Uhlenhake for Maine Senate
I grew up in this wonderful state of Maine and have chosen to remain here. I’m supporting Bev Uhlenhake for the Maine Senate, and I urge my fellow residents to do the same.
Uhlenhake has surpassed my expectations as council member and mayor in Brewer. She is smart, intelligent and her “get it done” attitude is exactly what we need in Augusta.
In addition to her professional life, I’ve known Uhlenhake personally for 21 years. She is one of the most compassionate, understanding people I have ever met.
As a resident and business owner in Maine, I have confidence Uhlenhake is going to continue to help develop Maine into a powerhouse state. I wholeheartedly support Uhlenhake for the Maine Senate and encourage others to vote and support this amazing lady.
Christine Longtin
Brewer
Mills for governor
Janet Mills went hauling traps with me a few weeks ago. She was great; nothing fazed her, not the bait, not the lobsters trying to bite her when she was measuring or banding them. She just waded right in. She was both helpful and fun to have on board.
We already know that Mills doesn’t shrink from challenges and approaches them with confidence and determination. I agree with most all of her opinions and have felt extremely well represented by her office while she has been attorney general.
After our day on the water, I’m further convinced that she has the grit and resolve to be our next governor. Coaxing a stubborn lobster out of a trap without getting bitten is, in a practical sense, something like working across the aisle. Mills has my enthusiastic vote.
Jon Emerson
North Haven
Yes on Question 4
Aroostook County should be proud that we send a higher percentage of our young people onto college than 14 other Maine counties. But with less than 20 percent of adults here having a four-year degree, which more employers expect, efforts to get more adults to also consider going back to school are increasingly important.
I drove by the University of Maine at Fort Kent for years without realizing the opportunity it held for me. But when I had to make a career change, this designated military-friendly school with a highly respected nursing program was the obvious choice for me as a veteran living in the St. John Valley.
While it was initially intimidating to return to the classroom after 30 years, I have felt valued and supported as I have pursued my bachelor of science in nursing. Many of my fellow nursing students are also adults who, like me, have come back to school seeking the opportunities a four-year nursing degree provides for a good-paying career caring for our communities.
This November we have a chance to strengthen the impact the University of Maine System has on students and our state by voting yes on Question 4. This bond will bring $7.5 million to the university system’s two campuses in The County so they can educate more nurses, teach more students skills for in-demand jobs and create opportunity for residents of rural Maine to get great jobs close to home.
Please join me in voting yes on Question 4 on Nov. 6.
Duane Belanger
Fort Kent
Stark choice this November
After years of an anemic economic recovery, we are reaching a time of record employment for all workers and a sense that America and Maine are finally on the move again. The upcoming election is an opportunity to choose the direction of our country and state.
The agendas of conservatives and liberals are far apart. One side is choosing a path of socialism — a system in which individuals surrender their rights for the good of the collective and “free” stuff. This thinking has resulted in an accumulation of federal government debt and unfunded liability of more than $177,000 for every taxpayer (an IOU for your newborn). The other side wants to return to a constitutional republic — a system in which the citizen rights are protected and individuals are free to pursue their dreams and make the choices to shape their success (or failure) — the system that originally made America great.
History has not been kind to people who surrender their rights for promises that they will be taken care of. Consider the history of Russia, Germany and Italy, and in the present Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela — all are failing and their citizens are losing their freedom and in some cases their lives.
The belief and differences between the left and right are stark; in short it is the freedom of the individual or the surrender of the people to the power of the government. Think about this when you vote.
Joseph Grant
Wiscasset
People want ranked voting
How many times must we “the people” tell our government what we want, win it, and then have to fight the battle again? We need to change the Maine Constitution to enact the will of the people to use ranked-choice voting in Maine for all elections in which we participate.
State, local and national, we want to be the leaders in a more fair way to choose from candidates, and put the candidate in office that reflects the true will of the people. We must avoid another LePage debacle.
It’s easy to use, and we want it. What is the problem with that?
Robert W. Finlay
Medway
Presidential alert
So why is the chief resident of the White House now invading my house with his idiotic presidential alert? No other president has seemed to have the uncontrollable urge to invade my phone. Honestly, it is all I can force myself to do to listen to this man talk down to me on TV on occasion. Now, just because I forgot to turn my cell phone off I get alerted in the middle of the afternoon?
What is this guy planning? Marshall law? Are we going to be forced to listen to all his tweets? Is he going to use this as a means to convince me that my mere existence is thanks to him who resides in the White House?
Thomas Bonner
Holden
Election notice
The BDN will stop accepting letters and OpEds related to the Nov. 6 election on Oct. 26. Not all submissions can be published.