Rep. Hickman Introduces Bill Establishing a Right to Food

Maine has New England’s highest rate of food insecurity

AUGUSTA – A bill to establish a constitutional amendment declaring that every individual has a natural and unalienable right to food will be heard before the Legislature this Thursday, April 30, 2105, before the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Rep. Craig Hickman of Winthrop has introduced LD 783, a resolution that would amend Maine’s Constitution to address the issues of food security and food self-sufficiency in Maine.

“Food is life,” said Hickman. “I believe that access to wholesome food is a right for every individual. When one in four children among us goes to bed hungry every night, we must do better. We cannot allow a single one of us to go hungry for a single day. Maine has all the natural resources and the hard-working, independent-spirited people to grow, catch, forage, process, prepare and distribute enough food to feed ourselves and strengthen our local economies. Let us stop importing more food per capita than any other state on the continent.”

Because the bill proposes to amend the Constitution, two thirds of the Legislature will need to approve the resolution and send it to the People for a vote in the next statewide election.

With more than 84,000 hungry children, Maine has New England’s highest rate of food insecurity, according to the USDA

“There is nothing more intimate than eating,” Hickman said. “People are demanding access to the kinds of food that they determine are best for their own health and the health of their families.

"Food is life. This resolution declares that all individuals have a right to the food of their own choosing and that they be personally responsible for the exercise of this right. I believe that the good people of Maine, if given a chance at the ballot box, will resoundingly agree.”

The bill was referred to the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, where it will receive a public hearing on Thursday, April 30, 2015, at 1:00 PM, Cross Office Building, Room 214. There will be a rally at noon in support of LD 783 and LD 991, an act to remove the trigger from Maine's GMO labeling law.

"I am honored that Mr. Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm in Virginia will appear and testify in favor of the right to food," said Hickman. "He has been an inspiration to me ever since I first saw him in the feature documentary Food Inc."

Hickman is an organic farmer and House chair of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee. He is serving his second term in the Maine House and represents Winthrop, Readfield and part of North Monmouth at the foot of Mt. Pisgah.

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Speaker Appoints Rep. Hickman to Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission

AUGUSTA – Rep. Craig Hickman of Winthrop has been appointed to the Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission by House Speaker Mark Eves.

“It is a great honor to have been appointed to this commission,” said Hickman. “I intend to work hard to ensure that Maine is well represented in trade agreements that affect our state.”

Hickman, an organic farmer and House chair of the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, has concerns about how fast-track trade agreements will affect Maine farms and rural livelihoods, as voiced in a recent op-ed coauthored with former Rep. Sharon Anglin Treat. They noted that a commission report highlighted key concerns about the impact of free trade agreements on Maine agriculture, including how the Trans-Pacific Partnership could affect dairy stabilization efforts and the proposed elimination of local food procurement preferences in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

The commission was created in 2004 to give Mainers a stronger voice in federally negotiated international trade agreements and to monitor how those agreements affect state and local laws, working conditions and the local economy.

Hickman is serving his second term in the Maine House and represents Winthrop, Readfield, and part of North Monmouth at the foot of Mt. Pisgah.

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AUDIO: Remarks of Representative Craig V. Hickman on the Joint Resolution Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the March from Selma to Montgomery

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led marchers across the Alabama River on the first of a five-day, 50-mile march up Route 80 from Selma to the state Capitol at Montgomery, Alabama, on March 21, 1965. (Associated Press file photo)

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses the crowd March 29, 1965, at the concluding event of the Capitol march. A huge crowd massed in front of the state building for the demonstration. (The Birmingham News file photo)

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. looking over his shoulder in the Capitol Rotunda, Washington, DC, July 2, 1964. (White House Press Office photo)

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with other Civil Rights Leaders, in the Capitol Rotunda, Washington, DC, August 6, 1965. (US National Archives photo.)

