Even with your mea culpa in the Jan. 18 Portland Press Herald (“Our View: Disturbing national political trend led to our error”), it is still disturbing that the piece by Koch Industries’ Mark V. Holden reached Maine Voices at all, and ensuing letters published let us know that readership concerns were not unique.
Long before Citizens United became a legal issue, monied influences have invaded our political processes at state and local levels. Maine voters’ primary concern should be to protect our individual votes and ensure our rights to representative government at all levels.
I question influences that come in the form of monetary purchase power. But we all agree that, in order for individuals seeking elective office to get their information and qualifications to the voters, it does cost money, and some are more able to offer more support to pay for this.
However, when those “from away” are allowed into our process – one person-one vote representation – are they not interfering with our rights to have our interests represented, whether in city government, in Augusta or in Washington?
It has been my hope, for years, to find any representatives in Augusta to take up the challenge and disallow any contributions that are not from Maine citizens or real Maine businesses and organizations.
Instead, I have been told that this would be illegal. So, my individual right to one person-one vote, although constitutional, has somehow become illegal?
Where are our constitutional legal authorities when you need them?
Time for a petition and a challenge at the state level – every state level! – to these “laws.”
Loretta M. Turner
Biddeford
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