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Kimberly Pomerleau of Standish represents District 85 in the Maine House of Representatives. She serves on the State and Local Government Committee.
I routinely hear opponents of Susan Collins talk about the pledge she made long ago to serve only two terms in the U.S. Senate. Much has been made of her decision not to keep that pledge, but in my mind, Maine is better off because she did not.
Like it or not, the Senate operates on a longstanding system of seniority. Put simply, the longer you serve, the more say your state has when federal dollars are being allocated.
Would it be better if that were not how the Senate worked? Perhaps. But you cannot win a game by wishing the rules were different. Luckily for Maine, we already have a senior senator who understands the rules and has, more or less, already won the game.
After nearly 30 years in the Senate, Collins now serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. To reach this position, she patiently climbed the ladder of seniority for almost five full terms. She now has an opportunity to direct the firehose of federal spending toward our state, and that influence is the result of nearly three decades of disciplined resolve to wait her turn. All of us in Maine are now benefiting from that hard work and patience.
Her influence is already paying dividends. As Appropriations chair, Collins has secured $1.5 billion for projects across Maine, helping communities rebuild roads, bridges, water systems, public safety facilities, and other critical infrastructure on a scale not seen in decades. Town by town, these investments are rebuilding Maine and demonstrating why Collins’ seniority is not a liability. It is one of our state’s greatest strengths.
I think people will look back years from now and ask why so many buildings across Maine have cornerstones bearing dates from the 2020s. I believe it will be because Susan Collins reached the height of her influence and used it to help rebuild Maine, community by community, addressing needs that had gone unmet for generations. My hope is that we can reelect her and make the same true of the early 2030s.
Senators from other states are all surely champing at the bit for Maine voters to give up on Collins so they can send our state to the back of the line, wrestle control of that firehose away from Maine, and redirect it toward Alaska, Kansas, West Virginia, or somewhere else. While those states would reap the benefits of their newfound influence, Maine would essentially restart the clock, perhaps waiting upwards of 100 years to regain the position we already hold today.
Not only can I forgive Collins for breaking that old pledge, but I thank her for doing so. By committing decades of her professional life to serving Maine, she has finally brought our state to the head of the table for when funding decisions are made.
I believe that throwing away that hard-earned advantage just as Maine is beginning to reap its full benefits would be the very definition of cutting off our nose to spite our face. I won’t be a party to such an irresponsible decision, and I hope other Maine voters will join me.