In response to your editorial (“Dems: Do not run for governor,” p. 6, Jan. 23), I must say I was disappointed it was not only so short-sighted, but also so onesided.

Your admonition negates the importance of party platforms and what they mean for candidates and voters. It also ignores the importance of a “free” election with as many primary choices as voters want.

Elections are reflections of voters’ wants and needs, and their level of activism and support for their candidates.

The 2012 Democratic Party platform establishes priorities and goals, and speaks to our underlying values and philosophies. This is critical for voters to know when deciding in whom to put their faith with their precious votes.

Candidates know what voters expect of them, and what the likely consequences are if they deviate from stated goals. Accountability is voter responsibility.

The platform states in its preamble that, “the Democratic Party has led the struggle to strengthen democracy in our government. Democracy is the belief that the best repository of wisdom is an informed and educated electorate and that this electorate has a right to control the political agenda and debate those issues that are of importance to them.”

Further, it states, “Economic opportunity and security, universal access to quality education and health care, good government, fair taxes, safety and national security, human rights, environmental protection and international cooperation are the policies and principles for which we have long fought and will continue to fight.”

Your solution to the LePage dilemma is to eliminate voter choice, which is not in the interests of our democracy.

I’m curious why you did not suggest Gov. LePage drop out of the race? Or (Eliot) Cutler?

We all know too well what Mr. LePage stands for, but there is no written document, debated at a public gathering and voted on by elected representatives, that states Mr. Cutler’s positions on his values.

Cutler, as an independent, doesn’t stand for a known quantity. There is no “independent party.” Unlike U.S. Sen. Angus King, Cutler doesn’t have a long political history. He is an unknown quantity.

In these difficult times for our state, we can’t take another gamble. We need to elect someone who stands for defined values.

The Public Policy Poll referenced in the editorial should be a call to action, not to step down.

This past November, Maine voters came out in force and put their trust back in the Democratic Party, and we must work tirelessly to meet their expectations by moving forward, not back.

This year, as we observe the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and celebrate the 125th anniversary of Pejepscot Historical Society, it’s more important than ever to articulate a stand for our shared values. It’s the Democratic Party’s job to find a candidate who will support those values, and it’s for us to support that candidate. To not do so would short-circuit the electoral process and voter choice so critical to a vibrant democracy.

JANE MILLETT is secretary of the Brunswick Democratic Town Committee.

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