Speak Up with Laurel Libby

Laurel Libby
  • 4.4 (14)
  • Politics
  • Biweekly

Speak Up with Laurel Libby is on a mission to give everyday folks the insight and confidence to speak up and make their voices heard, in Maine and beyond. Each episode breaks down the issues of the day… separating fact from fiction, translating policy into plain language, and connecting local challenges to the national conversation. Through interviews, deep dives, and practical guidance, Speak Up empowers everyday citizens to become educated, get engaged, and take action for a stronger, freer future.

  1. 4d ago

    Has Life Gotten CHEAPER in 8 Years?? | Episode 21 with Lauren LePage

    Lauren LePage grew up as the daughter of Governor Paul LePage, walked away from a career in medicine, and went to work in Republican politics. She sat down with me to ask the question on every Maine kitchen table this fall: has your life gotten cheaper in the last eight years? Maine's budget has grown from $7 billion to $12 billion, and Maine families are the ones footing the bill. The state's own forecast shows a $1.085 billion General Fund gap and a $256.7 million Highway Fund gap, about $1.34 billion together, waiting for the next governor. Electric bills tell the same story. Residential rates in Maine rose just over 36 percent from May 2024 to May 2025, according to federal EIA data. Connecticut's rose about 18 percent. Then we get into the politics. Lauren shares what she says happened to the 2011 voter ID bill, what ranked-choice voting did to the Republican primary for governor, and who Mainers will trust in the Collins vs. Jackson race for U.S. Senate. We cover MaineCare and where the blame for rising electric bills belongs, the Second District matchup between Paul LePage and Matt Dunlap, how Republicans can win in blue states, and why Lauren says the media holds Republicans to a different standard. Whether you agree with her or not, you will hear a candid conversation from someone who has watched Maine politics from the inside. Her advice for every voter is to bank your vote early. Early in-person voting at your town or city office ends Thursday, October 29th, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. Find your town or city office and early voting info: https://maine.vote SUBSCRIBE TO SPEAK UP: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@laurel_libby Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75Y2G40k0gWwFH6cncgiuW Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-up-with-laurel-libby/id1870102672 FOLLOW: Laurel Libby on X: www.x.com/laurel_libby Laurel Libby on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurelLibbyMEHouse Lead Maine on X: www.x.com/lead_maine Lead Maine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LeadMaine

  2. Oct 13

    From Foster Care to POLITICS | Episode 20 with Mike Quatrano

    Mike Quatrano was in the foster system as a teenager. Today he runs Maine Civic Action, training everyday Mainers to run for office, knock doors and get out the vote. On this episode of Speak Up, Mike tells the story of the uncle who looked him in the eye and said "you need to work to eat," and of the grandmother who dragged him to rallies and told him to become a preacher or go into politics. He also explains how he got two candidates on the ballot on his very first day in politics. Then we get practical. We cover how a handful of votes decided control of the Maine House, why the doorstep is still the gold standard, and why voting early means the knocks, mailers and texts stop coming to your house. Mike spent a career watching one person change the math. This episode is proof. Take action: Request your absentee ballot or vote early at your town office before Election Day, November 3. Join us in Bangor on October 17 for the Turn the Tide Fall Festival. It runs 10 to 2, it's free, and it's family friendly. RSVP at https://leadmaine.com/event/turnthetide-bangor/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=turnthetide&utm_content=ep20_desc Learn about Maine Civic Action trainings at mainecivicaction.org Subscribe to Speak Up with Laurel Libby: > YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@laurel_libby > Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75Y2G40k0gWwFH6cncgiuW > Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-up-with-laurel-libby/id1870102672 Follow Laurel: > X: www.x.com/laurel_libby > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurelLibbyMEHouse Follow Lead Maine: > X: www.x.com/lead_maine > Facebook: www.facebook.com/LeadMaine

