What’s with the flip-flop by Topsham Republican Sen. Linda Baker?

She supported L.D. 435, a bill that would have extended protection of clam flats, a bill vital to her constituents in the coastal towns of her district, a bill supported by the Maine Clammers Association.

She voted for L.D. 435 twice on the Senate floor.

When the governor vetoed the bill and it came back to the Senate, she voted to sustain the veto.

Why would she support the bill as chair of the Marine Resources Committee, vote for the bill twice on the Senate floor, then do an about-face and vote with other Republicans to support Gov. LePage’s veto, thus killing the bill?

Such behavior is a slap in the face to the constituents she claims to represent. There are more than 1,500 clammers working the Maine coast, with an impact of $56 million on the Maine economy, according to the Maine Clammers Association.

This kind of action – caving in to political pressure at the expense of what’s good for her constituents – sows doubt about Sen. Baker’s trustworthiness as a public servant. When she says she supports an issue I’m interested in, will she then flip-flop under pressure and vote against it? I can’t be sure, can I?

Polly Shaw

Bath

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