Governor Mills is 77 years old. Usually when you fill a Senate seat, how many terms a candidate can serve is a factor when evaluating the appropriateness and feasibility of a new Senate candidate. And I’m the first one who has been whining about the aging Senate. All of this is true.
But Governor Mills is no ordinary 77 year old Grandmother. Nope. She just isn’t. Janet Mills has always been ahead of her time.
She was the first elected woman DA in the region when being a man was the only feasible political option, then. She was an original founder of Maine’s women’s lobby, and has led the way on not only women’s rights, her sense of fairness and justice has made her one of the most inclusive AGs and then Governors in the country.
One of my favorite stories about Governor Mills is when former Maine Governor LePage preferred addicts to die rather than provide Narcan on first responder trucks. He actually led as many people as he could to embrace throwing addicts lives away, advocating their death rather than provide this simple drug. He really did that – and for the record, Susan Collins endorsed Paul LePage after he held that policy and view. Attorney General Mills would hear none of his crap. Rather than shrink and feel powerless, and pass the buck to LePage – that is just not Janet Mills’ style. She loaded her personal car with Narcan and proceeded to drive around Maine distributing the life saving drug to first responders all over the State of Maine. Anyone who has driven around the State of Maine knows just how geographically large Maine is. She protected lives. She saw the importance of each life who was struggling with addiction. And she saw the value of each of those lives.
Governor Mills has been a role model for me, especially when in comes to inclusion, and just how far inclusion can go electorally. She has a real embrace of a multi-cultural society and diversity where EVERYONE participates. Governor Mills was inclusive when being inclusive just wasn’t cool. She has been a real leader making damn sure Trans kids were welcomed into Maine’s community like she has demanded for all peoples and cultures. Governor Mills has given diversity a practical and feasible seat at the Maine political table.
What makes Mills’ sense of inclusion so extraordinary is that she grew up and cut her political teeth in Maine CD2, Maine’s ultra-conservative congressional district. She has a very keen sense of balance between what is possible, and what is feasible to enact transformational policies for the long term. Her leadership skill can sell diversity to Maine voters – even in conservative CD2 – like no one on the Maine political horizon can.
Governor Mills understands that there are two Maines, the affluent Southern Maine, and the much poorer Northern Maine. Governor Mills understands economic justice, and will make great strides in closing the income inequality gap.
When it comes to women’s rights, and particularly women’s rights regarding healthcare, there will be none of the political mush from Governor Mills that comes out of Susan Collins, the current Maine Senator who literally led the way to help Trump’s SCOTUS appointees get on the Court to overturn Roe.
Governor Mills’ Covid response was not only stellar, she earned one of the lowest death rates in the country while Trump was urging people to drink bleach to avoid getting Covid. She embraces science, she puts together teams to achieve goals and rather than be a know-it-all puts people in positions who can help her achieve her goals, and she humbly takes their competent advice.
And Governor Mills is a fighter. A real, bare knuckle, legal fighter. She’s one of the best lawyers in the country. She is very experienced dealing with the likes of Trump, she took on and beat to a Maine wood pulp Maine’s Trump-look-a-like former Governor LePage and would demolish him day in and day out. She was tireless. She was fearless. She was competent. She showed Maine clearly what a bum and bigot Paul LePage really was. In the end Governor Mills gave LePage an electoral trouncing.
No one who saw Janet Mills tell Trump to screw off earlier this year was surprised. I wasn’t. She’s tough as nails. And she has a legal competency and experience to cow Trump like no other candidate I can think of in the country. No one in the country is more prepared, or has more experience at telling the likes of Trump and LePage where to get off. She’s fearless. She’s unflappable. She has a real spine and isn’t afraid to use her spine.
Is Governor Mills a 77 year old grandmother? Yup!! That is true.
Governor Mills is also a woman who has ALWAYS been ahead of her time. “Senator Mills” has a wonderful – earned – ring to it and if she runs…….
Governor Mills will be the “Cool Chick” in the race, and she will WIN!