Floor Speech (Click Play Below to Listen): Remarks of Representative Craig Von Hickman of Winthrop, Maine, on the Joint Resolution Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the March from Selma to Montgomery – Maine House of Representatives, March 25, 2015 (AUDIO COURTESY OF MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING NETWORK. PLEASE DO NOT BROADCAST, PUBLISH, OR SHARE WITHOUT CREDIT.)

More about the Selma to Montgomery March

Maine State Forester Sharply Questioned On Public Lands Report

From the March Maine Forest Products Council Newsletter:

About halfway through the Bureau of Public Lands’ annual report, Rep. Craig Hickman leaned into his microphone and, as one onlooker put it later, “tipped over a beehive.”

"The ACF Committee room was unusually crowded March 10, perhaps because of the controversy last session over Gov. LePage’s unsuccessful proposal to expand harvesting on public lands to fund heating efficiency programs. But LePage has not given up on his plan, saying he’ll withhold $11.4 million in bonds for the Land for Maine’s Future program until timber harvesting on state-owned lands is increased to aid efficiency programs. The governor’s budget also would move public lands to the Maine Forest Service (MFS), which also is raising concerns.

"The March 9th meeting started quietly. For the first hour, Doug Denico, MFS director, simply went through the BPL report, page by page. He’d reached Page 24, when Hickman, D-Winthrop, who is House chair said, “Mr. Denico, I just have a question. I was looking forward to asking the acting director of Public Lands the question that I asked at the public hearing, but he is not here today. Is he still employed?” (Read more)

Floor Speech: Honoring a Hero

Senator Earle McCormick and Representative Craig Hickman present a sentiment to Sharon Wise of Winthrop

REMARKS OF REPRESENTATIVE CRAIG HICKMAN ON THE SENTIMENT TO HONOR THE HEROISM OF SHARON WISE OF WINTHROP – MARCH 17, 2015

Mr. Speaker, women and men of the House, I rise to honor the heroism of Ms. Sharon Wise of Winthrop, who, back in December, was ready to fight to keep a young girl from being abducted, but first, I would like to read from the Posting Guidance for Federal Agencies as presented by the U.S. General Services Administration Missing Child Notice Program. And I quote:

• At the beginning of each month, all notices from the previous month should be removed and replaced with new notices. It is important that new notices are not added to existing notices. Listing more than ten at a time reduces the impact of the program.

• When selecting a site within your building to display notices, choose wisely. Ensure that notices are posted in public areas and offer maximum exposure to the public.

• Missing child notices present a powerful and emotional message, therefore, keep all hardcopy displays tasteful and modest in size out of respect for employees who may see the pictures repeatedly.

End quote.

The compassion on display in this guidance underscores an alarming statistic:

Every 40 seconds in the United States, a child goes missing or is abducted. Every 40 seconds.

And so, yes, missing child notices present a powerful and emotional message. I’m sure we’ve all seen them. Children’s faces plastered on the walls of the post office or the grocery store.

Every 40 seconds.

According to the most recent published statistics here in Maine, since 1971, seven children reported missing have not been found. Their families have no closure. There is a grief that knows no outlet. Can you imagine the emotional turmoil of mother who goes every single day to the last place her son was seen hoping to find him right there calling out for her? Can you imagine the desperation of a father, who, every time he hears the wind blow open the gate to the back yard, runs to a window hoping to see his daughter walking up to the back door. Can you imagine?

Later today or tomorrow or the next, I say go hug your children or grandchildren, your young nieces and nephews and godchildren. Embrace them as often as you can. Let them know that they are special little angels and that you love them from the bottom of your heart. For in the blink of an eye, any one of them could go missing. We wouldn’t wish that heart-shattering tragedy on any parent or grandparent or uncle or aunt. And so when you hold your children close and tell them how special they are, think of those whose vigilance, responsiveness and bravery have kept families whole. 

And so, Mr. Speaker, women and men of the House, I rise also to say this:

Let us honor Ms. Sharon Wise of Winthrop, who, as far as our research could take us, prevented the first abduction of a child by a stranger in the State of Maine. 

