Politics Meets "The Dating Game"
The party was political on Saturday night when more than 200 people gathered in a Fore Street warehouse to hear hip hop, see work by local graffiti artists and get to know four candidates for governor.
LaMarche was the audience's clear choice. League Field Director Alec Maybarduk presented her with a bouquet and a box of organic chocolates. |
The event, called ReEmergence, was organized by The League (formerly the League of Pissed-Off Voters) and featured spoken-word poets from Acoustic Coffee, local hip hop acts Say Love, Lab Seven and Dirt Coalition, and D.C.-based MC Flex Matthews.
The League uses the arts to engage young people in politics. With chapters in 22 cities, they register and educate voters, sponsor candidates and host candidate forums, films and parties like this one.
The event centered around "Who Wants to be a Governor?," a forum modeled after "The Dating Game."
The contestants, gubernatorial candidates Pat LaMarche of the Green Party, independent David Jones, Democrat Chris Miller and Republican Peter Mills, sat on a stage full of turntables and speakers.
The winner would be the candidate who best represented the interests of young voters.
League Field Director Alec Maybarduk played the prospective constituent. He asked the contestants about jobs, health care, reproductive rights and the war in Iraq. The questions were generated by young people from across the city.
Environmental and growth issues were key. Blaming unchecked growth and development for the environmental crisis, Chris Miller said, "I'm going to promise to stop growth and to contain it, because otherwise we’re going to kill ourselves."
LaMarche pledged to protect the environment, saying that politicians often put profits before conservation. "Maine is not a colony that should be exploited by out-of-state companies," she said.
Mills, however, said that Maine needs to attract more residents and businesses in order to create better jobs for young people. He pledged to "make sure that we have a good, strong market economy which will provide good jobs."
When asked about controlling sprawl, Miller said he'd let his community decide how to deal with the problem, and would back what ever decision it made. "Autonomy is hot!" yelled one audience member in support. [Note to readers: the original Forecaster article incorrectly stated that Jones made the statement about controlling sprawl.]
A speed round let the audience see a more personal side of the candidates with questions about music, celebrity dream dates and the kind of cars the candidates drive.
LaMarche and Miller drew cheers for their responses to the car question. LaMarche said she drives a Honda Civic Hybrid and Miller a '92 Honda that gets 42 miles to the gallon.
Mills told the crowd that he has more than one vehicle, but his favorite is a one-ton diesel truck.
Jones spoke last, admitting that he drives a GMC Suburban. The crowd hissed and jeered, though some later thanked him for being honest.
When the game came to a close, Maybarduk asked the crowd to pick the winner by cheering for the candidate who best represented their interests.
LaMarche was the audience's clear choice. Maybarduk presented her with a bouquet and a box of organic chocolates.
Events like ReEmergence help young voters make informed choices said Michael Imbergamo, 18, who will vote for the first time in November.
"A lot of people my age basically vote for the name they hear the most," he said, "So if we get out to things like this and get to know every candidate I think it will really help."
The League will host film screenings, discussions, and bike rides in the lead-up to the election. Its goal is to inspire young people to engage in their community and to realize that they can make the change they want to see.
Biko Baker, The League’s national organizer and columnist for hip-hop magazine The Source, told the crowd not to wait for someone else to solve the nation’s problems, but to take action.
"We are the ones that we have always been waiting for," he said.
