Fulford for Senate District 11
I’m voting for Democrat Jonathan Fulford for Senate District 11. As a small-business owner and a Waldo County resident involved in town government, I follow a number of issues that affect our daily lives here in rural Maine: energy policy, school and local government funding, support for youth, health and emergency services.
No matter where I go in support of these issues, whether it’s a legislative hearing at the State House or a community forum in Belfast, Fulford is there.
Never have I seen a candidate work so hard for true understanding of the issues, the different perspectives and the best way to forge a path to improve the situation. He researches and reads up on the issues, studies innovative solutions pioneered in other states and talks with all the players involved.
I am tired and dismayed by the decline in civility in state politics. Name-calling, provocation and threats are some recent examples. We have to move beyond the polarization and get back to reasonable discourse and problem-solving.
From what I have observed, Fulford possesses the qualities I am looking for to be my voice in Augusta: respect for the values of Maine people combined with an eye to the future and how to make Maine a safe and kind place to live, with quality jobs, quality pay and a secure environment. Please join me in voting for Fulford on Tuesday.
Elise Brown
Liberty
GOP must be open
I write this letter as a political endangered species: a moderate Republican. The leaders of the Republican Party, at the federal and state levels, must work diligently before the next primary cycle to broaden the base and be open to ideas that may differ from the most conservative of views so that we may not repeat the biggest mistake in the history of the party: the nomination of Donald Trump.
For the party of Abraham Lincoln, in our country that was founded on the rights of the individual and first settled by immigrants fleeing religious persecution, to nominate a person who wants to bar people from entering our country based on their religion and build a wall along our southern border is beyond irresponsible.
We must find a way, whether through open primaries, ranked-choice voting or some other means, to open up the primary process to more moderate views and find a candidate who can build consensus around issues that matter to people, rather than this current national nightmare.
The revelations last month of what amounts to his sexual assaults against women have only served to confirm my decision that I will not be voting for anyone, but I will be voting against Trump. Maybe next time we can come up with candidates for whom people can enthusiastically vote.
Woodie Bartley
Greenville
Carbon tax good for Maine
The National Republican Congressional Committee’s latest attack ad features Emily Cain stating she supports a carbon tax. I am glad that the NRCC brought up the subject of climate change, and I am glad that Cain has taken a position on it.
The impact of climate change in Maine will be widespread. Consider the threat to the shellfish industry or the cost of repairs and upgrades to infrastructure to deal with the increasing number of severe weather events. Tourism and winter recreation and associated jobs and property values are all at risk. Add to that the effects on health, farming, maple syrup and blueberry production. And Mainers will share the burden of global economic and social disruption from increased costs of national security to managing migration of displaced people. Thankfully there is a solution that simultaneously grows the economy and creates jobs. It is revenue neutral carbon fee and dividend. All the money collected is returned to the people.
Some people use that nasty word “tax” to describe it, but as George Schultz, secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan said, “it’s not a tax if the government doesn’t keep the money.” This is a plan that Rep. Bruce Poliquin could support. It’s a way of addressing climate change that is nonpartisan, effective and consistent with his concern for jobs, the economy and the well-being of Maine families.
Paul Potvin
Hampden
No excuse for Trump
Donald Trump may well be a star, but that does not excuse his sexual harassment and assault. That sort of behavior is nothing to brag about, and it is never acceptable. That kind of “locker room talk” has no place in the locker room, let alone the Oval Office.
It is a man with a small mind that thinks his money and power enables him to force unwanted kisses and inappropriate touching on a woman, let alone on a married woman by a married man with a pregnant wife.
In how many more election cycles are we going to elect billionaires and Wall Street executives, the very people who contributed to the Great Recession and the decline of the middle class? Those are the people who have profited by sending jobs overseas, and then they expect to solve the problems of working people by giving the wealthy even bigger tax breaks and loosening environmental regulations for our children to clean up.
I commend Sen. Susan Collins for putting conservative values and principles ahead of party loyalty by refusing to support Trump or condone his behavior and inflammatory rhetoric toward women, Hispanics, blacks and Muslims.
Chris Elliott
Damariscotta
Thibodeau for Senate District 11
With Election Day right around the corner, I ask that everyone seriously weigh their decision about our local candidates and take into consideration the need for individuals to work together in order for our government to work. Once you embrace that idea, you realize that we can’t always get what we want, and those who can put aside ego and self-interest hammer out compromises based on prioritizing need with available funds, in other words a balanced budget.
Compromise is consent reached by mutual concessions so individuals who toe the party line and show no ability to accept compromise are not the individuals we need in office. For this and many other practical and common-sense reasons, I fully support Senate President Michael Thibodeau in his race for Senate District 11, a proven leader who exhibits those abilities and not someone who believes that compromise is only when you agree with his side.
Phillip Pitula
Winterport