True enough, Maine has no place to go but "UP"...but Maine really is not rock-bottom yet. I see Baldacci really tried his best with the resources (his administration and others) he had at his service. There were some problem matters and issues Baldacci brought on upon himself and other issues were brought in by others.

The candidate 'season' is nearly here...and I guess has been for a little while, anyway...but really, try to see if the next governor can have some mind order set to the national political scene, and just where the country (USA) is heading, and try to forecast if Obama will succeed as President in 2012 or not. (Hopefully not). Believe me, this ties-in to how Maine's climate will go...(no, I don't mean the weather, either).

But in Maine, which is the prime focus here, the candidates MUST tell the folks about the way things ought to be fixed...not make empty promises on the fact they said they will fix things. Easy to say, "I'll get the job done", to an interviewer...but isn't it better to tell "How" the job can get done and then be able to work with others to actually do it? Candidates here should be a person who can get involved...and yes...sometimes micromanage things...not just an 'administrator'. See, too, if these candidates really have experience to operate the state, and not be too pronounced on getting their photo-ops in corn fields or the buyout of new business by out-of-state moguls. Good luck, if you folks can "read" the candidate of your choice, I hope, for the sake of Maine, the new Governor can get Maine back into hype with jobs, economic structure, and to do something about the overall taxation issues.

There is'nt a good one in all of the 21 that are running

Is Martin Vachon from Mariaville the same as the one who ran a campaign from the Sanford area ?

i say we put them all under a microscope, and make sure none of them are related in any shape or form to baldacci!!!

It is well past time we ended the one party rule in this state. Let's elect a business savvy Republican who can stop the excessive spending and go nose to nose with the state employees unions.

It's about time Richardson makes the formal announcement (see today's PPH & KJ), as they have been talking about it since he hired Pat Eltman to help get him into the Blaine House. Richardson is nothing but a status quo candidate for governor, and the people will soon recognize this fact. The Far Left liberals need to go! We need major CUTS in government if we're going to survive this fiasco...

for government to work for we the people it can not be ruled by one party. 38 years of democrat control is a lesson in how government was intended NOT to work. they are rolling out the red carpet for the federal government instead of being our best defense. vote republican!!!!!!!

Just a candidate that can be trusted to do his job for me is good enough for just ME.

And I do not really care what lyin Party he comes from or even if he is a so called Independant.

Just a Man that believes in Maine and the ole US of A will Do

For that would be a Very Big Step Indeed for Me.

It is time to look past the failed programs and policies of the Democrats and Republicans., Both parties, nationally, are in alignment with big money corporate interests, which is killing our economy. We have had nothing but tired rhetoric and broken promises from these two parties for decades. Time for a change, a real change, not Obama's chump change.

Vote Green. Support Lynne Williams for Governor. Intelligent. Active. Experienced in Maine politics. The Green Party listens, and has the ideas for tomorrow, not yesterday's tired, unworkable corporate solutions.

Think about the future. Who has the ideas, the people, the energy? The Maine Green Independent Party.

Doesn't matter to me how many candidates there are. I'm sticking with Green Independnent Lynne Williams of Bar Harbor. She's environmentally aware, an advocate of local control, and fiscally conservative. Check her out at http;//www.lynnewilliams2010.org

We need someone with a business type approach.$400 million in debt?How responsible is that.Making laws that everything votes down after.Clean out the governor's office, the whole legislature and house.Start over.We definitely have nowhere to go but up.

enviromentally aware to me means beholding to the same enviromental groups that the democrats are beholding to. take a look around district 2...the enviromental policies and land purchases with our tax dollars are not reasonable..they boarder on the militant, no motorized vehicles, no walking, no people ideology that has crippled economic development in Maine....green party?? nope. democrats with a progressive agenda. nope. republicans with some great ideas, YES. Mayor LePage or Matt Jacobson would be great.

People have been beseeching Democrats and Republicans to give us better government for at least four decades now. Those parties are the ones who voted (with a few notable exceptions) to give hundreds of billions to the BANKSTERS whose greed was shown last year to be monumental, while at the same time approving policies that exported jobs to foreign countries for the past 15 years, the ones who have gotten us bogged down in unnecessary and unwinnable foreign wars. Why would you want more of the same? Imagine the shock to the system (shock therapy, one may call it) if Maine could lead the nation by electing a Green governor. You have seen where the major parties have gotten us. What have you got to lose by being bold enough to go Green? Lynne Williams for 2010!

I am supporting the Green Independent Party's candidate Lynne Williams. She was strong on No on #1 (which unfortunately lost) and on workers' equity issues, and the environment. We couldn't do better than her.

Lynne is a strong candidate as she has traveled around the State working on issues with all different people. She has helped keep LNG out of Washington County, worked with folks finding wind mills { she favors wind energy but says that "siting" is the big issue} and she has helped communities in southern Maine fight against Neslie stealing their water, Lynne has a great sense of the problems that plague us and many solutions to get us out of this mess, she's honest, not tied to special interests that control the State, and most importantly she's a good at listening to people.

I am supporting Lynne Williams in her bid to be Maine's governor, because she understands the importance of preserving our state's natural heritage. Every time I turn around lately someone wants to fly military jets at 500 feet over our beautiful state (Massachusetts Air National Guard) or bring a drone testing site to fill Maine's skies with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (John Richardson, another candidate). What is it these people don't understand about Vacationland? With an economy dependent on continuing to attract tourism, we need someone hard-working and clear headed like Lynne at the helm.

The biggest moonbat with a "D" after their name will win. Maine sheeple desire the Socialist Utopia, at all costs.

A green independent moonbat lawyer cannot solve unemployment, cannot balance a budget, cannot trim the fat from immigrant & DHHS pork programs & will cater to special interest groups. We all will suffer if a moonbat is elected.

Milton Friedman style Economic Shock Therapy will not do us any favors either.

Maine's biggest problem is it is right full of Mainer's. They complain about no jobs then hate on everyone who has one, like we owe them because we stayed off the coffee brandy and the oxy's and stayed in High School long enough to get a degree, and went to college to better ourselves. Put anyone you want in the Blaine House, It's the people who make up this state, maybe that's the problem. But it will always be easier to blame Augusta.

I wouldn't vote for any Green candidate. That's like voting for an extreme left liberal democrat which we have had running the State for the last 38 years! Get a business man that has run a thriving business and you might save Maine.