles/Details/1408, Maine State Representative, (D-Kennebunkport), Housing and Economic Development Committee (Chair).
- Chris Noble, Policy Director, https://pestakeholder.org/,
- Pat Schwebler is Co-Director of the Cooperative Development Institute's https://cdi.coop/rocs/. Her background is in real estate, finance, nonprofits, and business management.
27 MAR 2025 · Host Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine and guests will discuss civil disobedience .
We talk about civil resistance and how civil disobedience has succeeded or failed historically, seeking context for our current moment. What worked in the past, and what do we need now: protests, boycotts, tax resistance? And what does the moment demand? What strategies and tactics work?
Guests:
Graham Platner, lead organizer for Acadia Action, Hancock County branch of 16 Counties for Courage
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-newell-taylor-16b158175, Co-founder, https://www.mdislander.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/sweet-fern-mdi/article_9adad754-f84c-11ef-9cf5-2bd9d6b19a3a.html; Distributed Organizer for National Nurses United; former Deputy Director of Voter Engagement at Second Chances Florida
Vanessa Williamson, Senior Fellow in https://www.brookings.edu/programs/governance-studies/ at Brookings
Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics
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