AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) – There might be a new flag waving around Maine in the future. This morning in Augusta, a new design was unveiled that Mainers will vote on in November.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows along with other state politicians worked through over 400 designs that were submitted from more than 40 states and even internationally.
It was a design from Adam Lemire of Gardiner that stuck out to Bellows and the team.
“It was really important to me that this was a design that spoke to members of my team, to historians, that spoke to Republicans and Democrats alike, and it was not lost on me that Senator Nangle and Senator Bennett both enthusiastically endorsed this particular design of the finalists, and I think that unity in this process is really important,” said Bellows.
This design does not immediately become Maine’s new flag.
In November, Maine voters will decide if they wish to keep the current flag, which was put forward in 1909, or replace it with Lemire’s design, a modern take on the 1901 flag.
Lemire didn’t really pay much attention to the politics of it. He was just interested in the contest.
“I thought that this was just a great opportunity that the state opened up to people here and apparently across the world, submissions came in,” answered Lamire. “So, I love flag design, but no, I didn’t follow the politics background.”
There were certain requirements for the flag, but Lemire was able to put his own spin on it. One of these included 16 branches on the pine tree to represent the 16 counties in the state.
He did this while keeping true to the symbols that Mainers know so well.
“The symbols that represent our state, whether it is 1901 in it’s modern incarnation or 1909, are important because they unify us as Mainers. They remind us of our heritage, of the things we treasure, the Eastern White Pine, the North Star in the Maine sky, and so, from my perspective, I wanted to create a very inclusive process,” concluded Bellows.
An actual image comparison of the two flags won’t be on the ballot, but it will be included in Maine Voter Guides.
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Publish date : 2024-08-05 14:14:00
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