Mellow (Mostly) in Maine.

• Author: Quinn, Francis

A tie in the Maine Senate has led to an unexpected conflict between representatives and senators rather than Democrats vs. Republicans.

Most mornings before the Maine Senate goes into session, lawmakers from both parties gather in the president's office just off the chamber, cozying up on the leather couch, reclining in guest chairs pulled up in front of the fireplace or perching around the presiding officer's desk.

Ordinarily, the gathering includes the Democratic and Republican floor leaders, their deputies and chairmen of committees who were originally chosen in alternating fashion, one Democrat for one Republican.

Conversation flows easily, frequently punctuated by laughter.

Ah, bipartisanship. Whoever thought it could be a path to paralysis?

Long extolled by editorial writers and others, a working attitude of cooperation between those of rival political affiliations has usually proved highly elusive in Augusta.

After all, elections routinely pit Democrats against Republicans for solid reasons, not the least of which is a mutual effort by both parties to seize power based on majority control every two years.

So the Senate found itself in uncharted territory after last November's voting determined that the 35-member chamber would have no standing majority. Instead, the Senate would be sworn in with 17 Democrats, 17 Republicans and a single independent member.

"I think we just share power and work it out," said Republican Senator Richard Bennett who was chosen to head the GOP caucus and will serve as president next year.

Voters asked for "conciliation, not confrontation," Bennett said.

Bennett's Democratic counterpart, Senator Michael Michaud who is in the president's role this year, indicated that Maine lawmakers would draw on lessons learned elsewhere.

"We have been looking at other states, seeing what's going on," he said.

Six years earlier, initial election results appeared to produce a similar Senate split. That time, the potential deadlock was avoided when a recount reversal gave a majority to the GOP.

This time around, two recounts sustained the overall tie.

An experiment in power-sharing was under way.

DEADLOCK'S IMPACT

It turned out the deadlock would have a major impact not only on the Senate , but also on the House of Representatives.

In that 151-member chamber, November voting produced an 89-61-1 edge for the Democrats, extending the party's hold on the House that effectively dates to the elections of 1974.

One aspect of Maine's legislative system linked organizational developments in the two chambers right away. The 17 standing committees are joint House-Senate panels, each comprising 10 representatives from the House and three members of the Senate.

By virtue of their strong House majority, Democrats claimed all of the 17 co-chairmanships to which the House was entitled and were positioned to seat controlling numbers on all of the joint committees.

That meant Senate appointments to the panels were of minimal importance in the overall balance between Democrats and Republicans.

The Democratic dominance in the House also set the stage for development of a markedly different political dynamic in the two chambers that ultimately found expression in a bitter division between bipartisan majorities at opposite...