When people ask why I’m suing state Democratic leaders Senate President Troy Jackson, Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross and Gov. Janet Mills, my answer is simple: hope.

This legislative session was the worst of my six-year tenure in the Maine House. Mainers should understand what happened, beginning with the extreme lack of respect and civility. Citizens showed up in droves to voice their opinions, only to be ignored when their views weren’t in line with the Democrats’ agenda. Bills were passed despite record numbers of citizens testifying against them.

When controversial bills came to the floor, Speaker Talbot Ross routinely kept legislators in session far into the night, until she was certain of a majority vote. Democrats who tried voting differently from the party leadership’s position were harassed, bullied or encouraged to “take a walk” to moot their vote. Delay and deception were used to hide key legislation from the public, as well as to wrangle votes.

The state budget has almost doubled since I took office, plus we have not-yet-funded mandates lined up to take effect next year. Also taking effect next year is the tax for Paid Family and Medical Leave – sucking more money from Mainers’ paychecks.

Again, people ask why I am doing this. “After all, Shelley,” they say, “this won’t change anything.”

What if it does?

What if we’re reminding Democrats that we answer to our constituents, not our respective parties? What if those “veto day” absentees finally realized their experience at the hands of their leadership is not what elected representation should be? Maybe they’re starting to appreciate the importance of fairness and consistency?

I believe our message is getting through.

On May 14, Gov. Mills sent a letter to the Legislature explaining her reasons for not signing the bills delivered to her on May 10, veto day. The governor wrote: “In my judgment, the Constitution cannot be interpreted to permit the Legislature to ignore its Constitutionally required adjournment statute by a simple majority vote. … Constitutional norms, no matter how inconvenient and even when they may be an impediment to achieving good policy aims, nonetheless provide important institutional safeguards.”

That’s a reversal from last year, when the first regular session was about to adjourn three months early, and her staff was emailing the chiefs of staff for the House speaker and the Senate president for suggestions on the wording of her official proclamation to call the Legislature back into an unfettered special session – justified by the pretext of an “extraordinary occasion,” which, in my view, the Democratic leadership was still busy creating.

Gov. Mills sounded like an unwilling convert to our cause this year when she said: “Signing any of these bills, no matter how much I may see value in some of them, would send the message that the Legislature is allowed to flout its own self-imposed and constitutionally imposed limitations, which would create a precedent for future legislatures.”

The Supreme Judicial Court needs to reinforce the importance of institutional safeguards against brazen attempts by elected officials to do what they want, when they want – flouting standards they publicly touted, sometimes even written into laws they are supposed to obey. It’s time we place our government back where it belongs: in the hands of the people. Legislators serve with the expectation that we will at least follow the rules.