Ranked voting warning
Maine Democrats who support the ranked-choice voting initiative should reflect on the 18th Congressional District in Pennsylvania. It was a three-person race, and Connor Lamb, the Democrat, won without a majority and by fewer than 1,000 votes. In a Hare-type runoff, nearly all the 1,379 votes that went to the Libertarian, Drew Miller, would have been added to Rick Saccone’s Republican votes, giving Saccone the win.
Robert Tredwell
Orono
Bolton a dangerous man
It’s oft been noted that someone would have to be out of their mind to work for President Donald Trump. Fortunately, the president found one with just the right qualifications. Fresh from the NRA board room and the Fox green room comes John Bolton, his new national security adviser.
Bolton is truly a dangerous man who nearly single handedly dragged us into the Iraq War — with his patently false claims of yellowcake uranium from Niger, aluminum tubes and weapons of mass destruction. He played the fears of the American people as he pursued his megalomaniac regime change plans. He has openly rationalized invading North Korea and Iran in the same fashion. He has accused Cuba of developing biological weapons.
His resume is so long that it’s easy to forget he made a career out of defying Congress and was involved in the Iran-Contra affair. He was a train wreck in his recess appointment as the U.S. representative to the United Nations, and even Republicans wouldn’t vote for a permanent posting.
But like a zombie freed from the crypt, he is back. Probably there will be apologists who say he will scare North Korea and Iran into compliance, or at least Trump has someone who shares his views. Once again Trump has demonstrated his lack of judgement of character or understanding of history. Unfortunately, Bolton is considerably savvier than the easily rolled and flattered Trump, and he may drag us into a major conflict. He has done it before, and we are still paying for it.
Greg Rossel
Troy
A transportation proposal
The March 16 BDN editorial, “Transportation options for Maine seniors in short supply,” is of course not new information. As Maine appears to be moving ever more toward a state of gray-headed residents, ideas for a solution are sorely needed.
I am a senior Maine native and have lived in large cities in the U.S. and other countries where public transportation was available close to 24/7 and often free for seniors. We simply do not have the population for that here. But sometimes a solution can be right in front of us and we do not see it. It this case the solution might be big, bright and yellow.
I have often wondered if there couldn’t be a way to use school buses, which every community has, for senior transportation. School buses mostly sit idle between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. when seniors do or could schedule their medical appointments and go to the grocery store (the “subsistence transportation” mentioned in the editorial). The schedule could be expanded in the summer when buses sit idle and seniors are more likely to want to be out and about.
Granted, there would be lots of issues to work through, such as would it be the same drivers as for schools? Accessibility? Routes to make it as easy as possible to use? The basic point is we already have paid for a pile of buses with our tax dollars; how can we put them to use for senior transportation?
Diann Henderson
Camden
Hills for House District 97
Caitlin Hills is running for the Democratic nomination for Maine House District 97 in the June primary. The residents of Belfast, Northport and Waldo have the opportunity to send a highly experienced and effective representative to Augusta to fill the shoes of Rep. Erin Herbig, who will be termed out and is running for the state Senate.
Hills, a lifelong Democrat, a lawyer and currently chair of the RSU 71 board of directors, has an extensive leadership experience in government. As environmental policy adviser to a senator in Washington and positions in environmental action organizations, she wrote, and had passed, bills in Congress that help protect our natural resources.
Since coming to Maine she has been active in education and children’s activities and initiated the community forum on school safety that took place recently. She is passionate about the planet and education and would be a strong advocate for the future of our communities and the people who she would represent.
That is why I will be voting for Hill in June to send her to Augusta to help bring about change for all of us.
Charlie Grey
Belfast
Make Medicaid expansion a priority
In November of 2017, 59 percent of Maine voters approved Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. We understood that our vote would extend health care coverage to tens of thousands of low-income Mainers.
In the past, the Maine Legislature passed Medicaid expansion bills five separate times, only to have each vetoed by the governor. The current administration opposes Medicaid expansion, in part, because it sees it in negative terms, as a disincentive to finding a job. Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon answers that argument by pointing out that some 70 percent of those people who are eligible are already working, but at such low wages that they can’t afford health insurance.
In the opinion of a majority of Mainers, the health care of every resident of Maine is a priority and an issue of public concern. Other states feel the same. Maine is the 32 nd state to expand Medicaid. It’s interesting that Maine is the first state to do so by referendum.
Don’t let anyone threaten Mainers’ right to initiate referenda. In this case, legislators should be thankful to the people of Maine for having their backs on Medicaid expansion. The Legislature must prioritize allocating the funds for implementation of Medicaid expansion.
Carole Boothroyd
Dover-Foxcroft
Maine better under LePage?
A reader wrote in the March 16 edition of the Bangor Daily News that Gov. Paul LePage is leaving the state in a better position than before he was elected and that candidate Mary Mayhew proved successful in his administration and deserves to be Maine’s next governor.
To use a LePageism, “What planet are you from?”
Earl Flaherty
East Machias