Democracy requires politically neutral experts- Rep. Sam Zager speaks at Bowdoin College
Maine State Representative Samuel Zager highlights politically neutral pillars of democracy reported in the Bowdoin College Orient news by By Lily Wheadon
Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine: A democracy functions because it is built upon a foundation of trust regardless of political party—this is the message Maine State Representative Samuel Zager emphasized to Bowdoin students gathered in the Hubbard Pickering Room for his Tuesday evening discussion.
Representative "Sam" Zager opened the discussion by comparing the government’s functionality to that of the present-day American dollar: It only works as a currency because of the trust that citizens place in it.
“It’s not a raw material. It’s not human capital. It’s something that we simply agree we assign value to.… But it’s really just trust that keeps it all together. That’s why it has value,” Zager said. “Government is the same way, it works because people trust that it works.”
This trust, Zager argued, is maintained by adhering to an organized system in legislative settings.
“There are different parts of the process, and it is not perfect,” Zager said. “But the reason why it works is trust,… that there’s a system of rules, decorum, that there’s standards, that there’s laws, statutes that apply that keep things going.”
The discussion was organized by the Peucinian Society*
*About: Founded in 1805, the Peucinian Society is one of the nation’s foremost literary societies and the oldest student organization at Bowdoin College, hosting weekly disputations concerning statesmanship, culture, and political thought.
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| TRADITION OF TRUST: Maine State Representative Samuel Zager stands in Hubbard’s Pickering Room on Tuesday to share his insight on the role of neutrality in government. The discussion was organized by the Peucinian Society and encouraged student questions and participation. |
Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine: A democracy functions because it is built upon a foundation of trust regardless of political party—this is the message Maine State Representative Samuel Zager emphasized to Bowdoin students gathered in the Hubbard Pickering Room for his Tuesday evening discussion.
Representative "Sam" Zager opened the discussion by comparing the government’s functionality to that of the present-day American dollar: It only works as a currency because of the trust that citizens place in it.
“It’s not a raw material. It’s not human capital. It’s something that we simply agree we assign value to.… But it’s really just trust that keeps it all together. That’s why it has value,” Zager said. “Government is the same way, it works because people trust that it works.”
This trust, Zager argued, is maintained by adhering to an organized system in legislative settings.
“There are different parts of the process, and it is not perfect,” Zager said. “But the reason why it works is trust,… that there’s a system of rules, decorum, that there’s standards, that there’s laws, statutes that apply that keep things going.”
The discussion was organized by the Peucinian Society*
Peucinian officer Colby Drabik (Bowdoin 2027) helped organize this discussion and had previously connected with Zager through his involvement in Maine politics and debate, such as when Zager served as a judge at his high school debate competitions.
Drabik thought that it was important for students to hear more about Zager’s perspectives on trust and objectivity in government, and so he reached out to Zager over winter break.
Zager did not prepare a long lecture but instead brought in what he referred to as “audio postcards,” which were two- to five-minute voice recordings from some of his colleagues in the State House who hold unelected positions that are dependent on political neutrality to foster bipartisan trust.
The first postcard was a short interview in which Zager talked to Director of the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis (OPLA) Danielle Fox. OPLA assists the various subcommittees within the State House on the processing of the large number of bills submitted to the legislature for consideration. Although many Maine legislators work full-time jobs—Zager himself works as a physician outside of his legislative duties—OPLA members have full-time positions in the government, giving them more time to read the more than 2,000 bills per biennial session and understand them from an objective perspective.
“Our goal is to enable legislators to make informed decisions about the policy questions before them by providing objective analysis and information,” Fox’s audio message said. “Any opinion or notion we have about whether a bill is a good idea or a terrible one is irrelevant. We are committed to setting any personal feelings we may have aside on an issue so that those who are elected can be the deciders and can consider proposals based on objective information.”
