To the editor:
As you reported on March 16 (“Legislative contests take shape”), voters in Brunswick’s District 66 will again have the choice among three candidates for representative to the Maine Legislature.
I would like to let those voters know that, while I am currently with my family on sabbatical in Japan, I do plan to return to Maine and seek the Green Independent nomination. Per state elections law, our local committee expects to hold a summer caucus to nominate a candidate for the fall.
When I congratulated Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx on seeking re-election, I invited him to participate again in a series of candidate forums. Unfortunately, he has declined unless they are “hosted and organized by a nonpartisan third party.”
So I’m writing this open letter to the community to ask for help organizing forums in which all three candidates can discuss the issues in a meaningful way.
I also encourage the Democratic Party to ask its candidates not to undermine the effectiveness of our clean elections funding. Perhaps it was not the intent to make it harder to use clean elections funds to inform the public, but that is the effect of this decision to boycott forums organized by a candidate.
During the last election, I used some of my public funding for a series of forums, attended by all three candidates, which were broadcast on public access TV. The forums allowed us to explain our positions and to answer questions from the voting public.
Should I become the Green Independent candidate, I would again like to use clean elections funds to host public discussions of the important issues facing our community. I respectfully ask the other two candidates not to reject this proposal out of hand.
Last election, I was juggling the demands of working full time at my store while campaigning, so I didn’t quite get the chance to knock on every voter’s door.
To those I met during the last campaign, I look forward to seeing you again, and to those I did not, I look forward to meeting you.
Fred Horch,
Brunswick
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