  3. Sep 29

    One Maine Teacher, Every Kind of Classroom | Episode 19 with Carla Lobley

    I sat down with Carla Lobley, a Maine teacher who has homeschooled her own kids, taught in a Christian school, worked in public-school gifted education, and now helps lead Avodah, a Christ-centered K-12 school in Auburn.Carla has seen education from almost every angle. Public school, she says, was a boot camp: policy, process, paperwork, and how hard it is to move a gifted kid who is already a year ahead. One freshman doing sophomore-level work. The answer from the high school: we'd have to get a bus.We talk about what homeschool, private school, and public school each taught her that the others could not. We talk about mixed-ability classrooms, and a line her students know too well: I can get Jimmy to do my thinking. And we talk about the text that started Avodah, from Kaytlen Davis: do you want to start a school?If you are a Maine parent who knows the fit is wrong and feels stuck, this one is for you.Topics covered: What homeschool, private school, and public school each taught CarlaWhy she calls public school a boot camp of educationThe text that started Avodah, and how the hybrid model actually worksGifted kids who have never had to work hardMixed-ability grouping versus stacking classes by subjectPractical advice for a parent who feels trapped in a zip-code school Watch, subscribe, and send this to one parent who needs it.Learn more about Avodah: https://www.avodaheducation.org/Learn more about Lead Maine: leadmaine.coSubscribe to Speak Up with Laurel Libby:▶ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@laurel_libby▶ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75Y2G40k0gWwFH6cncgiuW▶ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-up-with-laurel-libby/id1870102672Follow Laurel:▶ X: www.x.com/laurel_libby▶ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurelLibbyMEHouseFollow Lead Maine:▶ X: www.x.com/lead_maine▶ Facebook: www.facebook.com/LeadMaineShow Resources:https://www.avodaheducation.org/https://www.avodaheducation.org/meet-the-teamhttps://www.facebook.com/p/Avodah-61574055812307/

  4. Sep 15

    How States Compete (And Why Maine Is Losing) | Episode 18 with Grover Norquist

    Eight states now have ZERO income tax. Thirteen more are on automatic paths to zero. That's 21 out of 50 states moving aggressively to lower taxes and attract business, talent, and families.Meanwhile, Maine has the 5th highest tax burden in the nation. If you earn under $100,000/year (the vast majority of Mainers), you pay the HIGHEST income tax rate in all of New England.This is not accidental. This is strategic policy, and it's reshaping which states win, and which lose.My guest, Grover Norquist is the president of Americans for Tax Reform and the creator of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a political tool that has transformed Republican politics since 1986. In this episode, he breaks down: Why 21 states are moving toward zero income tax (and what makes them competitive)North Carolina's bold move: cut income tax in HALF in 4 years (with $2B budget buffer)The Taxpayer Protection Pledge: why it works, how it's used politically, and why zero Democrats will sign itMaine's specific problem: high taxes + hostile business climate = brain drain and zero growthProperty tax caps (Prop 13 model, Arizona's approach)School choice as a spending-control tool (14 states)How businesses choose where to locate (spoiler: Maine isn't on their list anymore)What Maine can do right now: Use the initiative process to put tax/spending limits on the ballotAmericans for Tax Reform: atr.org

  5. Sep 8

    Proof the Lewiston Victims Fund Broke Its Promise | Bonus Episode with Amy Sussman

    Amy Sussman is back. Her nephew Max Hathaway was killed in the October 2023 Lewiston shooting, on the day he graduated high school. Two years ago she learned what donors were never told: of the $6.6 million raised for victims and survivors, $1.9 million went to 29 outside nonprofits instead, while victims and survivors split $4.7 million, an average of $29,000 a person. In this bonus episode, Amy brings the paper trail. An email from the fundraiser's own consultant and a letter on Maine Community Foundation letterhead, both promising 100% of donations to victims and survivors. She walks through what changed after that promise was made, what the Attorney General's office told her when she asked them to reopen the case, and what happened this week when she finally sat down with Governor Mills' staff after fourteen requests. This episode covers: The exact documents promising "100%" to victims, read on cameraHow $6.6 million broke down between victims and 29 nonprofitsWhy the Root Cellar returned its $65,000 and 28 others have notThe City of Lewiston's $810,000 into the fund, and the oversight question it raisesWhat Amy asked Governor Mills' office, and what she's asking Maine's Government Oversight Committee at their September 16th hearing If you gave to this fund, or you just believe Mainers deserve to know where their money went, this is your update. The high-stakes Government Oversight Committee hearing is September 16th. Amy is on the agenda this time. We'll let you know what happens. Subscribe for the full "Speak Up with Laurel Libby" series and every follow-up on this story. Sign up for updates at www.leadmaine.com

