Election letters

To the editor,

We are so very lucky to have Natalie West running as a candidate for South Portland City Council. I I’ve known Natalie for many years and her concern for our city, and her actions, most often quietly, behind the scene, have resulted in SoPo becoming a better place for all of us to live. As a former city attorney, she can provide the kind of knowledge and experience that no other candidate can possibly match.

One example I can give you when I was a city councilor and she worked with David Critchfield and me to prevent the city from building an ill-conceived wood burning power plant for the city’s transfer station. That would have been a costly and embarrassing boondoggle for SoPo and would not have advanced our sustainability goals.

But Natalie has done so much more, including her work to prevent tar sands crude oil from being exported from our waterfront, and ongoing participation in neighborhood garden projects . Be sure to vote for a truly committed neighbor.

Brad Fox

South Portland

To the editor,

I’m writing to sing the praises of Anne Carney as a proven leader in the Maine State Senate and to ask my SoPo neighbors to join in voting to reelect her on Nov. 8.

Anne has done real, positive good for the people of South Portland during her four years in the Maine legislature. She has been an influential advocate for big, smart, effective changes in areas that matter to us — education, health care, environmental integrity, civil rights and economic responsibility.

Legislation Anne has initiated and supported provides quality health care, most of it federally funded, to tens of thousands of Maine kids — and to new moms for a full year after giving birth. She has been a constant advocate for civil justice, working as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to ensure legal representation for all and to combat discrimination, especially regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.

Anne has championed environmental renewal, promoting new laws governing oil terminal emissions and new approaches to cleaning our air, water and soil. She’s building a better future for the children of Maine not only by working to leave them a healthier planet but also by supporting a system of public education that will enable them to meet that future with enthusiasm and confidence.

Anne works as a legislator with the vision and dedication that marks a true leader. She enjoys the good will of a wide range of her Senate colleagues. She has earned their trust and respect. And she embodies qualities, as a senator and as a person, that seem right at home in South Portland — warmth, vitality, approachability, intelligence, discipline, good humor, decency.

We can take real pride in being represented by Anne Carney. And we can vote this November to return her, on our behalf, to the Maine Senate.

Jeff Steinbrink
South Portland

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