In a recent interview on WCSH-TV, Sen. Susan Collins said she doesn’t like to have town halls because the loudest voices prevail.

She knows that the loudest voices at any town hall she may hold now are those of the constituents who disagree with her and the Trump agenda. She does not want the bad press that comes from an audience that challenges her, her recent enthusiastic votes for Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointees and her unwavering support for Trump’s policies.

Instead, she wants to cherry-pick who she meets with and limit her meetings to those who agree with her. She claims that no one works harder than she does. Yes, no one works harder at avoiding any citizen who might disagree with her, question her voting record and thus avoid the bad press that will result from this kind of public confrontation.

What she does not realize is that she works for all of her constituents, even those who disagree with her. If she wants to have any hope of being re-elected, or of fulfilling her latent desire to run for governor, she needs to step up to the plate, take the criticism that she so richly deserves and hold some town halls.

Running away from the problem does not make it go away – it just intensifies the increasingly vocal opposition to her and her support of Donald Trump and his policies.

James S. Myers

Berwick