JOIN US In Fighting For Real Change and Progress SUBSCRIBE VOLUNTEER To Substantially Strengthen our Democracy, Government, and Economy We Need to Think Bigger and Act Boldly LATEST NEWS OPINION: IT'S TIME FOR A MAINE SENATOR FOCUSED ON POLICY, NOT PR I don't believe Sen. Angus King’s years-long approach of “reaching across the aisle” is working in today’s Washington. Our federal government is failing us. Extreme gerrymandering and single-member districts silence the voices of thousands. Senate filibusters derail important legislation. Our Electoral College results in election winners becoming losers, and our existing campaign finance system furthers the interests of the wealthy over everyone else. In many respects, Washington is broken. WHY I'M RUNNING FOR THE US SENATE September 10, 2024 My first taste of politics was on picket lines as a boy as my father, an Army veteran, and grandparents struck for better wages and benefits at a grocery store in Bangor and a shoe mill in Old Town. DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO URGES SUPPORT FOR LONG-OVERDUE REFORMS TO END CONGRESSIONAL DYSFUNCTION AND TACKLE OUR NATION'S MOST PRESSING PROBLEMS BANGOR, Maine – (On Friday, May 31st, at 7 pm. ET) In an address to Maine Democrats, U.S. Senate candidate David Costello urged fellow Democrats to back “long-overdue” legislative and constitutional reforms to better protect personal rights and freedoms and more effectively tackle such pressing problems as climate change, escalating gun violence, economic inequality, unaffordable housing and healthcare, and insufficient retirement security. Costello said “What clearly isn’t working in Washington, is doing more of the same. Fighting over a half-dozen House and Senate seats, when substantive systems reform is what is really needed.” Costello’s speech hit on a lot of points such as: his formative years, his qualifications and experience, and how he would strive to advance sound reforms and policies to end dysfunction in Washington and ensure that all Americans are provided with the security, education, job skills, and other life enriching to thrive. DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO ISSUES STATEMENT ON GAZA Brunswick, ME – Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate David Costello issued a statement today in support of efforts to press the Netanyahu government to comply more fully with the Biden Administration’s humanitarian aid, cease-fire, and political settlement requests. Costello stated that “Hamas’s horrific assault on October 7 was wholly unjustified and Israel had every right, and indeed an obligation, to respond forcefully. No terrorist action, nor attacks from allied parties, like Hezbollah and Iran, should ever go unanswered. However, from the beginning, Israel’s military response in Gaza has been excessive and much of it indefensible. Instead of strategically and precisely focusing on the return of hostages and the eradication of Hamas as a military and political entity, Israel’s disproportionate actions have resulted in the wholesale and counterproductive destruction of much of Gaza and the deaths and deprivation of untold thousands of innocent Palestinians. President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and many others are correct to question the motives and detrimental decisions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing allies. Decisions that have not contributed effectively to the release of Israeli and American hostages and have resulted in growing animosity toward Israelis and in making Israel less secure. Criticizing Israel’s recent actions and leadership does not excuse the decades of counterproductive, undemocratic, and often deplorable actions of Palestinian and neighboring Arab leaders but is meant to reinforce the contention that the most constructive if not the only sensible way forward is to establish a durable cease-fire and peace settlement based on a credible two-state, Israel-Palestine solution. To that end, I support, and urge Senators King and Collins to support, efforts to convince the Biden Administration – which has increasingly urged Israel to protect civilians and aid in the provision of critical humanitarian assistance – to pause the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel until the Netanyahu government complies more fully with the Administration’s humanitarian aid, cease-fire, and political settlement requests. Having worked overseas in conflict-torn, authoritarian-ruled countries, I’ve witnessed first-hand the horrors of war and dictatorial rule, and I understand that armed conflict is sometimes necessary to end the harm caused by malevolent actors like Hamas, Al Qaida, ISIS, Balkan nationalists, and Vladimir Putin. Yet, I also appreciate that in almost all instances of armed conflict, innocents are harmed and given this, and the accompanying risk of stoking further extremism and violence, nations must