I’m going to say it again:

Because of the vigilance, responsiveness and bravery of Ms. Sharon Wise of Winthrop, the first abduction of a child by a stranger in the State of Maine was stopped, while it was happening. The man could have drawn a weapon on her as she pulled the child back from his grip, and even if that crossed her mind, she was undeterred and kept a 2-year-old girl from being taken from her grandmother in plain daylight. And she did it all on a bad knee.

Talk about going above and beyond.

“Generations,” wrote James Baldwin, “do not cease to be born and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have.”

Today, we thank Ms. Wise for bearing witness. Today, we honor her for her heroism. Today, we are most grateful to Sharon Wise for her brave act of love. Her example is a blessing. Her example is an inspiration.

May we all be so vigilant, so responsive, and so brave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I Ask For Your Vote

With my friend Senator Patrick Flood at Swearing-In Ceremonies, December 5, 2012.

Dear Neighbor,

My name is Craig Hickman. If you live in Readfield or Winthrop, I am your Representative to the Legislature. If you live in the part of North Monmouth, because of redistricting, you will become part of the district I currently represent in the Maine House of Representatives. If we haven’t yet had a chance to meet in person, I’m the hard-working, organic-farming, small-business-owning poet, author, and chef with a Harvard degree in government that you elected two years ago.

I ask for your vote for re-election on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. It would be my great pleasure to serve another term as your State Representative in the 127th Legislature.

I will remain forever grateful to be part of this awesome community; I won’t ever turn my back on you. Currently, I serve as Chair of the Winthrop Area Rotary Foundation, Director of the Winthrop Community Gardens & Fresh Food Bank at Annabessacook Farm, and Secretary of the Winthrop Hot Meal Kitchen. I also serve on the boards of the Annabessacook Lake Improvement Association, Theater at Monmouth, and the Western Kennebec Economic Development Alliance. I enjoy memberships in the Sons of the American Legion, Kennebec Land Trust, Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Readfield and Winthrop Historical Societies, the Winthrop Area Federal Credit Union, Maine Farm Bureau, Maine Farmland Trust, and Maine Tourism Association.

Preparing the smoker for the Winthrop Rotary Family Barbecue & Gumbo Festival to End Hunger, August 16, 2014. (Photo from KJ)

It has been the highest honor of my life to represent you in the 126th Legislature. What an unbelievably rewarding and humbling experience. To this day, I have moments when I have to ask my family if this is real. It was always my father’s dream that I become a public servant, and while I wish he were here to see me living (and loving) his dream, I believe he’s smiling down from heaven. I can almost hear his oft-repeated caveat right now: “Don’t get so comfortable with what you think you know that you fix your mind to stop learning, young man.”

I have learned that there’s more to a piece of legislation than the title; that the devil is in the details; and that lawmakers don’t always read every word of the laws we take roll-call votes on.

I have learned that too many political reporters don’t read the laws they report on; that they consistently frame every issue through the lens of partisanship; and that too much of what they write may include the facts but is nowhere near the entire truth.

I have learned that industry and special interest lobbyists have more access to the administration than lawmakers; that far too many deals on so many vital matters are made behind closed doors.

I have learned that mendacity can rule the day under the dome in Augusta; that too many people will lie to your face, repeatedly; and that bravery is a rarity in the legislative process.

Students from Maranacook Student Health Center at the State House for the suicide prevention bill.

Even still, there are times when we do the right thing, when pragmatic policy prevails over partisan politics, when the people of this great State are served well. Both the House and the Senate voted unanimously to pass a teen suicide prevention bill. We strengthened privacy rights by requiring a warrant before anyone can monitor your cell phone, becoming the first state in the nation to do so. We heard you loud and clear and voted overwhelmingly to require GMO labeling on most packaged food sold in Maine. We passed a responsible bipartisan budget that respected our civil servants, increased investments in education, and prevented a State shutdown. It would have been a profound failure of governance—the height of irresponsibility—if the Legislature had allowed that to happen.

