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You may not agree with every vote Sen. Susan Collins has ever taken, but I can tell you from my experience that she sees the needs of rural Maine and sends help.
When flood-level rain washed out our roads and breached Caratunk’s old bridges, our homes and travel means were at risk. These bridges were old and narrow bottlenecks that kept filling with gravel. I contacted every state agency I could to help us. The answer was always the same: The state was overwhelmed with bigger problems and had no money for a town our size. At one point, we were told Main Street might have to close.
Then help came from Collins in Washington. As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins secured $38.7 million to replace 11 aging, rural Maine bridges in poor condition, and Caratunk’s Main Street and Pleasant Pond bridges were included. That money came through a federal program she helped write specifically to fix old, rural bridges like ours. She saved our town from the next disaster before it happened. She saved our taxpayers from replacing expensive roads.
I believe Sen. Collins understands what small towns go through, and she has the seniority to deliver from D.C. With Augusta facing a $1.3 billion budget shortfall, rural towns can’t count on the state to step in. I believe Mainers need Susan Collins now more than ever before.
Elizabeth Caruso
Caratunk