always err on the side of protecting innocent non-combatants.” U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO SUBMITS NOMINATION PETITIONS TO QUALIFY FOR MAINE'S JUNE 11 PRIMARY BALLOT March 12, 2024 Brunswick, ME – Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate David Costello today submitted 195 petitions containing the signatures of 2,500 registered Maine Democrats, the maximum admissible, to qualify for Maine’s June 11 Democratic primary ballot. Costello said that he decided to run for the U.S. Senate because, “like many in Maine,” he’s “very concerned about the health of our democracy and the performance of our government.” Costello contends that “Washington is broken” and that to fix it “we need to do more than simply change who we elect every two to six years. We need to substantially reform our governing practices and institutions, and eliminate the excessive and corrupting influence that money, wealth, and disinformation have over our politics and government.” Costello said that he is "committed to advancing long overdue legislative and constitutional reforms that will not only aid in strengthening our democracy and government, but also help in better protecting our rights and freedoms, including reproductive rights and freedoms, and assist in more actively and effectively addressing such pressing problems as climate change, escalating gun violence, unaffordable housing and health care, economic inequality, shoddy infrastructure, underperforming schools, and insufficient retirement security." Costello added, "What clearly isn’t working in Washington, is doing more of the same. Fighting over a half-dozen or slightly more U.S. House or Senate seats, when substantive systems change, is what is really needed.” Having grown up in a working-class family in Old Town and having worked for more than 25 years in senior level state, local, and federal government positions, including in Maine and abroad, Costello believes that he has the broadest and most germane and hands-on experience of all the candidates competing to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate. With respect to Senator King, Costello said that “while he appreciates the Senator’s service, he believes that Senator King has been too reticent to pursue the kind of reforms needed to truly fix Washington and that he is unlikely to alter his overly cautious approach during what is likely to be his last term.” IT'S TIME TO FIX WASHINGTON January 17, 2024 We need wholesale change in Congress and constitutional reforms to really create a government representative of and responsive to its citizenry. MAINE VOICES: TOO HOT TO IGNORE – MUCH MORE ACTION IS NEEDED TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE August 17, 2023 We need to immediately develop and implement an aggressive national, science-based climate plan, including a panel that evaluates and reports on our progress and recommends needed adjustments. DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO SAYS AN ALL THE ABOVE APPROACH WOULD LIKELY WORK BEST TO TACKLE GUN VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES June 26, 2023 Like many Mainers, I grew up learning to hunt and shoot and to handle guns safely and responsibly. I took gun safety very seriously then and, given the long-standing rise in gun violence, I take it even more seriously today.When people talk of gun safety today, hunting, target shooting, and gun ownership are seldom, if ever, really at issue. At issue, is the proliferation in the sale and violent misuse of non-hunting guns and magazines and the counterproductive weakening and rejection of laws designed to reduce gun violence. While I would never support denying responsible, law-abiding citizens their right to own a gun, I do support markedly strengthening our nation’s gun safety laws and regulations. Gun violence is on the rise throughout the United States, and appallingly, since 2020, it has surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children. The fact that the U.S. House and Senate have done little over the last 30 years to address gun violence is unconscionable. Everything that can be done - from expanded mental health services, stricter gun crime sentencing, and increased community policing to waiting periods, universal background checks, and assault weapons bans – should be done to reduce gun related deaths, injuries, and crime in the United States. To continue to do less is unacceptable. DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO URGES SUPPORT FOR TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY FOR MAINE'S FOUR INDIGENOUS TRIBES June 26, 2023 Brunswick – Democratic Senate Candidate David Costello today released a statement urging support for tribal sovereignty for Maine’s four indigenous tribes. Costello stated, “unlike the Nation’s other 570 federally recognized tribes, Maine’s Penobscot, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, and