The Midcoast Forecaster headline on May 16, 2012 reads: Cornell du Houx, Herbig resolve personal dispute out of court Read the full article that was posted at 3:10 below: article:

BRUNSWICK — Two state lawmakers-turned-lovers, Reps. Alex Cornell du Houx and Erin Herbig, have reached a private agreement to settle their legal differences.

Both legislators declined to discuss the details of the pact, which was reached late on May 11.

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This story appeared on Dirgo Blue:

Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx (D-Brunswick) sent the following statement regarding the agreement he signed along with Rep. Erin Herbig (D-Belfast). Herbig had sought a temporary restraining order on Cornell du Houx after the two ended their relationship.

“We are satisfied with the agreement reached. The temporary order will be withdrawn on Monday. I have the highest respect for Rep. Herbig.

“Last week I informed leadership that I will be taking an excused absence for the next few days. It is highly unlikely that there will be any tiebreaker votes and I wanted to calm the situation so everyone can focus on working for the people of Maine.

“I’ve dedicated myself to the people of Brunswick as a lawmaker and to my country as an officer in the Navy. I am looking forward to continuing to serve in the legislature and running for office.”

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The following is News Chanel 13′s report on Rep. Herbig and Rep. Cornell du Houx on May 10,2012
The mother of Representative Cornell Du Houx is defending her son after allegations he was stalking a former girlfriend and fellow lawmaker. Representative Erin Herbig filed a temporary restraining order against Representative Du Houx, claiming he’s been stalking her since their relation ship ended this year. His mother spoke to us at News 13 and says he has received a clean bill of health from a mental health doctor and is defending her son.

Go to: http://www.wgme.com/news/top-stories/stories/wgme_vid_11817.shtml

UPDATE:
This story appeared two days later on Dirgo Blue:

Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx (D-Brunswick) sent the following statement regarding the agreement he signed along with Rep. Erin Herbig (D-Belfast). Herbig had sought a temporary restraining order on Cornell du Houx after the two ended their relationship.

“We are satisfied with the agreement reached. The temporary order will be withdrawn on Monday. I have the highest respect for Rep. Herbig.

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Rep. Cornell Du houx at the state house in committee photo by Ramona du Houx

Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx is in his second term and represents district 66 in Brunswick Maine. He serves on the Energy, Technology and Utilities Committee, is chair of the Veterans Caucus and is Vice Chair of the National Council of State Legislatures Committees on Energy and Agriculture. He is also a member of the National Council of Environmental Legislators.

He grew up in the small town of Solon Maine and attended Bowdoin College as a Mitchell Scholar. Cornell du Houx joined the Marine Reserves in 2002 and was deployed to Iraq with the Marines’ in 2006 – spending a year patrolling the streets in and around Fallujah. Rep. Cornell du Houx was commissioned into the Navy Reserves in December 2011. He serves as a public affairs officer stationed out of Bangor Maine. He conducts operational support for US Central Command (Middle East operations).

“I have served and continue to serve our country in the military since 2002 and the people of Brunswick in the legislature simultaneously since 2008,” said Cornell du Houx.

Rep. Cornell du Houx is chair of the Mitchell Scholarship Alumni Council and is working to promote clean energy and jobs in his district and across the nation. From 2009 to 2012 he worked with the Truman National Security Project on national security and energy issues.

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By State Sen. Phil Bartlet

Maine, much like the rest of the country, is at a crossroads. We are at a make or break moment for many middle class Mainers and those working to make ends meet. We are at a critical point where we can make targeted investments to improve our economy; and, we can promote policies that empower individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses to create jobs. Or, we can adopt an approach that picks winners and losers and goes against our values and traditions.

Unfortunately, the tone in Augusta, under GOP leadership, has turned in to one that, at nearly every opportunity pits Mainer against Mainer. It ignores the balanced approach that is necessary for businesses to succeed and workers to prosper on the job and at home.

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Rep. Emily Cain in her office at the State House in Augusta, Maine. photo by Ramona du Houx

This week, Governor Paul LePage took the unprecedented step of issuing a line-item veto to changes made to the state’s two-year budget. The governor vetoed funding for general assistance reimbursements to cities and towns.
The budget agreement was overwhelmingly approved by Republicans and Democrats in the Maine House and Senate.

This bipartisan agreement on general assistance was not arrived at easily. We worked with officials from cities and towns across the state — and from all political leanings — to craft an agreement that was fair and responsible.

The agreement prevented an $8 million budget shortfall in the state’s general assistance reimbursements to towns from being shifted to property taxpayers. More than two-thirds of lawmakers in the House gave it a stamp of approval, followed by a unanimous vote in the Senate.

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Rep. Emily Cain, Maine's Democratic Minority Leader in the state House of Representatives. photo by Ramona du Houx

Maine’s House Minority Leader, Rep. Emily Cain, sat down for an interview about this session. Cain is the spokesperson for democrats in the House of Representatives and since the LePage administration has moved in her public role has increased. Young, energetic, quick witted and intelligent she handles tense situations with ease and grace. She never backs down from her principles and has a clear understanding how to move Maine forward economically while maintaining Maine’s quality of life, Having severed on the Appropriations and Education Committees she brings unique insights to her job which helps during negotiations.

This session has been dominated by Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed cuts that would result in people losing health care. When did this all start?

Before we even arrived back in session, long before Christmas, the Appropriations Committee had held hearings on his supplemental budget that made $220 million in cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services.

First the governor tried to blame “too many people being on the program.” Then he blamed the federal government. He wouldn’t take responsibility for errors within DHHS — these were errors within his own administration — for why that cash-flow problem happened.

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Olympia Snowe has been in Congress since 1979. After 33 years as a career Washington politician, Snowe should know better than to assail one party for the current “dysfunction.” While I agree with Snowe’s dismay of the Senate’s failure to enact a budget since 2009, I disagree with her partisan tactics to “pass the buck.” All 100 Senators are responsible for this failure of leadership. If I am given the privilege to represent Maine in the United States Senate, I will not only be calling on Republicans and Democrats alike to compromise, but will work tirelessly to bridge the partisan gap to reach an intelligent and balanced consensus.

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January 21st marks the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission. This decision gives corporations, associations, and labor unions the same free speech right as individual citizens. And consequently, grants corporations carte blanche spending on political campaigns. The consequences of the Citizens United ruling has been profoundly negative on elections across our country. Essentially, the voice of the people has been drowned out by the voice of multi-billion dollar corporations.

And, Mainers know what this means. It means that these corporate sponsors who fund high priced political campaigns buy a seat at the table and call the shots once their candidate is in office.

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Minority Leader of Maine's House, Emily Cain in her office photo by Ramona du Houx

The Aspen Institute has selected state Rep. Emily Cain, D-Orono, the House Democratic leader to participate in the Institute’s prestigious bipartisan Aspen-Rodel Fellowship program. The fellowship program, now in its seventh year, is focused on transcending political partisanship and focusing attention on over-arching questions of leadership and governance.

“I’m honored to be selected among this impressive group of leaders from across the country,” said Cain. “This is an exciting opportunity to explore the values and beliefs that are the foundation of US democracy, and to dig-in to the many challenges facing elected leaders today. I know I will share what we do in Maine, and learn new skills that I can apply to my work in Augusta. I am grateful to have this opportunity.”

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