enlarge Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Gov. John Baldacci talks about the governors’ meeting with President-elect Obama during a news conference Tuesday at the Portland jetport.

Gov. John Baldacci said the governors' meeting in Philadelphia with President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden left him with a sense of optimism about Maine's economic future.

Baldacci said the state could receive millions of dollars in federal aid next year, once Obama, a fellow Democrat, takes office and follows through on his pledge to approve an economic stimulus package totaling hundreds of billions of dollars.

The measure, partially aimed at reviving struggling state economies, would create jobs by providing federal funds to rebuild roads and bridges, to improve water and sewer systems, and to help municipalities pay for local infrastructure projects. It also would help the states fund health care for the poor and disabled.

"It was unique, it was unprecedented, and it was a tremendous outreach effort by the president-elect," Baldacci said during a news conference at the Portland International Jetport. "Never before have the nation's governors been invited this early on to meet with an incoming president and his administration."

Baldacci flew to Philadelphia on Monday and joined governors from across the nation at a rare meeting in historic Congress Hall. Many Republican governors came, including Alaska's Sarah Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential nominee, and California's Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Baldacci urged Obama to strive for energy independence, noting that Maine has great potential to develop wind energy.

"It was a real attempt to reach out beyond party lines, a way of saying that we are all in this boat together," Baldacci said.

He said he has asked his department heads to prepare a list of projects that need to be funded. After Tuesday's press conference, the governor released a list of "ready to go" projects that include:

* Extending Amtrak service from Portland to Brunswick, $35 million.

* Rebuilding the northbound lane of Interstate 295 between Brunswick and West Gardiner, $40 million.

* Replacing the state-owned Governor Curtis ferry based in Rockland, $12.5 million.

* Removing the superstructure of the former Waldo-Hancock Bridge, $6 million.

Baldacci described the governors' meeting with Obama as warm and reassuring.

"Today is just a hello, not a goodbye," Obama told the governors, according to Baldacci.

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com