Democracy Forum | WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Democracy Forum – WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Politics
  • Updated Bimonthly

Democracy Forum, with host Ann Luther, featuring topics in Maine’s participatory democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics.

  1. Jun 19

    Democracy Forum 6/19/26: Pillars of Democracy: Nonpartisan Civil Service

    Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about the value of a nonpartisan, professional civil service in sustaining a functioning democracy. We’ll cover 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? Guest/s: Ryan LaRochelle, Senior Lecturer at the Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the University of Maine. Rob Shriver, Managing Director of the Civil Service Strong and Good Government Initiatives at Democracy Forward. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 6/19/26: Pillars of Democracy: Nonpartisan Civil Service first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

    1 hr

  2. May 15

    Democracy Forum 5/15/26: Pillars of Democracy: Democracy costs money. Who pays?

    Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about taxes and democracy. Everyone complains about paying taxes. But what if we need taxation if we want the benefits of democracy? If democracy costs money, who should pay for it? Author Vanessa Williamson argues that some of the most important battles that shape our democracy hinge on one issue—taxes. How has that played out in our history. How is it playing out in this moment? And how is it playing out in Maine? Guest/s: Garrett Martin, President and CEO, Maine Center for Economic Policy. Vanessa Williamson, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, and a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. Author of the book, The Price of Democracy. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 5/15/26: Pillars of Democracy: Democracy costs money. Who pays? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

    58 min

  3. Apr 17

    Democracy Forum 4/17/26: Constitutional Crisis: They’re Watching

    Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Mass surveillance constitutes a threat to free speech. Commercial and government surveillance infrastructure has grown and continues to grow, encompassing license plate readers, location tracking, and 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? Guest/s: Cindy Cohn, Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), author of the book, Privacy’s Defender. Hannah Cyrus, Digital Media Librarian, Bangor Public Library. Cooper Quintin, security researcher and senior public interest technologist with the EFF Threat Lab and board member of Open Archive. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 4/17/26: Constitutional Crisis: They’re Watching first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

    56 min

  4. Mar 20

    Democracy Forum 3/20/26: Constitutional Crisis: All Hands on Deck to Protect Our Elections

    Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Maine has some of the best-run, highest-turnout elections in the country. We want to hold onto that, so we’re taking election threats seriously. We’ll talk about how elections work now and why we should be confident in our elections. But we’ll also talk about what can go wrong and how we can prepare. Guest/s: Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State. Patti DuBois, City Clerk, Waterville, Maine. Archon Fung, Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and the Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 3/20/26: Constitutional Crisis: All Hands on Deck to Protect Our Elections first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

    58 min

  5. Feb 20

    Democracy Forum 2/20/26: Constitutional Crisis: What Does Civic Courage Look Like?

    Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: 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? Guest/s: 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. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 2/20/26: Constitutional Crisis: What Does Civic Courage Look Like? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

    58 min

  6. Jan 16

    Democracy Forum 1/16/26: Constitutional Crisis: Can Democracy Survive Billionaire Economics?

    Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about how wealth and income inequality undermine democracy. Does extreme income inequality lead to right wing authoritarianism? How does that work? Is that playing out in the U.S. right now? In Maine? Guest/s: Garrett Martin, President & CEO, Maine Center for Economic Policy Susan Stokes, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago. She is the author of the new book, The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies | Princeton University Press, September 2025 To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 1/16/26: Constitutional Crisis: Can Democracy Survive Billionaire Economics? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

    59 min

  7. 11/21/2025

    Democracy Forum 11/21/25: Constitutional Crisis: The Expansion of Presidential Power

    Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about the continuing concentration of executive power in the office of the President of the United States. What has been the historical precedent? How unusual is this moment? What is the unitary executive theory, its origins and implications, and how it’s playing out in the current presidential administration? Guest/s: Graham Dodds, Professor, Political Science, Concordia University, Montreal. Aaron Frey, Attorney General, State of Maine. To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 11/21/25: Constitutional Crisis: The Expansion of Presidential Power first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

    1 hr

  8. 10/17/2025

    Democracy Forum 10/17/25: What’s On Your Ballot?

    Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about the two ballot questions that appear on the November 4 state ballot in Maine. How does the citizen initiative process work in Maine. What are the two ballot questions this year? What the new laws would do, if passed? What are the proponents saying; what are the opponents saying? Who’s funding the campaigns? Guest/s: Mark Brewer, Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Maine. Amy Fried, Professor Emerita of Political Science, University of Maine. Michael Shepherd, Political editor at the Bangor Daily News. To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 10/17/25: What’s On Your Ballot? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

    57 min
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Democracy Forum, with host Ann Luther, featuring topics in Maine’s participatory democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics.

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