Zager also shared a snippet of an audio recording of Clerk of the Maine House of Representatives Robert Hunt. Hunt’s role involves maintaining the operations of the House by informing legislators about general custom and legal precedents. The clerk is not meant to dissuade lawmakers from going against precedent, but rather to remind them of what these precedents are and that changing them will have noticeable impacts.
“As the keeper of those traditions, I remind people about the way we’ve done things throughout history,” Hunt’s audio message said. “Every time I give the presiding officer advice, my only advice to them is to be consistent and to be fair. If you’re inconsistent, the members have no idea what’s in bounds and what’s out of bounds.”
Finally, Zager broadcasted the words of Sergeant-at-Arms Bob Lindstrom. Lindstrom’s job is to guard the doors of the House floor to ensure that nobody leaves before casting their vote. Like Fox, Lindstrom emphasized the importance of putting his political opinions aside to do his job.
“When you look at the different issues that come up in [the House], I can see where people get quite passionate. I just don’t allow myself to do it,” Lindstrom said. “I have my own thoughts, but regardless of what people say, they’re all treated the same.”
Drabik explained why he thought Zager’s talk was timely.
“We are in an interesting period of democratic trust, and I thought [Zager] had a really interesting opinion on it,” Drabik said.
Specifically, Drabik wanted to showcase the perspective of a current legislator to students interested in government and politics.
“We sit in our classes and … learn about how [government] works, but it’s really interesting to hear the more integrated perspective of someone who has actually served in the legislature,” Drabik said.
Zager did not prepare a long lecture but instead brought in what he referred to as “audio postcards,” which were two- to five-minute voice recordings from some of his colleagues in the State House who hold unelected positions that are dependent on political neutrality to foster bipartisan trust.
The first postcard was a short interview in which Zager talked to Director of the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis (OPLA) Danielle Fox. OPLA assists the various subcommittees within the State House on the processing of the large number of bills submitted to the legislature for consideration. Although many Maine legislators work full-time jobs—Zager himself works as a physician outside of his legislative duties—OPLA members have full-time positions in the government, giving them more time to read the more than 2,000 bills per biennial session and understand them from an objective perspective.
“Our goal is to enable legislators to make informed decisions about the policy questions before them by providing objective analysis and information,” Fox’s audio message said. “Any opinion or notion we have about whether a bill is a good idea or a terrible one is irrelevant. We are committed to setting any personal feelings we may have aside on an issue so that those who are elected can be the deciders and can consider proposals based on objective information.”
Zager also shared a snippet of an audio recording of Clerk of the Maine House of Representatives Robert Hunt. Hunt’s role involves maintaining the operations of the House by informing legislators about general custom and legal precedents. The clerk is not meant to dissuade lawmakers from going against precedent, but rather to remind them of what these precedents are and that changing them will have noticeable impacts.
“As the keeper of those traditions, I remind people about the way we’ve done things throughout history,” Hunt’s audio message said. “Every time I give the presiding officer advice, my only advice to them is to be consistent and to be fair. If you’re inconsistent, the members have no idea what’s in bounds and what’s out of bounds.”
Finally, Zager broadcasted the words of Sergeant-at-Arms Bob Lindstrom. Lindstrom’s job is to guard the doors of the House floor to ensure that nobody leaves before casting their vote. Like Fox, Lindstrom emphasized the importance of putting his political opinions aside to do his job.
“When you look at the different issues that come up in [the House], I can see where people get quite passionate. I just don’t allow myself to do it,” Lindstrom said. “I have my own thoughts, but regardless of what people say, they’re all treated the same.”
Drabik explained why he thought Zager’s talk was timely.
“We are in an interesting period of democratic trust, and I thought [Zager] had a really interesting opinion on it,” Drabik said.
Specifically, Drabik wanted to showcase the perspective of a current legislator to students interested in government and politics.
“We sit in our classes and … learn about how [government] works, but it’s really interesting to hear the more integrated perspective of someone who has actually served in the legislature,” Drabik said.
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