The Ellsworth American - Two of Maine’s Super Delegates Are Ineligible

Two of Maine’s Super Delegates Are Ineligible

Written by Tom Walsh

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Former Sen. Mitchell and Former Gov. Curtis Live and Vote in N.Y., Florida
ELLSWORTH — Two of the eight prominent Democrats appointed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to represent Maine as super delegates at the Democratic National Convention aren’t eligible to do so under the DNC’s own residency requirements.

At a Glance

What Is a Super Delegate?

In response to Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter winning his party’s presidential nomination in 1976, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) created so-called “super delegates” in 1982 to restore some of the power over the nomination process to party insiders. According to the DNC, unpledged delegates are “a diverse group of individuals, including grassroots activists, county party chairs, local elected officials and others.” Free to vote for any candidate, their role at the national convention is, the DNC says, “to exercise their best judgment in the interests of the nation and the Democratic Party.” The 796 unpledged delegates represent about 20 percent of the 4,049 delegates expected to participate in the August national convention.

Source: Democratic National Committee

Neither former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell nor former Maine Governor Kenneth Curtis is a legal resident of Maine, as required by DNC rules stipulating that super delegates must “legally reside in their respective state.”

The DNC defines legal residency through voter registration. Neither Mitchell nor Curtis is registered to vote in Maine.

Voter registration records for the Manhattan borough of the city of New York show Mitchell registered to vote there as a Democrat on April 22, 2004.

Voter registration records in Sarasota County show Curtis registered to vote in Florida as a Democrat on Feb. 7, 2005.

John Knutson of Brooklin, who also is a Maine super delegate as chairman of the Maine Democratic Party, said the residency requirement as it affects Mitchell and Curtis has never been discussed at the state party level (see related story).

Mitchell owns a summer residence in the Mount Desert village of Seal Harbor, but is a legal resident of New York, where he works as an attorney and lives in an apartment on Manhattan’s upper west side.

Curtis is a year-round resident of Florida and no longer owns property in Maine. He has retained affiliation with his Portland-based law firm, Curtis Thaxter.

Under the DNC’s residency requirements, Mitchell could be a member of the New York delegation and Curtis a member of the Florida delegation, but not Maine’s delegation.

The convention that will formally anoint the Democratic Party’s 2008 presidential candidate will be held in Denver in late August.

Mitchell and Curtis are eligible to serve as “distinguished party leaders” delegates to the Democratic National Convention by virtue of their political pedigrees. Mitchell is eligible as a former Senate majority leader, while Curtis is eligible as a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

George J. Mitchell

“I’m a registered voter in Florida,” Curtis told The Ellsworth American in a telephone interview, adding that he’s lived year-round in Sarasota for more than two years. “I gave up on winters in Maine.

“It really doesn’t matter what state I’m from,” he said. “I am a delegate because of my term as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. I could just as well attend the convention with the Florida delegation, and, at this point, I’m not 100 percent sure that I will go. I’ll go only if my vote is meaningful.”

Originally from Leeds, Curtis was Maine’s governor from 1967 to 1974. Now 77, he served as chairman of the DNC in 1977 and 1978. After serving as the U.S. ambassador to Canada between 1979 and 1981, he was president of the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine from 1986 to 1994.

Kenneth Curtis

Now 74, Mitchell was born in Waterville and was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1980 by Maine Governor Joseph Brennan after Edmund Muskie resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State. He was elected to full, six-year terms in 1982 and 1988 and opted not to seek re-election in 1994. He served as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. He also turned down President Bill Clinton’s offer in 1994 of a Supreme Court appointment. He is now affiliated with a New York-based law firm.

Mitchell is credited with brokering a peace agreement between political combatants in Northern Ireland and, more recently, headed up Major League Baseball’s investigation into steroid abuse by players.

Mitchell owns a home at 12 Hills Road in Seal Harbor. Last year that home and the land surrounding it were valued at $3,035,300, generating a property tax bill of $16,238. At his request, that tax bill was mailed to his New York residence, an apartment just off Central Park at 1965 Broadway Ave.

After multiple requests, Mitchell on Tuesday declined to be interviewed for this report.

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