Former Secretary of State Rodney Quinn says Eliot Cutler should run as a Democrat if he runs for governor again (“If Eliot Cutler runs again, it shouldn’t be as an independent,” April 24). I say absolutely not!

As an independent, I sincerely hope that Eliot Cutler never runs as a member of a current political party. The two-party system is a huge part of our current economic and social mess. We have few people willing to run for elected office who are fiscally and socially responsible and also have the fortitude to buck ridiculous party lines and pressures.

If people like Eliot are not ready to step up to the political plate, what are my choices in casting my vote? I can vote for people who want to continue the financial rape of the lower-income and middle-income classes — while making the richest of us even more rich — who are in favor of forcing a religious right-wing vision of personal behavior onto all of us, who reward big business’ bad behavior with our hard-earned tax dollars, etc.

Or, I could vote for people who seem unable to make reasonable fiscal choices, who cannot implement protections to our people and environment without making the regulations convoluted and impossible to navigate, who are tied head-to-toe with unions and other institutions who are no longer reasonable in their goals and demands, etc.

Yes, these are generalizations, but unfortunately they are not “gross” in nature today. I spend a lot of time and energy searching among the available candidates for all elected offices for people who are not party hacks. They are few and far between. I usually end up choosing the least offensive candidate.

Eliot, please don’t succumb to party pressures! We need you.