The corruptive influence of enormous amounts of money in national, and now local, politics has saddened and outraged many American citizens including me. It has made all of us powerless to combat a system where our meager donations to the candidates of our choice have so little chance of making our voices heard, contributing to an unequal democracy where we remain powerless.

All your typical middle class citizen hopes for is an even playing field. A chance to keep our families sheltered and to provide warm clothing, healthy food, a good education for our children and affordable healthcare; and to be able to support themselves as they age. With wages remaining stagnant for years and the cost of living accelerating at a rapid rate, our hopes and expectations for a normal existence becomes increasingly more difficult to realize. An 8-hour day turns into a 12-hour day as families tries to make ends meet.

At present, our political system is tilted heavily to helping the already wealthy. Enormous tax cuts for the rich with meager cuts for the middle class. Bailouts for banks but no bailouts for those who lost their homes due to mismanagement from the same banks. Yet it was our tax dollars that provided the funds for the bailouts. Trickle down economics is like a beggar sitting under a rich man’s table hoping to catch the crumbs that fall to feed his family.

To change a system that has evolved into a corruption of what our founding fathers had such high expectations for is daunting, but we can at least start by supporting our CLEAN CANDIDATES. Chris Johnson is one. He is beholden to no corporation, millionaire or PAC. As our state senator he has worked diligently for his constituents, supporting minimum wage increases, funding for Maine’s apprenticeship programs, job training, fair and sustainable practices in fishing and aquaculture, bonding for seafood processing and bonding for jobs in construction and infrastructure. He has a known record of caring and now he needs your vote.

Barbara Briggs
Nobleboro