Passamaquoddy tribes are unnecessarily and detrimentally excluded from automatically receiving a range of federal health care, economic development, environmental protection, emergency response assistance, and other benefits.” Costello noted that a recent Harvard University study concluded that tribal self-determination and government has contributed to significant economic growth and other benefits for the vast majority of other indigenous tribes in the United States. Additionally, and importantly for many rural towns and villages in Maine, the study also concluded that there were significant spill-over benefits for neighboring non-tribal communities. Costello added that the study found: “Unique to Maine, the federal Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (MICSA) empowers the state government to block the applicability of federal Indian policy in Maine. As a result, the development of the Wabanaki Nations’ economies and governmental capacities have been stunted. Today, all four of the tribes in Maine—Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot—are stark economic underperformers relative to the other tribes in the Lower 48 states. The subjugation of the Wabanaki Nation’s self-governing capacities is blocking economic development to the detriment of both tribal and non- tribal citizens, alike. For the tribal citizens of Maine held down by MICSA’s restrictions, loosening or removing those restrictions offers them little in the way of downside risks and but much in the way of upside payoffs. Importantly, we find in this study that “nowhere to go but up” also applies to the Maine state government and Maine’s non-tribal citizens. From case after case, the pattern that has emerged under federal policies of tribal self-determination through self-government is one in which tribal economic development spills over positively into neighboring non-tribal communities and improves the abilities of state and local governments to serve their citizens.” Costello concluded, “As the study emphasizes, there is ‘nowhere to go but up’ for Maine and Maine communities and thus there is unlikely to be any substantial downside to granting tribal sovereignty to Maine’s four tribes. Moreover, granting Maine's tribes sovereignty is long overdue and the right thing to do both morally and ethically.” U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE DAVID COSTELLO'S OP-ED June 13, 2023 To Truly Fix Washington, We Must Substantially Overhaul Our Governing Practices and Institutions For generations, we Americans have labored to establish a more just, secure, and prosperous nation. One in which all are treated fairly and all are provided with the opportunity to excel. And while we have made considerable progress over the years, we have yet to establish the kind of more perfect union envisioned by our most thoughtful founders and descendants. We have fallen short, in large part, because our governing infrastructure is as deficient and outdated as many of our roads, ports, and bridges. Partisan gridlock abounds, and our imperfect democracy is in danger of becoming even more flawed. The latest example being Washington’s current battle over the Nation’s debt limit. To fix Washington, we need to do more than simply change who we elect every two to six years. We need to substantially reform our governing practices and institutions, and we need to eliminate the excessive and corrupting influence that money, wealth, and disinformation have over our politics and government. Specifically, we should, in the near term: · Pass the Freedom to Vote Act. · Ban gerrymandering and eliminate the Senate’s filibuster. · Establish an independent Government Accountability and Performance Commission. · Impose term limits and retirement age requirements on federal judges, including Supreme Court justices. · Increase funding for non-partisan public news broadcasting. · Require social media platforms to adhere to reasonable public interest rules. · Ratify the “For Our Freedom Amendment” to better regulate campaign contributions and spending. And, over the longer term: · Abolish the Electoral College and establish a system of directly electing presidents and include ranked choice voting (RCV) when there are more than two candidates. · Restructure the U.S. Senate so that its allocation of power is more in-line with a state’s population. · Overhaul the U.S. House so that it is comprised of non-gerrymandered, multi-winner districts. · Revise the terms and impose 24-year term limits on U.S. senators and representatives. · Streamline the U.S. Constitution’s amendment process so that it is no longer virtually impossible to update our national charter. Specifically, modify the amendment process to require no more than 60% approval from both houses of Congress and ratifying support from states representing 62% or more of the nation’s population. While pursuing and achieving these reforms will