I have read many attacks on the good hard work that our new governor and Legislature are doing in Augusta from readers and the opinion columns of this newspaper.

We should not forget that our leaders were elected by the people of the great state of Maine to represent our views and promote an agenda that was clearly presented. Paul LePage is not a “polished” career politician who rides in the middle of the stream on every issue so as to not offend anyone. Rather, he is the man whom we the people elected — gritty, outspoken and determined to make Maine a better place to live for all Mainers.

The opinions expressed by this newspaper on Phil Congdon are very off-base, his words taken out of context, as were certain statements from our governor. Who was the person who preceded Phil in this capacity?

It seems that person didn’t do a good job, since Maine is considered the worst place to do business in the country, as stated by the nation’s leading business publication.

Very little ink has been used on reporting the real issues, such as the changes in the Maine Turnpike Authority and its taxpayer abuse, or the steps being taken now to eliminate the monopoly that allowed just two companies to provide health care in our state.

The list of accomplishments is long and impressive for being seated for five months. Let’s give some credit to whom it’s due, the wise voters of the great state of Maine!

Kerin Resch

Warren

Growing up, I watched my father struggle with the company he worked for after he was injured on the job and the bosses refused to pay workers’ compensation. It was not until a person from the CIO union came and intervened on his behalf that the company did the right thing.

My own experience with organized labor was at my first job when the health benefits that we collectively bargained for covered all the hospital bills for the birth of my first child. I never held a union job after that and was always grateful for what I had, because I know what it is like to not have a union.

I am 89 years old and I cannot believe the state Legislature, at the direction of Gov. LePage, is considering anti-worker “right to work” bills that will set us back decades. Using a confusing, catchy name to try and gain support for a bill that Mainers rejected more than 20 years ago shows the politicians are up to the same old game.

This is not “people before politics.” This is politics with a different name. The governor and Legislature need to focus on what they call “the good jobs agenda,” instead of trying to trick working Mainers into supporting a bill that will lower the standard of living.

Our elected officials need to seriously try and solve the problems of today. Don’t rehash the debates of my childhood, and please vote “no” on “right to work.”

Betty Bernstein

Augusta

Look, I am no fan of our governor. I did not vote for him. But, I must protest the biased and inaccurate content of Bill Nemitz’s recent column regarding the message sent by the voters in the state Senate election of Cynthia Dill over Louis Maietta Jr. (“Dill’s win unmistakably a message to Augusta,” May 13).

I am not surprised that Nemitz has rendered the thoughts expressed by his column — by doing so he is marching in lockstep with the position of his paper re the governor’s performance. But Maietta had such a poor showing in the election because the voters had become aware of a number of ethical issues surrounding his actions. These issues were brought to the fore by a recent article in the Press Herald.

I guess the good-citizen voters read your newspaper — as do I. Perhaps Bill Nemitz missed that prior issue reportage regarding Maietta.

Joel Brightman

Industry

Our snowbird friends just returned from a four-month stay in Florida. We got together to catch up on things, and inevitably politics came up.

“What has been happening in Maine?” Bob asked. “We don’t get much Maine news down there.”

What? I responded. You didn’t hear about the infamous “kiss my butt” comment? Or surely you heard about “beards on women”?

“What?”

OK, I’ll bet the farm that you heard about the taking down of the labor mural.

“No.”

Come on! Gov. LePage removed the Mona Lisa of the labor movement, a 36-foot rendering of the struggles of the 11.7 percent of Mainers who belong to unions, the “real workers of Maine.” (Sure, fishermen, lobstermen, farm workers, clerks, restaurant employees and the many other folks who earn money were not represented in the rendering, but their toils are not really worthy of labor representation. But I digress.) So you are saying you never heard of any of these issues?

“Not a word.”

Wow! According to the constant stream of letters to the editor and editorials, Maine is the laughingstock of the nation because of our governor. I don’t understand how the Florida news media missed out on these national scoops.

“They must have had better stories to cover.”

Bill Nemitz has even hinted that George Mitchell’s efforts in securing a Middle East peace were thwarted when the Israelis and the Palestinians took opposing views on the restoration of the mural to its “rightful” place. (OK, that’s a slight exaggeration, but not if one uses Bill’s standards.)

So, I am left wondering. Do the constant LePage criticisms in the Press Herald create national concerns about our governor, or is it really all just a tempest in a teapot?

Gerald Caruso

Falmouth

Ranked-choice voting the wave of the future

I was pleasantly surprised to read that Portland is holding ranked-choice voting for its mayor.

By doing so, it joins a number of large cities, and even Australia and Ireland, in utilizing this forward-thinking approach to voting.

In most elections, we no longer have just two viable candidates from just two parties. There are excellent people running as independents and under other party affiliations.

Ranked-choice voting ensures that a candidate is elected by a majority and, thus, confirms that basic democratic value.

It would promote less contentious elections, avoid costly runoffs, get rid of “spoiler candidates” and give the people their real choice. Barack Obama, John McCain, Howard Dean and others have publicly endorsed it.

It’s time has come for our great state of Maine and for our great country. We deserve no less. All in favor?

Bill Vaughan

Newcastle