Paradis for Belfast mayor
Some senior citizens like myself have spent plenty of time complaining about the young millennial generation. So why on earth would mature citizens in Waldo County want a millennial in the mayor’s office? A young professional, Samantha Paradis, is running for mayor of Belfast. Why would we want a millennial for our mayor? Here’s why.
While Paradis was the Belfast public health nurse, in 2016, she rounded up constituent groups concerned about issues with our aging population. She brought representatives from around the county to the table to talk. The result has been her founding a new organization, Aging Well in Waldo County, which is seeking solutions to Waldo County challenges.
In this context, I have been impressed with her leadership finesse. She has a knack for being diplomatic, keeping the focus of a meeting, and moving an agenda forward. Because of this, Aging Well in Waldo County is thriving. She continues now to lead as a volunteer, working around her position as a medical-surgical charge nurse at Waldo County General Hospital.
Running for office is not a surprise for Paradis. In 2016, she participated in Emerge Maine, a seven-month intensive leadership training program designed to help women run for public office and get elected. Seeking to be Belfast’s mayor is a logical next step.
I believe we have a fine emerging leader here. I will vote for Paradis on Nov. 7.
Wendy C Kasten
Belfast
Expand Medicaid
Cobscook Friends Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) endorses the effort to extend Medicaid to more than 70,000 low-income Maine residents who do not have health coverage.
We believe that it is our responsibility, as a caring nation, to provide access to adequate health care for the poor and sick among us. More than 66,000 Maine registered voters petitioned to have Medicaid expansion on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Over several years, Maine’s elected representatives in the Legislature voted for Medicaid expansion five times but each time it was vetoed by the governor.
To survive financially, our rural hospitals and clinics need all Maine adults and children to have their health care costs covered. Now is the time to require the state to expand Medicaid coverage.
Beth Clifford
Perry
Janet Weston
Trescott Township
Co-clerks
Cobscook Friends Monthly Meeting
Column cancellations disappointing
I am so disappointed in the BDN’s systematic elimination of all my favorite columns. Many of these writers are still writing, but rather than personal vignettes about their lives, they are now writing features and informative stories.
There was a certain value in the personal columns that helped us see how others handle life experiences in our increasingly complex and difficult world. Life-changing events and how to approach them — births, raising kids, deaths, pets, illness, aging, implementing and coordinating the cyber world into ours — are all valuable and valid subjects, and it is interesting to hear how others cope.
Some of the columns I am going to miss are: Meg Haskell, Sarah Walker Caron, Julie Harris, Kathryn Olmsted, Julia Bayly, Emmet Meara and Aislinn Sarnacki. Please don’t take away Sarah Smiley, Sandy Oliver and John Holyoke.
What is the BDN doing? I hope I will enjoy this future BDN as much as I have in the past, but I’m not sold yet.
Hope MacDonald
Millinocket
A third casino bad for Maine
When one sees all of the hoopla going on about having a third casino in Maine, one would be lead to believe there is no opposition.
Having worked for a company based in Atlantic City I can tell you what happens when the greedy casino owners build one too many. But that story does not have to be told as everyone knows what happened to that great seashore community that has now gone down the tubes twice.
The first time because the resort owners, for the most part, never bothered to make improvements to their property. The second time because they built too many casinos and by doing so diluted the amount of money that could be spent at each one and it was not enough to keep them alive.
Vote yes on Question 1 and there is an excellent chance you will see a very large empty building on Main Street in Bangor before very much time goes by. Once the profit margin drops below what is an acceptable level to the owners of Hollywood Casino, you can bet your last dollar they will be gone.
No downsizing. Just Gone. Who is going to make up the loss of revenue to the city? Maybe the already overburdened taxpayers?
Atlantic City is within a five-hour drive of a significant portion of the population of this country, and they blew it. Don’t let that happen here.
Russ Irwin
Hampden
Paradis good choice for Belfast
Samantha Paradis would be a fantastic choice as the next mayor of Belfast. She is a lifelong Mainer and cares deeply about her community. As a registered nurse, she has cared for young and old, and has helped drug abusers recover to turn their lives around. She listens to people, is passionate, has fresh ideas and brings diversity to the office of the mayor, which makes a community stronger.
When you listen to Paradis talk about Belfast, you can hear the love in her voice. She has described to me that when she kayaks out into the water and turns around and looks back at Belfast her breath is taken by the beauty of the city and the love she has for the welcoming and inclusive people. Paradis is a hard worker who works with many agencies, nonprofits, and elders with kindness and compassion. She cares about housing, economic development, clean energy and education. She has the strength of character and leadership skills as well as being down to earth.
If you want an approachable mayor who truly listens to the cares and concerns in the community, the choice is clear. Vote for Paradis for mayor of Belfast.
Lynn Copeland
Saco
Election notice
The BDN will stop accepting letters and OpEds related to the Nov. 7 election on Oct. 28. Not all submissions can be published.