not be easy, the potential benefits of doing so — including better-protected rights and freedoms and more adequately addressed problems like climate change, economic inequality, inadequate health care, shoddy infrastructure, underperforming schools, and insufficient retirement security — make attempting to pursue and achieve them well worth the effort. By David Costello Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate www.costelloforsenate.com GOVERNMENT REFORM ADVOCATE ENTERS RACE FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATE April 12, 2023 Brunswick – Government reform advocate and Brunswick resident, David Costello, announced today that he is entering the race for the United States Senate. A native of Old Town, Costello returned to Maine in 2019 after having served as a senior aide to the mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland and having helped to manage Maryland’s environmental protection agency (MDE). Prior to working in Maryland, Costello worked largely overseas for the U.S. Government, responding to political, economic, and humanitarian crises in Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo. Costello said that he has decided to run for the U.S. Senate because, “like many Mainers, he’s grown tired of the level of acrimony and dysfunction in Washington and Congress’s inability to act and to act in ways that serve the best interests of all Americans.” “For generations,” Costello added, “we Americans have labored to establish a more just, secure, and prosperous nation. And while we’ve made considerable progress over the years, we have yet to establish the kind of more perfect union envisioned by our most thoughtful founders and descendants.” Costello contends that “we have fallen short, in large part, because our governing infrastructure is as outdated as many of our roads, ports, and bridges. Partisan gridlock, government ineffectiveness, and political disinformation abound, and our imperfect democracy is in danger of becoming even more flawed.” “To fix Washington,” Costello argues “we need to do more than simply changing who we elect every two to six years. We need to think bigger and act boldly to substantially reform our governing practices and institutions, and eliminate the excessive and corrupting influence that money, wealth, and misinformation have over our politics and government.” Costello further added that he is running because he wants “to help in advancing long overdue legislative and constitutional reforms. Reforms that will not only aid in strengthening our democracy, government, and economy, but also help in protecting our rights and freedoms, and assist in addressing such pressing problems as climate change, uneven economic prosperity, inadequate health insurance, shoddy infrastructure, underperforming schools, and insufficient retirement security.” Costello, a democrat, attended the University of Maine in Orono and is a graduate of the George Washington University and London School of Economics and Political Science. For more detail on Costello’s ambitious reform agenda and policy priorities visit www.costelloforsenate.com. DAVID COSTELLO ANNOUNCES BID FOR U.S. SENATE Friends: For generations, we Americans have labored to establish a more just, secure, and prosperous nation. One in which everyone is treated fairly, and all are provided with the opportunity to excel. FOLLOW DAVID ON SOCIAL MEDIA Subscribe

Enhancing Public Safety David will help in enhancing public safety by supporting efforts to: Increase funding for community policing, substance abuse, and mental health services. Focus increased investigative and prosecutorial resources on violent offenses . Enhance police training and accountability. Build on recent common-sense gun safety laws and regulations.

Adequately Addressing Climate Change David will help in adequately addressing climate change by supporting efforts to: D evelop and implement an aggressive national, science-based climate action plan that includes, among other components: strict greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caps; ambitious GHG sequestration and "draw down" goals and actions; expanded clean energy, clean transportation, and energy efficiency initiatives; smarter development and land use regulations; greener appliance and building construction standards; and increased funding to mitigate the growing impacts of climate change.

Strengthening National Security David will help in bolstering national security by supporting efforts to: Maintain military and intelligence gathering superiority over all potential rivals, especially China and Russia. Prioritize nuclear and conventional arms control agreements. Expand military and intelligence gathering alliances. Strengthen trade and foreign policy agencies and agreements. Become more fully, intelligently, and responsibly engaged in world affairs. Boost our nation's overall global economic competitiveness.

