Page 10
THE QUODDY TIDES
26 January, 2018
NEW FORK CITY MAYOR Bill de Blasio takes a question from the audience during his talk, "The State of Democracy in America,"
held at the Eastport Arts Center on January 13. (Robin Farrin photo)
NYC MAYOR TALKS ABOUT DEMOCRACY (from page 1)
Earlier in the day, themayor related, he 2017 march and stressed it is essential for
experienced community in action on East- people to have a mission and a chance to
port's streets when his friend's car got engage. "Protecting democracy begins
stuck in the mud. "Immediately people with appreciating your ability to make an
came to help. This is community. People impact," he said. "We have to appreciate
are there for you, and you are there for our power."
them," de Blasio said. Grassroots movements, by "moving is-
In New York City, de Blasio has wit- sues forward and making them relevant,"
nessed the power of communities and no- capture the government's attention, de
rices people being highly engaged. He Blasio explained. He credits a poster at his
comes away from 50 town hall meetings son's university for raising his awareness
optimistic, about divestiture, ultimately leading to
He is impressed by people's passion, New York City's decision to divest of $5
understanding of problems and well- billion from 190 fossil fuel corporations
thought-out solutions. "This much energy and sue five major oil companies for
means democracy is working," de Blasio knowingly damaging the environment.
said. The mayor is confident about the Unit-
The second indicator that convinces de ed States' future and believes change can
Blasio democracy is working is nation- happen relatively quickly. He urged per-
wide grassroots activism. The Women's pie who do not agree with policies cur-
March and similar events demomstrate a rently being implemented not to get
level of activism and rapid mobilization depressed, discouraged and tired. Rather,
not evident when democracy is in peril, they should draw inspiration from the
He congratulated Eastporters for their marriage equality act - considered "im-
possible" a decade ago and now the "law
of the land" - and the election of a Demo-
cratic senator from Alabama. At the per-
sonal level, de Blasio is encouraged by his
children and their generation's "energy,
passion and direction."
The disempowering "culture of fear"
being fostered in the country does con-
cern de Blasio. "When people become too
fearful, that is when democracy is dying,"
he explained.
He also cautioned against the "politics
of personality," reasserting his call to ac-
tivism. "The people are eternal. Even the
best president only gets eight years. No
matter who is president, we all have to be
activists."
Looking to the future
As for his own ambitions for 2020, de
Blasio said his current focus is his respon-
sibility as newly reelected mayor. His
sense of future mission is to foster the
progressive movement and forward a pop-
ulous progressive agenda.
It is de Blasio's impression that the
United States is a progressive nation wait-
ing to happen. "The country is poised to
enter a progressive era," de Blasio
claimed.
He faults the existing Democratic lead-
ership for falling to stand for progressive
change. "If you can't tell the difference
between a Republican and a Democrat, it
is the Democrats' fault," de Blasio
quipped.
The country's path forward de Blasio
likened to his aunt Jean's journey to settle
in Eastport. She stopped at towns all along
the coast - finding each of them Channing
- but she knew, without ever having been
there, something better was up ahead. "Al-
though we are going somewhere we have
not yet experienced, we know it will be
better," the mayor promised.
ORPC expanding
executive team as
it prepares to grow
Ocean Renewable Power Company
(ORPC) Inc. has expanded its executive
team to help manage company growth and
capitalize on new opportunities in the glo-
bal underwater power system market.
Effective January 1, Cian Mamagh and
Nathan Johnson were promoted and
named to ORPC's management team.
Mamagh is now vice president of engi-
neering and program management. Mar-
nagh has been instrumental in advancing
ORPC's proprietary marine renewable en-
ergy technology. Johnson was named vice
president of development. He has played
a significant role in ORPC's highly re-
garded stakeholder outreach efforts.
They join existing management team
members Abbey Manders, recently pro-
moted to vice president and chief finan-
cial officer; Jarlath McEntee, recently
promoted to senior vice president and
chief technology officer; President and
COO John Ferland; and co-founder,
Chairman and CEO Chris Saner.
In making the announcement to inves-
tors, major partners and staff, Sauer not-
ed, "To accomplish our ambitious goals
and tackle new opportunities in 2018 and
beyond, we are expanding our executive
team to achieve a higher level of manage-
ment excellence. We are truly fortunate to
have such seasoned, skilled and dedicated
professionals to help us manage our
growth effectively."
Currently, ORPC is executing projects
in Maine, Alaska, Canada and Ireland to-
taling over $16 million. The company is
actively pursuing new opportunities that
will provide environmentally sustainable
electricity for remote communities in high
cost power markets, notably in northern
Quebec, where energy powered by diesel
costs more than 12 times that from the
Quebec grid.
Underscoring ORPC's management
growth, Ryan Tyler has been promoted to
senior project engineer, and Sean Ander-
ton has been named director of informa-
tion technology and field services. ORPC
is currently in the process of hiring for
two new engineering positions to further
bolster the company's industry leading
team.
When these positions are filled, ORPC
will have 26 employees working in three
countries on two continents. In addition to
company headquarters in Portland, an op-
erations center in Eastport, and a project
office in Anchorage, Alaska, wholly-
owned subsidiaries of ORPC are located
in Montreal and Dublin. ORPC is the only
company to have built, operated and de-
livered power to a utility grid from a hy-
drokinetic tidal project, which occurred in
Maine. For more information, visit
.
SHARING A LAUGH with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at the Eastport Arts
Center are his aunt, Jean Wilhelm of Eastport (left), and Marged Higginson. (Robin
Farrin photo)
89 Water Street 853-0099
Carrying a Full Line
of Pet Supplies
Dogs Cats Birds
Small Animals
Self-wash Tub Open Year Round
Meeting the needs of all
of the companion animals of Eastport
Hometown Proud
88 Washington St Eastport ME 04631 853-4050
Bakery and Deli Quality Meats Fresh Produce
Agency Liquor Store Megabucks
THE IGA FOODLINER
IS ALWAYS EXPANDING
VARIETIES IN ALL DEPARTMENTS.
STORE HOURS:
Open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Seven days a week
