Cutler only choice for Bucksport
If you had an old car and wanted to sell it, you’d keep that engine running until it sold. It’s the same with a business. That’s why Bucksport needs to listen to — and vote for — Eliot Cutler.
Winter is closing in on Bucksport, the Verso mill and Maine paper companies. Cutler has a plan to buy the mill and keep it producing and selling electricity. That would keep the town of Bucksport running until the mill can be re-sold.
In stark contrast, Gov. Paul LePage, connected to the Cate Street Capital scandal, claims he never saw the shutdown coming. Similarly, Mike Michaud, although he has 29 years of paper mill experience, doesn’t know what to do. Michaud said he wants to hold a summit of the paper company foxes on how to run the chicken coop.
Only Cutler, a leader with undisputed world-class business and government experience, has a plan to keep the town alive. Failure is not an option. Christmas is coming, and families need jobs. LePage’s excuses won’t cut it. Michaud’s excuses won’t cut it. Bucksport and Maine need a business leader with a winning record and a plan. It would be foolish not to take this opportunity to elect Cutler and put him — and his experience — to work for the people of Maine.
William S. Linnell
Portland
We need Collins
This November, I am voting for Sen. Susan Collins, because time and time again she demonstrates that she is an independent thinker who is driven by common sense rather than what her party dictates. This matters to me because it shows that she is beholden to no one except the people who she was elected to represent — us here in Maine. Last year’s government shutdown was a show of politicians at their worst, with the exception of our Collins, who got to work on finding a solution instead of casting blame on others. At a time in our national politics where partisanship reigns supreme and compromise is becoming harder and hard to find, Collins is needed more than ever. She certainly has my vote.
Jacob Darveau
Waterville
Yes on 1
We’re being told these days that we should trust the bear biologists at Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, but we should be skeptical instead. First, IF&W is closely allied with the state’s powerful hunting lobby from which it receives significant financial support, and it’s not about to jeopardize that relationship. The result is that its objectivity has been seriously compromised.
Second, because of IF&W’s “scientific management” Maine’s bear population has grown from 23,000 in 2004 to more than 30,000 in 2010, with about 500 bear complaints each year. That doesn’t inspire a lot of trust.
Finally, IF&W condones a shooting gallery mentality designed for out-of-state trophy hunters. There’s nothing sporting about baiting, hounding and trapping, but there’s a great deal that’s cruel. It’s time to end that cruelty and restore Maine’s tradition of fair chase hunting. We can do that by voting yes on Question 1 in November.
Don Loprieno
Bristol
Thanking Collins
I was thrilled to read in the paper that Maine will receive a substantial federal grant for the purpose of replacing the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, or, as locals refer to it, the “Middle Bridge.”
Middle Bridge serves the Seacoast as much more than an alternate route to the “Big Bridge” of I-95. It provides major access for four lanes of local traffic on the Route 1 Bypass that funnel down to cross the Piscataqua River. My family and I are some of the innumerable Maine citizens who travel over the Middle Bridge multiple times on a weekly basis.
The Seacoast Community is well aware that the Middle Bridge from Kittery, Maine to Portsmouth, New Hampshire has been rated as structurally deficient. This has been a huge concern to us in the region. The residents of Kittery, and all of York County, are grateful to our Sen. Susan Collins for her leadership in securing this critical federal funding to replace the Middle Bridge.
Just as she did with the Memorial Bridge, she has once again demonstrated her effectiveness as our senator in delivering tangible results that improve the safety and quality of life for Mainers. The benefits of these enormous infrastructure projects will be felt and appreciated by our Maine Seacoast Communities for decades to come.
I want to thank Sen. Collins – she certainly has my support come this November.
Laurel Pollard
York
Vote Karl Ward
I like to know who I may be voting for. This summer I was visited by Veronica Magnan, candidate for state representative for my District (131 — which includes Penobscot, Orland, Prospect, Stockton Springs, Verona Island and Otis). During the visit, she implied she was an incumbent but my current representative is a man and my district is a whole new district created a year ago. So I questioned the implication and she “clarified” and backtracked, explaining that she had served but had to stop only because of a physical issue and the issue was now remedied allowing her to serve again.
So after she left I checked out her story. And as it turns out she ran for reelection in 2010 but was voted out by the voters. She then ran for selectman in her town of Stockton Springs and lost that election too. These were defeats not a resignation.
Most Mainers vote the person — vote for who they trust the most. I’ll be voting for her opponent, construction company owner Karl Ward. You should too.
Luke Hutchins
Penobscot
Careful leader
Mike Michaud will be well-informed on a policy issue before he makes a decision on it. I know, because I’m retired from the Maine Law and Legislative Library where librarians do research for legislators. In my experience, Michaud stood out as a legislator who made regular and wise use of the service.
Michaud wanted information from unbiased, reputable and up-to-date sources — information intended for policy makers. He wanted to know what experience states with population and conditions similar to ours had with legislation addressing the issue. If they had a successful law or policy he wanted a copy of it. He followed up by discussing the information with colleagues in Maine.
Michaud is the deliberate and careful leader we want for making decisions about complex issues like improving our economy and preparing for the effects of climate change on our environment and infrastructure.
Jane Edwards
Winslow