Want to get to know some of the gubernatorial candidates? Well here is your chance! The University of Maine at Farmington will host a number of the 2010 Maine gubernatorial candidates. These sessions are part of my political science class. Each session, featuring a candidate, is free and open-to-the-public. They will be held from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m., on Thursdays when school is in session, from Feb. 4 thru April 29, in room C23, in the lower level of the UMF Roberts Learning Center.

I developed this session as part of the political science class I teach at UMF. The class is GEO 277: Maine Politics and Environmental Policy. Candidates will join the students for dinner in the UMF dinning hall. At 6 p.m. the students and I will escort the candidate to 23 Roberts Hall. I will welcome everyone and the students will introduce the candidate. The next hour (6:15 to 7:15) the class will be open to campus, public and press. During the public sessions, candidates will have an hour to share his/her vision for Maine’s future and answer questions from the audience. The public can then leave or stay, however the candidate’s attention will be on the students, answering their predetermined questions. Class members will prepare a summary of the total session and answers to the class questions for publication in the local papers. At the end of the semester the classroom students will debate about the candidates and hold a mock election for the next governor.

Candidates scheduled for the public sessions include:
Feb. 4 — Les Otten
Feb. 11 — Peter Mills
Feb. 25 — Matt Jacobson
March 4 — Pat McGowan
March 11 — Steve Rowe
March 18 — Bruce Poliquin
March 25 — Paul Lepage
April 1 — Alex Hammer
April 8 — Rosa Scarcelli
April 15 — John Richardson
April 29 — Steve Abbot

Other candidates may be added at a later date.

These events are co-sponsored by the UMF Political Science Club, UMF College Republicans, UMF College Democrats and the UMF Student Education Association of Maine.

If you have any questions contact me, Tom Saviello, lecturer at UMF and state representative for Maine House District 90, at 645-3420, or drtom16@hotmail.com.

Tom Saviello of Wilton represents House District 90: the towns of Avon, New Vineyard, Phillips, Strong, Temple and Wilton, plus the unorganized territories of East Central Franklin and Perkins and Washington townships.