Ranked-choice voting will improve elections
This year we will vote on a ballot question that asks if we wish to reform our voting system to use ranked-choice voting. I encourage all voters to learn more about this important change and how it can improve the political system that in the past has resulted in many voters feeling they had no voice.
One of the real benefits of ranked-choice voting is how it improves the primary election process. When political parties “clear the field” to choose who they deem to be a strong general election contender, we all lose regardless of what political party we support.
Ranked-choice voting eliminates vote splitting, so that like-minded candidates don’t split the vote between like-minded voters, allowing a candidate who may not have broad support to capture his or her party’s nomination.
How does this work? Instead of just choosing one candidate, voters will be able to rank the candidates as their first choice, second choice and third choice. If no candidate receives a majority of votes cast, the candidate with the least number of votes has lost and is eliminated. Ballots for this candidate are reassigned to the remaining candidates based on those voters’ second choices and the ballots are tallied again, until a candidate has more than 50 percent of the vote.
Lynne Horst
Addison
Support a tax on carbon
This year I joined the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which has many chapters both here and abroad. Its goal is to seek federal legislation to combat climate change and its subsequent outcomes with a revenue neutral carbon tax. One of many proponents of this strategy is Exxon-Mobil. Since 2009, this company has strongly supported a carbon tax.
Scientific American in its December issue reported that British Columbia has a carbon tax that has helped cut fuel consumption and carbon emissions without harming economic growth.The province now has the lowest personal income tax and one of the lowest corporate tax rates in Canada.
Scientific American also stressed that this action must be taken at the federal level and be coupled with renewable power and energy efficiency. My hope is that our congressional representatives will consider this choice.
Sandra Lane Johnson
Orono
Pay-as-you-throw works for Brewer
The odd Jan. 6 Bangor Daily News OpEd about trash disposal completely mischaracterizes pay-as-you-throw programs, which are a fair and equitable way to increase recycling and reduce waste. Brewer recently marked the five-year anniversary of its pay-as-you-throw program, which, since its inception in 2011, has resulted in a 370 percent increase in residential recycling and a more than 50 percent decrease in trash the city sends to Penobscot Energy Recovery Co.
The avoided disposal costs and revenue from our pay-as-you-throw program helps keep our tax rate stable — something our residents and businesses appreciate. It has enhanced the equity of Brewer’s tax structure because people pay for only the trash they themselves generate. Program savings cover a significant portion of curbside collection costs, so our commercial taxpayers no longer subsidize this purely residential service. To minimize the cost impact of pay-as-you-throw to our residents, particularly our elderly and low-income neighbors, Brewer significantly enhanced its recycling program to provide households a free way to reduce trash that requires disposal.
Brewer continues to look ahead for cost-effective, innovative solutions to manage solid waste generated within its borders. Later this month, the City Council will consider joining the Municipal Review Committee, of which Brewer is a member, to develop the next generation recycling facility for our region. The Fiberight project in Hampden promises to keep disposal rates affordable and divert even more recyclables from our trash, all while transforming the organic content of the waste into high-value energy products.
Karen Fussell
Finance director
City of Brewer
Brewer
LePage makes Christie look normal
Dear residents of the great state of Maine: I live in New Jersey and want to thank you for electing Gov. Paul LePage as your governor. In New Jersey, we also have a dumb Republican governor who does and says things that are stupid and bordering on illegal. But LePage takes idiocy to a new level. LePage makes Gov. Chris Christie look almost normal.
Thanks again.
Martin Cicchino
Maplewood, New Jersey