Moral compass lacking
If candidates have to rely on vilifying welfare recipients, immigrants and the poor to win a vote, they don’t deserve to be elected. We live in a financial environment that has institutionalized economic inequality. Instead of questioning the social responsibility of large retail and food service corporations that pay less than a living wage and offer no health insurance, too often the workers from these corporations are chastised for applying for food stamps to feed their children so they can pay the rent to keep a roof over their head. How many parents are supporting their adult children with college degrees because they’re working in jobs that can barely support them much less a family?
I hope voters will choose candidates who are willing to reset our country’s economic moral compass. Defaming groups of people is a great distraction to keep the status quo, which we can’t afford.
Mary Jane Bush
Bucksport
Retire Collins
In Tuesday’s BDN, the president of the largest union at Bath Iron Works praised Sen. Susan Collins and urged her re-election. And why wouldn’t he. She’s never seen an authorization for another billion dollar warship that she didn’t like, and that keeps the workers at BIW employed.
But while doing that, she votes against things such as raising the minimum wage, overturning the Citizens United decision or equalizing the rights of women in the workplace that would help the rest of us.
It’s time to tell Collins to retire and go home.
Maynard Clemons
Belfast
Weston for Senate
The election this fall gives us the opportunity to add to the Maine Senate someone with experience, strength and good judgment, and we surely need those qualities in our state Legislature. Those of us in Bangor and Hermon should elect Cary Weston as our District 32 senator to fill that need.
Weston is a proven leader in both the private and public sectors. In addition to owning and managing a successful local small business, he recently ably led the city of Bangor as our mayor during a very challenging period. His broad, balanced experience and his thoughtful, energetic, and creative leadership is exactly what we must have in our Senate to deal with the problems Maine faces.
Clifton Eames
Bangor
MaineCare saves lives
As a physician who has practiced medicine in Bar Harbor for over 43 years, I am deeply concerned and disappointed by Gov. Paul LePage’s ill-informed opposition to MaineCare expansion. I also am disappointed that Sen. Brian Langley has supported LePage’s vetoes of bipartisan compromises to expand MaineCare. Langley has supported denying expansion of Mainecare to 70,000 Maine residents, over 3,000 of whom live in Hancock County.
There are many studies in the medical literature documenting the health care benefits of health insurance. A landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 found that states that expanded Medicaid coverage had a 6 percent decline in deaths of adults age 40 to 64 years over the next five years when compared with neighboring states that did not expand Medicaid. This study showed that for every 176 additional adults covered, one death per year was prevented. In the past two years, 36 adults in Hancock County and 397 adults in Maine have died unnecessarily.
Expanding MaineCare also may have economic benefits. Joe Feinglass, professor of medicine at Northwestern School of Medicine, has estimated that the LePage vetoes of Medicaid expansion (and Langley’s support of these vetoes) have already cost Maine thousands of jobs and millions of dollars.
But expanding MaineCare is not about economics. It is about preventing death and suffering for our most vulnerable citizens.
LePage and Langley do not deserve our votes. Ted Koffman has consistently supported MaineCare expansion and is a much better choice for state senator.
Edward B. Gilmore
Bar Harbor
Michaud helps veterans
Since the 20th Maine charged downhill to save Little Round Top at Gettysburg in 1863, Mainers have been in the vanguard of our nation’s defense. Maine still has one of the highest per capita veteran populations in the country. Unfortunately, American wars since World War II have become more ambiguous and less supported by the American public. Our vets have consequently suffered neglect at the hands of politicians and pundits, hospitals and health organizations.
Congressman Mike Michaud is a notable exception. He has committed himself over the past decade to improving our nation and state for veterans. As the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee in Washington, he led the recent bipartisan effort to pass the Veterans Administration reform bill. His ability to shape public policy is badly needed in Augusta, as well as Washington.
Maine veterans deserve our gratitude and our support. In November, so does our future governor, Mike Michaud.
David H. Fluharty
CDR, U.S. Navy Retired
Bath
Vote Matt Foster
It is definitely time for a change in the Hancock and Washington County district attorney offices. Matt Foster is the candidate to vote for, and his platform supports my decision to endorse him.
We need a district attorney and staff that will meet regularly with law enforcement agencies, bail commissioners, court administrators and the jail administrators to maintain open lines of communication, efficiency and professionalism between all of these agencies. A deputy district attorney should also be selected by our newly elected district attorney to assist with the operation of the three district attorney offices (Ellsworth, Machias and Calais) so there is consistent communication and interaction between these offices on a regular basis.
These are major platform issues of Foster’s campaign. Foster served in the U.S. Army with an honorable discharge and received a master’s degree in business administration before going on to law school. These additional attributes, coupled with his experience in the legal field, make him the most qualified to be our next district attorney.
Change is good. Get out and vote on Nov. 4. Let’s elect the right candidate for Hancock and Washington County district attorney: Matt Foster.
Judie Dannenberg
Surry
Anybody but LePage
I am waiting until the last week before elections to decide on Eliot Cutler or Rep. Mike Michaud for governor. I will not now, nor ever vote for Gov. Paul LePage. I only want to help him lose this election.
He is a total embarrassment to our state, and he only wants to argue and fight the opposition, instead of getting along for the common good.
Bill Perreault
Brunswick