  6. Sep 1

    A Maine Entrepreneur, Farming Since AGE NINE

    Brayden Nadeau started following his grandfather around a Maine farm basically from birth, and farming it for real at nine years old. By sixteen he was running his own vegetable stand, farming 10 to 15 acres, raising 18 head of cattle, and turning a Facebook page into national attention from Rachael Ray and Lester Holt.On this episode of Speak Up, Laurel sits down with Brayden, his grandfather Dan, his mom, and his grandmother at the farm on Hatch Road in Auburn to trace how a nine-year-old's fascination with a seed turned into a business. Dan opens the episode talking about what has actually changed in Maine farming: shrinking land, rising costs, and a market that keeps getting harder to hold onto. Brayden picks up from there: the garage full of vegetables that became his first stand, the honor-system box that got broken into, and the $10,000 donation that came out of nowhere on live TV.This episode covers: How a nine-year-old talked local landowners into letting him farm their landThe break-in at his farm stand and how the community rallied around himThe Rachael Ray donation and how a local Facebook page turned into national newsWhat his grandmother had to navigate protecting a kid from sudden media attentionHis advice to any young person who thinks they are too young to start something Find Brayden's Vegetable Stand at 470 Hatch Road, Auburn, Maine, or on Facebook at Brayden's Vegetable Stand.Subscribe to Speak Up with Laurel Libby:▶ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@laurel_libby/videos▶ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75Y2G40k0gWwFH6cncgiuW▶ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-up-with-laurel-libby/id1870102672

  7. Aug 18

    Follow the Money | Episode 16 with OJ Oleka

    How fraud becomes your tax bill...What if the reason Augusta keeps asking you for more money is that no one stopped the money it already lost? Dr. OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, shows exactly how fraud takes root in a state budget, and what Maine could do about it.In this episode you'll hear: What treasurers and auditors actually do, and why an elected officer can stop a bad payment when an appointed bureaucrat has no reason toHow a routine $5,000 contract becomes fraud one small overage at a time, and returns as legislative "investments," the word politicians use when they want to raise your taxesWhat the January 2026 federal audit found in Maine's Medicaid autism-services program, and why post-payment review was the missing pieceThe two fixes Lead Maine is advancing for MaineCare: in-person inspections that happen in person, and holding payments in escrow when a provider is under suspicion of fraudWhy Oleka calls fraud a "feature of the system," and the stewardship-versus-entitlement divide underneath every budget fight About Dr. OJ Oleka: He has led the State Financial Officers Foundation since October 2024 and testified before the U.S. House Oversight Committee in April 2026. He previously served as assistant treasurer of Kentucky under Treasurer Allison Ball.Resources mentioned: State Financial Officers Foundation: https://sfof.comSFOF 2025 Oversight Report: https://sfof.com/fraud-oversight/HHS-OIG audit of Maine's autism-services Medicaid payments (Jan. 2026): https://oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2026/maine-made-at-least-456-million-in-improper-fee-for-service-medicaid-payments-for-rehabilitative-and-community-support-services-provided-to-children-diagnosed-with-autism/OJ Oleka testimony, U.S. House Oversight Committee (April 2026): https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Oleka-Written-Testimony.pdf

  8. Aug 4

    Transforming Education with Accountability and High Standards | Episode 15 with Mike Miles

    Mike Miles took over Houston ISD (170,000 students, the largest district in Texas) in June 2023. The district was broken: 121 D and F schools, 1,900 chronically absent teachers, zero focus on instruction quality, financial chaos, and worst of all, kids failing year after year.In just three years, HISD transformed. From 121 D and F schools to nearly 200 A and B rated schools13 of 20 state exams: above state average (previously zero)Reading and math proficiency gains three years in a rowTeacher salaries: highest in Texas ($83K-$101K)Chronic absenteeism: from 1,900 absent teachers to near zero How?? With systemic, wholesale reform: New curriculum + direct instructioNew evaluation + pay for performanceTeacher coaching + daily supportReal accountability + real consequencesSpeed: 85 schools completely overhauled in one summer Mike's message to Maine (and every state struggling with education): Kids are never at fault. Adults are the problem. Set high expectations. Move fast. Refuse excuses. Pay teachers well. Hold everyone accountable. The roadmap exists. The question is: are we willing?More about Mike Miles: Mike's book: "By Design: How to Transform School Systems" (Amazon)Paradigm Leaders Fellowship (training next-gen education leaders)Third Future Schools (charter-district partnership network)goodreasonhouston.org

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4.4
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

Speak Up with Laurel Libby is on a mission to give everyday folks the insight and confidence to speak up and make their voices heard, in Maine and beyond. Each episode breaks down the issues of the day… separating fact from fiction, translating policy into plain language, and connecting local challenges to the national conversation. Through interviews, deep dives, and practical guidance, Speak Up empowers everyday citizens to become educated, get engaged, and take action for a stronger, freer future.

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