MCCE and League of Women Voters of Maine Hire Anna Kellar as Joint Executive Director

Portland - Maine Citizens for Clean Elections and the League of Women Voters of Maine are pleased to announce the hire of Anna Kellar as the first joint Executive Director of their Democracy Partnership. Kellar will lead the work of bringing together the strengths of these two organizations behind efforts to empower Mainers of all backgrounds to discover shared values while pursuing concrete solutions to some of the deepest challenges facing our state and nation.

Kellar brings a strong record of advocacy for political equality and civic participation. A Maine native, Kellar earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Yale University and a Masters degree in conflict studies from the London School of Economics. In her most recent role as Program Director of MCCE, she led a powerful grassroots effort that secured funding for Clean Elections in the legislature and defeated all attempts to undermine the law. She ran for the state legislature as a Clean Elections candidate in 2016.

The appointment of a shared Executive Director allows MCCE and LWVME to carry out a substantial portfolio of joint work under the collaborative direction of both organizations. LWVME has a long tradition of volunteer leadership and activism, established through its nationally federated organization and flourishing in Maine for almost a century. For twenty years, MCCE has spearheaded the fight for Clean Elections and campaign finance integrity here in Maine, leading two successful statewide citizen initiative campaigns to establish and enhance the first-in-the-nation system of public funding for state elections. The two organizations have been close collaborators since MCCE's inception almost twenty years ago.

Like its founding partners, this new partnership retains a strong commitment to nonpartisan engagement and to achieving the full potential of democratic self-government enshrined in our nation's founding principles, yet to be fully realized.

"This is an historic moment for on-going efforts to make democracy work in Maine," said LWVME Board President Jill Ward. "Working with MCCE through this innovative partnership will strengthen our collective ability to provide an ever more effective response to the challenges that confront our system of self-government."

"We are excited to have Anna's energy, experience and vision at the helm of our collaboration," said MCCE Board President Gary Friedmann.