Williams disappointed by repeal of marriage equality law,
praises Wells voters for work in passing water-mining issue

November 4, 2009

Maine Green Independent Party candidate for governor Lynne Williams said Wednesday she was “bitterly disappointed” that a slim majority of voters was able to repeal Maine’s marriage equality law, but took heart in the results of some of the other voting in Tuesday’s election.

“As an civil rights attorney, I believe that there is a real issue with the majority determining what rights the minority will or will not have,” Williams said. The Bar Harbor attorney had early on endorsed the No on 1 campaign. She shot a video advertisement in support of the campaign and also placed a prominent direct link to the Protect Maine Equality website on her own campaign website.

Williams said she was also disappointed in the failure of voters to overturn the school consolidation law.

“Those who voted against repealing the school consolidation law don’t seem to realize how our rural towns are being financially harmed by forced consolidation, she said, adding that she was concerned with the large amount of corporate money that was funneled into a campaign dealing with the concerns of small Maine towns.

“Hopefully with a new legislature and a new governor elected in 2010, Augusta will have the will to repeal the most egregious parts of this statute,” she said.

Despite those election night loses, Williams said some good things came out of Tuesday’s voting.

The changes in the medical marijuana law were an encouraging sign, she said, that Maine people want the right for all citizens to have access to whatever form of health care is thought best by them and their medical practitioners.

“Despite opposition from Maine Center for Disease Control, law enforcement and other state agencies, the people of this state, by a wide majority, recognize the right of sick people to access their medication safely and reliably,” Williams said.

And Williams said the highlight of the night might have come from the York County town of Wells, where almost 70 percent of the voters rejected the bid of the Nestle Corporation to mine large amounts of water from the small coastal community in order to profit in the worldwide bottled water market.

“The vote in Wells is a victory for people all over Maine who are fighting to protect the rights of home rule and self-determination in their communities,” Williams said.

Williams is the leading attorney in the state in the efforts to help residents of small towns protect themselves and their natural resources from exploitation by large water and industrial wind companies.