Bruce is an activist, advocate, and public speaker who has covered a host of issues around the state and nationally. A Mexican-American with an array of lived experiences, including overcoming addiction, and incarceration.
Bruce has worked in various capacities serving vulnerable populations and communities. He currently serves on the board of Maine Equal Justice and is a commissioner on Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations. However his primary position and job is working at Maine Boys To Men as the Executive Director. The organization’s mission is to end all forms of male violence and self-harm and to advance gender equity by supporting the development of self-aware, empathetic boys and men.
Prior to joining Maine Boys to Men, Bruce was the Co-Executive Director of Maine Inside Out, an organization that uses theatre for social change in schools, prisons, and in the community.

In a May 2024 op-ed in the Portland Press Herald, Tony Payne, a former Maine Republican Party executive director, wrote: "Although some Republican conservatives don’t harbor these views and behaviors, they have failed miserably in denouncing the antics and actions of Trump and his followers, who would rather grandstand for more power and political donors than govern. The party of Abraham Lincoln is dead and forgotten."

In this special 2024 Election episode, host Marpheen Chann discusses Maine politics, the danger of Donald Trump, and why he's voting for Kamala Harris on Tuesday, November 5th, 2024.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Tony Payne, now an Independent, is an active community leader and former Maine Republican Party executive director. Tony has served as a member and former Chair of the University of Southern Maine Board of Visitors and as a board member of Pine Tree Watch/Maine Center for Reporting in the Public Interest. He has previously held board positions with Atlantic Bank, the Maine Education Loan Authority, The Portland Club, and several other organizations. In 1998, he chaired the Legislative Task Force that studied the State Employee Workers’ Compensation System. With over 30 years in politics, Payne was a GOP primary candidate for the Maine First Congressional District in 1992 and was elected to the Falmouth Town Council in 2006, serving two terms.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Hobart College and is a graduate of the Institute for Civic Leadership. In 2003, he received the Edward L. Bernays Award, the top honor from the Maine Public Relations Council.