The weekend of May 18-20 was the Maine Democratic State Convention. Delegates from all over the state came in with hope for a unified Democratic Party that would work to elect strong, progressive Democrats up and down the ticket in November.

Listening to the speeches by party leaders like Troy Jackson, Sara Gideon and Chellie Pingree, it was clear that the goal was simple: Elect Democrats. Unfortunately, these party leaders all neglected one key fact: We have a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Maine – Zak Ringelstein.

This oversight was not an accident. Party leaders like Phil Bartlett and Katie Mae Simpson made it clear, during a tour around the state to visit the county committees this past fall, they would not support a Democrat running against independent Sen. Angus King. I’ll repeat that: The Maine Democratic Party was publicly saying they would not support a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Maine.

After the convention, a post on a Bangor Daily News blog, “Journeys Over a Hot Stove,” highlighted the atrocious treatment of the Democrats’ own U.S. Senate candidate. However, on May 23, that post was removed from the blog and BDN website.

Ostensibly, the post was removed because it did not fit in with the blog’s established themes of “food, travel and fascinating people,” according to the blog’s author, Ned White. Of course, this rings false; White traveled to the state Democratic convention, and surely the people and political intrigue involved with the story qualify as “fascinating.”

As a Ringelstein supporter, I accept and respect that others will support Angus King, but I cannot and will not accept the Bangor Daily News or any other paper in Maine suppressing the facts and handing this election over to King on a silver platter.

Brett Vars

Springvale