Friends: For generations, we Americans have labored to establish a more just, secure, and prosperous nation. One in which everyone is treated fairly, and all are provided with the opportunity to excel. And while we have made considerable progress over the years, we have yet to establish the kind of more perfect union envisioned by our most thoughtful founders and descendants. We have fallen short, in large part, because our governing infrastructure is as outdated as many of our roads, ports, and bridges. Partisan gridlock and government dysfunction abound, and our imperfect democracy is in danger of becoming even more flawed. Strengthening Democracy and Governance To fix this, we need to do more than simply changing whom we elect every two to six years. We need to think bigger and act boldly. More specifically, we need to substantially reform our governing practices and institutions and eliminate the excessive and corrupting influence that money, wealth, and disinformation have over our politics and government. I am running for the United States Senate because I want to help in advancing long overdue legislative and constitutional reforms that will not only aid in strengthening our democracy and economy, but also help in protecting our rights and freedoms, including women's reproductive rights and LGBTQ freedoms, and assist in addressing such pressing problems as climate change, escalating gun violence, economic inequality, inadequate health care, shoddy infrastructure, underperforming schools, and insufficient retirement security. Doing More for Maine I am also running because I want to help in ensuring that all Mainers have access to affordable, quality healthcare and are provided with the education, job skills, and other life enriching opportunities to thrive. Having grown up in Old Town in a working-class family, I can appreciate the challenges confronting many of Maine’s less affluent families. For too long, too many Maine communities have watched the promise of the next generation slip away for lack of good paying jobs and career prospects. As Maine’s Senator, I will fight for more funding for education and worker training programs; transportation, clean energy, and communications infrastructure; and innovative economic and community development initiatives. Ideas Matter - So Too Does Experience. With more than twenty-five years of senior-level government experience - managing complex, multi-million dollar programs and operations including initiatives to combat climate change, revitalize communities, protect public health and the environment, and advance peaceful democratic change in such conflict-torn countries as Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo - I believe that I have the broadest and most fitting experience of all the candidates competing to represent Maine in the United States Senate and the soundest ideas for tackling our most pressing problems. In closing, I would add that I am the proud son of an Army veteran and AFL-CIO organizer and grandson of French and Irish American shoe, textile, and railroad workers. I know the value of hard work. I understand the importance of a solid education, and I appreciate the constructive role that democratic government is obliged to play. I will work hard for every vote, and I ask for your support. Thank you. David P.S. Please check out my ambitious Reform Agenda and Policy Priorities pages for more detail.

Ensuring Civil,Civic, and Human Rights David will help in expanding our nation's civil, civic, and human rights by supporting efforts to: Protect the reproductive rights of women and the civil rights of everyone, including LGBTQIA+ persons. Approve the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Enact the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

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On the Campaign Trail July 3rd Block Party in Sanford. Brunswick Pride! Memorial Day Parade in Biddeford. Lewiston DEM Caucus . Yarmouth DEM Caucus. Collecting Signatures with Bates Democrats. Jeanne in Saco, Maine. Beach to Beacon. Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Lewiston Balloon Festival. Bangor 4th of July Parade! Brewer, Maine. Moxie Festival. Lisbon, Maine. Skowhegan, Maine. South Portland. Waterville, Maine. Canvassing in Gardiner. Gardiner, Maine. Bath Heritage Days. Bath, Maine.

David's Democracy and Governance Reform Agenda As Maine’s Senator, David will press for long-overdue legislative reforms to end the gridlock and dysfunction in Washington, and ensure that middle and working-class families in Maine achieve greater success and stability. David plans to do this by working to change our system of governance to better work for everyone, not just the powerful, and to enact legislation that reduces housing, healthcare, transportation, and childcare costs, and expands education, job training, housing and other life-enriching opportunities. Important Legislative Reforms: Passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and other elections-related legislation to improve elections security, increase voter participation, and reinforce the legitimacy of elections results, by: modernizing nationwide voting infrastructure. mandating automatic voter registration, early voting, and no-excuse voting by mail. banning unreasonable voter purges, deceptive politicking, and partisan gerrymandering. reducing the inordinate, unfair influence of excessive funding, including "dark money". Elimination of the U.S. Senate’s filibuster and the ability of individual senators to place holds on executive branch nominees. Passage of the Fair Representation Act to foster a more democratic and representative Congress through the establishment of proportionally elected, non-gerrymandered, multi-winner/member U.S. House districts. Creation of an independent , nonpartisan Federal Elections and Ethics Commission with strong oversight and enforcement authority to oversee elections (including redistricting), governmental ethics, and campaign finance reforms. Creation of an independent , nonpartisan Government Planning, Accountability, and Performance Commission comprised of public policy experts uniquely empowered to routinely evaluate, grade, and report on federal agency plans, programs, and budgets, and recommend adjustments when and where necessary. **Note: experts from, though not limited to, the fields of economics, education, physical sciences, medicine, national security, law, public safety, business, labor, and political science. Increased funding for objective, non-partisan public news broadcasting. Enactment of public interest social media rules and requirements that oblige social media platforms to adhere to strict privacy and anti-violence incitement rules and to provide space for important, fact-based public interest information. Expanded civics education mandates and funding. Creation of a national, nonpartisan Civics Education and Information Trust to support expanded civics education and engagement programs and provide objective, fact-based information about important public policies and issues. Increased funding and support for citizenship enhancing national service programs (e.g., Peace Corp, AmeriCorps, Teach for America, etc.) for 18 – 25-year-olds. To the extent that it is permissible legislatively, the fairer a llocation of political power in the U.S. Senate so that a state’s political clout is more in-line with its population and the democratic principle of one person one equal vote. The fact that Wyoming, with a population that is 70 times smaller , has the same allocation of political power as California is obscenely undemocratic. To the extent that it is permissible legislatively, a restructuring of the U.S. House of Representatives so that it is comprised of 200+ non-gerrymandered, multi-membered member districts and more than 600 proportionally elected representatives. Like the U.S. Senate, the U.S House of Representatives would benefit from a structural upgrade. A larger, better designed U.S. House would be more democratic and accountable, and more effective than the current version (see reference to the Fair Representation Act listed above). Important Constitutional Reforms : Abolish the Electoral College and establish a system of directly electing presidents and include ranked choice voting (RCV) when there are more than two candidates. Common sense and fairness dictate that the candidate receiving the greatest amount of voter support in a presidential election should be determined to be the winner. Guarantee equal rights for women (ERA) and voters. Neither equal nor voting rights are explicitly guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. They should be. Ensure that nothing in the U.S. Constitution could be construed to forbid Congress or the states from regulating and limiting elections campaign contributions and spending. Ratification of the proposed “For Our Freedom Amendment” would allow Congress and the states to lessen the undue influence that money has over our politics and governments. Restructure the U.S. Senate so that the Senate’s allocation of political power is more in-line with a state’s population and the democratic principle of one person one equal vote. The fact that Wyoming, with a population that is 70 times smaller, has the same allocation of political power as California is obscenely undemocratic. Restructure the U.S. House of Representatives so that it is comprised of 200+ non-gerrymandered, multi-membered member districts and more than 600 proportionally elected representatives. Like the U.S. Senate, the U.S House of Representatives would benefit from an upgrade. A larger, better designed U.S. House would be more democratic and accountable, and more effective than the current version. Establish 20-year term limits and a mandatory retirement age requirement of 80 years for U.S. federal court judges, including Supreme Court justices. Term limits and retirement mandates would help to lessen partisan leanings and out-of-step legal decisions. Revise the terms for U.S. senators and representatives, from six- and two-year terms to four-year terms, and impose overall term limits of 20 years. **Note: retired justices, senators, and representatives could be selected to serve as members of the Government Planning, Accountability, and Performance Commission. Streamline the process for amending the U.S. Constitution by simply requiring 60% or more approval of proposed amendments from both houses of Congress and ratifying support from states (as determined by state legislatures or citizen referendum) representing 60% or more of the nation’s population. Our existing constitutional amendment process is exceedingly difficult, making it almost impossible to update our national charter.

GOVERNMENT REFORM ADVOCATE TO ENTER RACE FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATE April 12, 2023 Brunswick – Government reform advocate and Brunswick resident, David Costello, announced today that he is entering the race for the United States Senate. A native of Old Town, Costello returned to Maine in 2019 after having served as a senior aide to the mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland and having helped to manage Maryland’s environmental protection agency (MDE). Prior to working in Maryland, Costello worked largely overseas for the U.S. Government, responding to political, economic, and humanitarian crises in Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo. Costello said that he has decided to run for the U.S. Senate because, “like many Mainers, he’s grown tired of the level of acrimony and dysfunction in Washington and Congress’s inability to act and to act in ways that serve the best interests of all Americans.” “For generations,” Costello added, “we Americans have labored to establish a more just, secure, and prosperous nation. And while we’ve made considerable progress over the