Vote for committed and competent MSAD75 board candidates
Harpswell is part of Maine School Administrative District 75, composed of four towns — Harpswell, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham and Topsham. The school board responsible for what happens in our district is made up of members from each of the four towns.
Since all board members vote on all decisions, the people elected by the other towns also impact Harpswell residents.
On Nov. 2, Topsham and Bowdoinham will elect some of their board members; Harpswell will vote on ours next March. Given this, if you know people in Bowdoinham, I hope you will encourage them to vote for Hutson Hayward, himself a graduate of MSAD 75 and the parent of two children, one entering kindergarten next year and one currently in second grade. I believe Hutson will bring a respectful, measured approach to problem-solving and will always put the well-being of our children and teachers first.
If you know people in Topsham, please ask them to vote for Amy Spelke and Mike Timberlake. Amy believes in the power and value of public education. Her two kids recently graduated from Mt. Ararat High School and she has volunteered extensively with the schools in a variety of capacities. Amy has a strong academic background with a career in public policy and economics.
Mike Timberlake has had a close family member working at or attending a district school continuously for 58 years. With a strong connection to this district, I believe he respects the very important role of public education. Mike has pledged to listen to diverse viewpoints from all stakeholders with an open mind and make decisions based on what is best for the students.
We need committed and competent board members from all four towns to enable our kids to receive the high-quality education they deserve.
LeAnne Grillo,
Harpswell
Question 1 opponents cloud issue with insulting, fictitious ads
Well, one can’t run and one can’t hide from the constant, incessant bombardment of propaganda and “spin” emanating from virtually every media source known to humanity concerning Ballot Question 1 here in Maine. You can’t even watch an educational video on YouTube without being insulted and mentally “assaulted” by opponents of this issue.
Clean Energy Matters has raised at least $55-$60 million for the ads, with contributions from CMP (Avangrid-Iberdrola), indirectly from Quebec Hydro, and other groups and companies who hope to gain financially from the project (according to BallotPedia and other media). The supporters of Question 1 have raised $17+ million.
One of the most hypocritical and offensive anti-ballot commercials focuses on the assertion that pro-ballot supporters are funded, in part, by anti-clean energy PACs ”outside of Maine” in Texas. Well, even if that were the case, the last time I looked, Texas was part of the United States. The same cannot be said for Quebec Hydro, a Canadian company that will gain most from the corridor, and Avangrid-Iberdrola, a Spanish conglomerate, that “owns” Central Maine power.
Secondly, and equally insulting and fictitious, is the claim that this will institute “retroactivity” into Maine politics and legislation. There is a Maine statute, 1 M.R.S 302, on the books for decades, which already allows for the passage of retroactive laws. The proposed legislation would require two-thirds approval by the Legislature for “poles, transmission lines and facilities, landing strips, pipelines and railroad tracks” built on public lands. That provision would be retroactive to 2014 when Central Maine Power Co. first signed a legally flawed lease with the state for a portion of the 145-mile transmission corridor. That’s it!
So will Maine voters, who have made mistakes in the past by re-electing “two-term” and Trump apologist Susan Collins and electing Paul LePage, see through all the current Ballot Question 1 misinformation and propaganda, make the correct choice, and vote…..or not?
Jeffrey Runyon,
Brunswick
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