BRUNSWICK

With the June primary just around the corner, it’s coming down to the final weeks for members of the Democratic Party to choose a standard bearer in the race for governor this fall.

To help with that decision, the Democratic committees of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell hosted a forum this week for the seven Democratic gubernatorial candidates at Brunswick High School.

Taking the stage Wednesday night were former Portland Rep. Diane Russell, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, businessman Adam Cote, former speaker of the Maine House Mark Eves, former Biddeford mayor Donna Dion, longtime activist Betsy Sweet and Portland Sen. Mark Dion. The forum was moderated by Jim Henderson of Harpswell.

The questions covered a slew of hot button issues being discussed on the campaign trail, from health care to opioids to the relationship between the Wabanaki Indian tribe and the state of Maine.

“More than anything, it is time to right the relationship with our tribal nations (and) respect their sovereignty,” said Eves.

Eves noted with regret that the tribes had withdrawn their representatives from the Legislature a few years back, when their relationship reached a new low.

“That was a very sad day in the Legislature,” said Eves. “That was a combination of the governor attacking them and not respecting their sovereignty.”

“It was interesting to me that they all gave as much time as they did to the tribes,” said Lani Graham of Freeport after the forum. “I thought that was a very positive thing and a little unexpected.”

The only real confrontation of the night was a misfire from Mark Dion, who questioned Cote about his comments on unemployment. While Cote had spoken about how the next governor needs to help Maine’s unemployed find jobs, Mark Dion wanted to push beyond the unemployment statistic, which he said underrepresented the real problem.

“I’m more concerned about the folks who don’t show up in that statistic,” said Mark Dion. “Every day I go by the Preble Street Resource Center in Portland and there are 200-300 people lined up there to eat. Our understanding of able bodied is limited.

“We can all have our staff write white papers,” he added. “But what would you do as governor to answer the call for employment from those who have been pushed out, who are no longer counted and don’t have the skills to enter our high tech 21st-century economy?”

“That’s just a rhetorical question, as they all will be,” interceded moderator Henderson to chuckles from the audience.

As it became clear that the forum’s format would not give Cote a chance to respond until later in the program, the Portland senator withdrew his question.

“I’ll excuse your responsibility for answering it,” said Mark Dion, smiling. “But if you’ve got the guts you will.”

Cote later noted that Dion had essentially answered his own question and added that unemployment was one of the biggest questions facing the next governor.

Brunswick Town Committee Chairwoman Trich Riley said she was pleased with the evening’s attendance.

“We had about 500 people here and they stayed riveted for an hour and a half,” Riley said. “I think it was a great opportunity to hear from terrific candidates. It’s a tough choice to make in June.”

A few audio issues made following the candidates and the moderator difficult at times.

“The audio (and) visual stank,” said Aileen Freeman of Brunswick bluntly, a sentiment shared by more than one person exiting the auditorium after the forum concluded.

“But the candidates were great,” she added. “I really enjoyed everything that they had to say.”

Attacks and confrontations between candidates were discouraged by the format, which didn’t allow for immediate rebuttals. Instead, candidates largely chose to present their own views without taking others to task for their answers.

“I thought this was a very useful exchange,” said Sherrie Bergman of Brunswick. “What struck me was how respectful the candidates were of each other, and for that alone it was worth coming to. It was so refreshing to hear that.”

But the big question of the night was whether it helped voters decide how they would rank candidates come June 12.

“I think I have a clearer idea of who I’m going to vote for, and I’m going to do some more research, but this was a very good start for me,” said Freeman.

For others, however, the decision remained as difficult as ever.

“I’m not any clearer in the end about (who to vote for). I had some favorites, and I guess things didn’t change,” said Tom Brudzinski of Orr’s Island. “But it was really good to have the forum and to hear them. They really covered the (issues) that I was interested in.”

nstrout@timesrecord.com