Rather than coming forward as the moderate voice she claims to be, Maine Sen. Susan Collins recently took to the Senate floor in generous support of Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch, buttressing her position with this remark: “I have also received a letter signed by 49 prominent Maine attorneys with diverse political views, urging support for Judge Gorsuch’s nomination.”

Mainers for Accountable Leadership has looked into those 49 lawyers and can report on just how diverse their views are:

• At least three served as town chairs for Collins’ 2014 re-election campaign, one worked with her for four years in D.C., and two married attorneys who appear on the list have a son who is interning with Collins.

• Others have ties to the LePage administration, including positions such as general counsel, treasurer of his re-election committee, a member of his judicial selection committee, senior and health policy advisers, and even an energy aide.

• Many are Republican operatives and donors. One is a former Maine Republican Party treasurer, another was a delegate to the 2016 national convention, and a handful ran for local and Maine Senate seats.

• The vast majority of lawyers who appear on the list are in the Portland area; over 20 percent of them work at Pierce Atwood. The range of law practiced by this group of attorneys is heavily focused on bankruptcy litigation, workers compensation, commercial, corporate and other areas that support the banking and finance industries.

• Finally, and importantly, only five of these 49 attorneys are women.

In a weak effort to support her own endorsement of an ultra-conservative to the Supreme Court, Collins provides us with an obviously solicited letter signed by a very small group of partisan lawyers.

We would welcome the disclosure by Collins of a fair and transparent summary of a diverse sampling of constituent input regarding the Supreme Court nomination.

Nicole Boucher

Cape Elizabeth

Karen Burke

Lubec