Nealley for Bangor
How many have taken the TV viewing time to watch city council meetings? The audio has even gotten better. It has become increasingly evident that councilors spend countless hours in preparation, along with attending an array of assigned related city department subcommittee sessions.
Councilors demonstrate a strong caring for and pride in representing the city of Bangor. Such qualities are exemplified in their deliberations over the most recent agenda items seen and heard by this viewer such as: public safety, alternative fuel-related conversion costs, maintenance of local government accountability and educational excellence.
The proliferation of candidates’ signs at street intersections indicating their willingness to serve is admirable. One candidate very much worthy to consider is David Nealley, a fifth-generation Bangor man. He is willing and able to shoulder the important tasks that the City Council of Bangor undertakes.
Fran and Dick Mitchell
Bangor
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Endorsing Emerson
I am supporting Marie Emerson for state representative. As a former student in Marie’s culinary arts program at Washington County Community College and now an owner of a restaurant in Calais, I would like to share my opinion of Marie Emerson as a state representative for Maine’s smaller towns.
The level of energy and dedication she devotes to her responsibilities as an instructor is evident in the classroom, the various school projects and countless field trips. One field trip included volunteering with Giving Kids the World (a theme park for severely sick or terminally ill children) in Florida, others were to conferences concerning many important political issues.
Her concern for her students and former students greatly surpasses what students would expect from a teacher. I am confident this energy will be given to improve our small towns and communities. During my school year, many of our discussions focused on our economy and what effect it has on small-business owners and what we could do to improve the economy, or how to get more jobs to the towns or small communities that need them most.
As a small-business owner herself, Marie is aware of the challenges business owners face. She is also concerned with how we can use Maine’s natural resources to increase or create new employment opportunities for Maine people.
Marie Emerson is someone who cares and knows firsthand what small-business owners need, and as a small business owner myself, she has my vote!
Sherry Johnson
Calais
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‘Stupid’ clarification
On Nov. 4, 2008 voters in Hermon will vote on a proposed charter amendment that would allow people to circulate a petition to fire the town manager without a hearing, without just cause and without any other due process to which such a municipal employee is entitled. I was quoted in the Oct 10 BDN as calling the proposed amendment “one of the stupidest proposals I’ve ever heard.” I was misquoted.
I do, in fact, think that the proposed amendment is ill advised, poor public policy, unconstitutional and a violation Maine’s Freedom of Access Act. If adopted and implemented it would result in potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of liability for Hermon and years of litigation. I did not, however, call the proposed amendment stupid.
What I did call stupid was the assertion by an attorney for the proponents of the amendment that the amendment would survive constitutional challenge “because due process protections attach only to action by a governmental entity [and] … the voter action under the proposed amendment is citizen action, not governmental action [and]) therefore, there is arguably no due process violation.” I stand by my assessment of that assertion.
The casebooks are full of cases holding that ordinances and charter provisions adopted by residents are unconstitutional (for example, ordinances mandating segregated housing). If resident action, in the form of a town meeting vote, did not constitute governmental action, no ordinance or charter provision adopted by the residents could ever be declared unconstitutional. Such an assertion is, in fact, stupid.
Richard D. Violette, Jr.
Attorney for the town of Hermon
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Waldo County needs Shorey
Bill Shorey is the Democratic candidate for the position of Waldo County commissioner which is an important job for controlling finances of the county government.
We live in strenuous times with decreasing revenues brought about by the governmental policies which have prevailed for the past eight years. We need change in leadership at this time.
We need someone who is frugal with money and not afraid to stand up for the people. We need someone who will consider and make decisions with the best interest of our children and grandchildren in their mind. We need someone with honor, courage and integrity.
We need some new leaders like Bill Shorey. He gets the vote of my family because he has these qualities and will do the job justice.
Patrick Quinn
Winterport
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Supports Rep. Rosen
Kimberley Rosen is the clear choice as state representative for House District 40.
As her colleague on the Transportation Committee, I have witnessed Rep. Rosen dedicate numerous hours to public hearings and work sessions dealing with transportation policy, the highway fund, highway and bridge construction and railroads — just to name a few.
Rep. Rosen was a staunch supporter of two measures that will put Maine into compliance with Department of Homeland Security demands to tighten state driver’s license security. One new law requires that an applicant for a license show valid evidence of legal presence in the United States and the second law requires an applicant to show proof of state residency.
Rep. Rosen also supported bonding $160 million to repair many of the state’s bridges that will need work in the coming years. Furthermore, she was instrumental in working with the Maine Turnpike Authority to have a directional sign erected advising travelers on how to reach the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and the Visitors’ Center.
I urge you to vote for Rep. Kimberley Rosen. She works very hard for her constituents in Bucksport and Orrington as well as for all Maine residents.
Rep. Bill Browne
Vassalboro
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Vet widow for Obama
I am supporting Barack Obama for president to honor my late husband, who died last year with complications from his exposure to radiation during World War II. This exposure gave us many opportunities to use the VA system of health care and while each individual provider could not have been more concerned and professional, the system as a whole was much like negotiating a never-ending maze. I do not want any other military family to face such a heart-rending process as they care for their loved ones.
It appears that many veterans were exposed to harmful radiation without much regard for their personal safety nor the well-known effects such exposure would have on future generations. Now the veterans have been exposed to other dangers and are returning with serious, though not always visible, wounds. Many wives like myself will become daily caretakers and will need to negotiate a system that has been broken for too long and desperately needs repair.
I believe that it will take someone like Barack Obama with energy, commitment, and a far reaching vision to bring some degree of efficiency and compassion to this system. I am proud to give him my full support.
Linda H. Small
Port Clyde
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Election notice
The Bangor Daily News will stop accepting election-related letters and commentary on Monday, Oct. 27. The newspaper will continue to publish such letters and commentary through the week of Oct. 27-31, ending with the Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 1-2 issue. Not all submissions can be published.