It’s time to promote state Rep. Andrea Boland to state senator. No one in Maine has done more than Boland to advance the interests and security of Maine ”“ and of the entire nation. The passage by near unanimity of Boland’s bill, LD 131, to protect the Maine electric grid against solar storms and electromagnetic pulse, the ultimate cyber threat, is being followed in other states, including Virginia, Arizona and Florida.

Boland’s leadership on grid security in Maine is also a sterling example of national leadership. Her pioneering work on grid security is now a national issue, of concern to all states, and Washington hopes to duplicate her success in Maine by passing legislation to achieve national grid security ”“ all thanks to her leadership. Boland was also the first to understand that grid security means jobs and an economic renaissance for Maine. Protecting the Maine grid from EMP will make Maine the best state for the new East Coast Missile Defense site, and all the investment and high-tech businesses associated with that site.

Energy security will make Maine highly attractive to international businesses and U.S. government departments and agencies that are increasingly concerned about cyber threats. Energy security is the defense industry of the future. Lessons learned in Maine about grid security will be highly valuable and marketable to other states and the world. Such is the vision for Maine that can be made real by electing Boland as senator.

Ambassador Henry Cooper, former director of the Strategic Defense Initiative; Ret. Brig. Gen. Kenneth Chrosniak, New York Army National Guard; Cynthia Ayers, former U.S. Army War College professor and NSA; Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, director, Task Force on National and Homeland Security