For my part, most of the ten bills I presented were about creating a more robust food economy and protecting the long-term viability of small farms and homesteads. Four of them became public law: An Act To Expand Wild Turkey Hunting; An Act To Amend the Medical Marijuana Act at the request of two licensed caregivers in Readfield and Winthrop; An Act To Encourage Edible Landscaping in a Portion of Capitol Park; and a Resolve, To Establish a Veteran-to-Farmer Training Pilot Program.

I am proud that my resolve, under the outstanding leadership of Stephanie Gilbert of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry and Tori Lee Jackson of University of Maine Cooperative Extension, brought together representatives from six governmental and three nongovernmental agencies to craft an education and training program out of existing resources for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans interested in agricultural careers.

With the O'Keefe Family at the Freedom Salute for 133rd Engineer Battalion and 1025th Survey and Design Team, August 17, 2014.

I am proud of my work with Senator Thomas Saviello and Senator Patrick Flood on a bill that helped save a family farm and small business in Readfield. In a letter to me, Jon Olson, Executive Secretary of the Maine Farm Bureau Association, wrote:

“I strongly feel one of the reasons LD696—An Act To Include Raising Equines in the Definition of Agriculture for the Purpose of the Maine Workers’ Compensation Act of 1992—passed was because of your involvement. Not only did you testify at the public hearing, you also participated at the work session. From my experience being involved in the legislative process, it’s unusual for a cosponsor of a bill to do both. … LD696 was one of the most significant agricultural bills passed this session…. [It] will positively benefit all horse farms that provide boarding services as part of their operations. I know on the [Readfield] farm the cost of having to purchase Workers’ Compensation Insurance would have forced them to close. There are dozens of horse farms in Maine that would have been placed in the same financial straits. Your action is appreciated by all these farmers.”

Finally, I am proud that my bill, An Act To Increase Consumption of Maine Foods in All State Institutions, overcame the difficult threshold of a two-thirds supermajority vote of both Chambers. The legislation was held over and vetoed at the opening of the Second Regular Session this past January. So I went to work to keep this rural economic development bill—this job-creating bill—alive. The House overrode the veto with the exact number of votes required. “Freshmen don’t override vetoes in either chamber, Hickman,” said a veteran newscaster. The Senate, however, sustained the veto by a two-vote margin. If we are going to incentivize state government to invest more of our own money in Maine’s farms and fisheries in order for Maine to become more food self-sufficient, a State policy my bill would help to implement, then we will have to try once more. And so it’s time to step up again.

Harvesting Garlic Scapes at Annabessacook Farm, July 9, 2014. (Photo from PPH)

I ask for your vote because we have more work to do. I have sown some seeds. A few of our ideas have taken root. I would love to see them bear fruit.

I take great pride in earning the respect of legislators from across the political spectrum in both the House and the Senate; in listening to every point of view and reading every word of all the bills and amendments before I vote on them; in voting my conscience even when it goes against my party. I take great pride in admitting when I make a mistake or drop the ball; in answering every phone message (377-FARM) and email (craighickman@rocketmail.com) and letter that I receive. Yes, legislators represent the people of our districts, but at the end of the day, our votes affect the people of the entire State. And so if someone from Madawaska or Kittery or anywhere in between takes the time to reach out to me, I will respond and do my best to help. The people deserve nothing less.

We are at a crossroads. If you believe we need to elect a Representative who listens, who thinks critically, independently, and values personal liberty; a Representative who asks the hard questions and honors the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; a Representative who isn’t afraid to stand up for what he believes and will never be for sale, then I believe this Representative is the best choice for these tough times.

The Oath of Office, December 5, 2012.

I ask for your vote. On Tuesday, November 4, 2014, please go to the polls and vote Hickman back in the House. It has been the highest honor of my life to represent you. I will continue to work hard for you every single day. I humbly ask for more time in Augusta to help craft creative, pragmatic policies that will rebuild this beautiful state and grow Maine’s economy from the ground up.

Thank you. Take care of your blessings.



Craig V. Hickman
Winthrop

It's Time To Jumpstart Maine