AUGUSTA, Maine — When Rep. Gay Grant agreed to bring on two high school-age interns in January, the nagging thought in the back of her mind was “I must need to have my head examined.”
Grant, a Democrat from Gardiner, had just been appointed to the Appropriations Committee, which is easily the most grueling and time-consuming of all the Legislature’s policy committees. On top of that, it was clear from the start that the two interns, 17-year-old Avery Page of Hall-Dale High School and 18-year-old Adam Fortier-Brown of Gardiner Area High School, weren’t interested in just coasting through the experience. They wanted it to be real.
“I didn’t want them to just sit around on the bench behind the glass in the House,” said Grant. “I wanted them to come away with an in-depth perspective, the good, the bad and the ugly. … Today, both of them are better prepared and oriented to this process than almost any first-time legislator who comes through these doors.”
What no one could predict was the string of historic and high-stakes developments that unfolded this year under the dome, from an epic budget battle that at times looked as if it could lead to a government shutdown, to the unprecedented and prolonged fight between Gov. Paul LePage and the Legislature that culminated in, among other things, a dispute that has gone to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Despite busy schedules of their own, Page and Fortier-Brown came to the State House two and three days a week during lulls in their class schedules and after school with the shared goal of becoming participants, not just observers. Page gravitated toward policy debates in committees while Fortier-Brown found himself spending hours upon hours in the Appropriations Committee’s budget negotiations.
“Everything costs money,” said Fortier-Brown, who begins studies in economics and possibly political science this fall at the University of Maine. “You can follow the issues in the other committees, but then you always have to think, ‘How are you going to pay for it?’”
Page planned her days carefully, choosing public hearings and work sessions where she could be Grant’s “eyes and ears.” One of the bills she monitored was one that sought to require teenagers to obtain parental permission for abortions. Page said watching that debate provided a valuable lesson that has changed how she views the world around her.
“It was a very hot topic,” she said. “Some people were saying that if teens have to get their parent’s permission to get piercings and tattoos, isn’t it important for them to get permission for an abortion? Then on the other side, people were saying, isn’t it the teen’s choice? Doesn’t [parental consent] go against a woman’s right to make a choice? … I realized that even though I didn’t agree with someone on something, I have to admit that they did make a good point.”
Fortier-Brown agreed and acknowledged that he has achieved a world view that is rare for someone his age.
“There’s going to be a time when you’re going to find someone who is just as intelligent as you on the issues, and who disagrees with you. That’s a tough day,” he said. “If you’re an extremist on either side, left or right, you’re not looking at things through the correct lens. If you’re truly informed, there is no issue that truly can be black and white. Someone has to give somewhere.”
For Grant, the two interns quickly proved their worth by providing perspectives on issues that were not only youth-centered, but fresh and from outside the political bubble.
“I realized what an asset they were,” she said. “They kept me grounded and always reminded me of the preciousness of this institution. … The flaws are all in what we bring to it. The system itself is solid.”
Grant is working on a bill she hopes to present next year on behalf of a constituent whose granddaughter was murdered. Though it’s still under development, Grant’s original idea was to require schools to provide self-defense training to high school girls. She tasked Fortier-Brown with researching the issue among his peers, teachers and school administrators. One of the first things he learned was that boys wanted the training, too. So, he’s already changed the course of Grant’s legislation.
Page, who plans to study political science in college, said the internship changed her life.
“I feel more mature after this experience,” she said. “I feel like I’m going to be smarter about time management and about juggling school and a job and working an internship around all of that.”
Fortier-Brown said the fact that Grant took an interest in his opinions and trusted him to represent her in field research had a major impact.
“It made me feel like what I was doing here mattered,” he said. “I’m already trying to help write legislation. That’s irreplaceable at 18 years old.”