years, we have yet to establish the kind of more perfect union envisioned by our most thoughtful founders and descendants.” Costello contends that “we have fallen short, in large part, because our governing infrastructure is as outdated as many of our roads, ports, and bridges. Partisan gridlock, government ineffectiveness, and political disinformation abound, and our imperfect democracy is in danger of becoming even more flawed.” “To fix Washington,” Costello argues “we need to do more than simply changing who we elect every two to six years. We need to think bigger and act boldly to substantially reform our governing practices and institutions, and eliminate the excessive and corrupting influence that money, wealth, and misinformation have over our politics and government.” Costello further added that he is running because he wants “to help in advancing long overdue legislative and constitutional reforms. Reforms that will not only aid in strengthening our democracy, government, and economy, but also help in protecting our rights and freedoms, and assist in addressing such pressing problems as climate change, uneven economic prosperity, inadequate health insurance, shoddy infrastructure, underperforming schools, and insufficient retirement security.” Costello, a democrat, attended the University of Maine in Orono and is a graduate of the George Washington University and London School of Economics and Political Science. For more detail on Costello’s ambitious reform agenda and policy priorities visit www.costelloforsenate.com . Document

Democratic Senate Candidate David Costello Says an All the Above Approach Would Likely Work Best to Tackle Gun Violence in the United States June 26, 2023 Like many Mainers, I grew up learning to hunt and shoot and to handle guns safely and responsibly. I took gun safety very seriously then and, given the long-standing rise in gun violence, I take it even more seriously today. When people talk of gun safety today, hunting, target shooting, and gun ownership are seldom, if ever, really at issue. At issue is the proliferation in the sale and violent misuse of non-hunting guns and magazines and the counterproductive weakening and rejection of laws designed to reduce gun violence. While I would never support denying responsible, law-abiding citizens their right to own a gun, I do support markedly strengthening our nation’s gun safety laws and regulations. Gun violence is on the rise throughout the United States, and appallingly, since 2020, it has surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children. The fact that the U.S. House and Senate have done little over the last 30 years to address gun violence is unconscionable. Everything that can be done - from expanded mental health services, stricter gun crime sentencing, and increased community policing to waiting periods, universal background checks, and assault weapons bans – should be done to reduce gun-related deaths, injuries, and crime in the United States. Most Americans agree. To continue to do less is unacceptable. Document

Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate David Costello Issues Statement on Gaza May 2, 2024 Brunswick, ME – Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate David Costello issued a statement today in support of efforts to press the Netanyahu government to comply more fully with the Biden Administration’s humanitarian aid, cease-fire, and political settlement requests. Costello stated that “Hamas’s horrific assault on October 7 was wholly unjustified and Israel had every right, and indeed an obligation, to respond forcefully. No terrorist action, nor attacks from allied parties, like Hezbollah and Iran, should ever go unanswered. However, from the beginning, Israel’s military response in Gaza has been excessive and much of it indefensible. Instead of strategically and precisely focusing on the return of hostages and the eradication of Hamas as a military and political entity, Israel’s disproportionate actions have resulted in the wholesale and counterproductive destruction of much of Gaza and the deaths and deprivation of untold thousands of innocent Palestinians. President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and many others are correct to question the motives and detrimental decisions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing allies. Decisions that have not contributed effectively to the release of Israeli and American hostages and have resulted in growing animosity toward Israelis and in making Israel less secure. Criticizing Israel’s recent actions and leadership does not excuse the decades of counterproductive, undemocratic, and often deplorable actions of Palestinian and neighboring Arab leaders but is meant to reinforce the contention that the most constructive if not the only sensible way forward is to establish a durable cease-fire and peace settlement based on a credible two-state, Israel-Palestine solution. To that end, I urge Senators King and Collins to support ongoing efforts to convince the Biden Administration – which has increasingly urged Israel to protect civilians and aid in the provision of critical humanitarian assistance – to pause the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel until the Netanyahu government complies more fully with the Administration’s humanitarian aid, cease-fire, and political settlement requests. Having worked overseas in conflict-torn, authoritarian-ruled countries, I’ve witnessed first-hand the horrors of war and dictatorial rule, and I understand that armed conflict is sometimes necessary to end the harm caused by malevolent actors like Hamas, Al Qaida, ISIS, Balkan nationalists, and Vladimir Putin. Yet, I also appreciate that in almost all instances of armed conflict, innocents are harmed and given this, and the accompanying risk of stoking further extremism and violence, nations must always err on the side of protecting innocent non- combatants.”