Jamie Ecker for Brunswick Town Council District 2

As a professional wildlife biologist and someone who has worked in the natural resources field in Maine for the past 30 years and specifically in Brunswick for at least 20, I know things are starting to unravel and it is time that we all sit up and take notice and do something.

I represented Brunswick’s District 2 for 11 years and am excited by the prospect of Jamie Ecker assuming the seat. My decision to invest years of personal time on the Town Council and Planning Board before that was simply driven by the fact that it is imperative that we shift our thinking from a growth is good at any cost paradigm to one of sustainability where we admit that our short time on this planet is the only chance we have to act on behalf of future generations. Jamie gets it.

As a professional environmental engineer who has worked on sustainability efforts with towns throughout Maine and New England, Jamie is well versed in science and adept in local decision-making realities. Jamie’s recent deep dive into all issues Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority proves that he enthusiastically does the homework necessary to propose logical solutions that not only address immediate needs but gets at the heart of broken systems. Jamie dedicated years to the completion of Brunswick’s last Comprehensive Plan and knows that it is critical that Brunswick once again invest seriously in our long-term planning efforts given that we are entering a weird new climate reality that will continually test our infrastructure, social services and irreplaceable natural resources.

In my opinion, acting locally is indeed the most fruitful path to addressing global issues. From efforts to protect our tidal bays to our one-of-its-kind incentives to limit forest fragmentation, Brunswick has historically been a leader in local natural resource protection. I know that Jamie is prepared to dust off this legacy and rebalance our future growth and economic development needs with a sustainable relationship to the landscape. One that we will be proud to present to our grandchildren. Take action. Vote Ecker.

Steve Walker,
Brunswick

Rep. Ankeles endorses Abbot for Brunswick School Board

Brunswick is very lucky to have a top-notch selection of candidates for local office. I’m especially impressed with the field in the at-large school board race. The candidates, Abigail Abbott and Shawn Hogan, both have a history of contributing to Brunswick’s civic life, and I know them personally to be kind and thoughtful people. So as I write in support of Abbott’s candidacy, please see this as a positive letter affirming all the good she brings to the table.

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Abbott’s educational background in business school places her in a strong position to take deep dives into the school budget. Her professional background in health care will keep her focus on the well-being of students and teachers. And the fact that she’s got kids in the school system will help her keep her fingers on the pulse of student life.

I especially appreciate Abbott’s focus on strengthening on Brunswick’s pre-K program so that it can accommodate all Brunswick families. The lottery system was fine when pre-K was just launching, but now that it’s established, there’s no reason we can’t make it universal. Study after study shows reliable access to pre-K leads to far better life outcomes down the road, and we don’t want to have Brunswick parents scrambling to cobble something together when we’re supposed to be one of the strongest school systems in the state.

Another focus of Abbott’s that I appreciate was career and technical education. The workforce gap is huge, and anything we can do as a system to build a stronger bridge into the trades would have positive ripple effects throughout the state.

I hope you’ll join me in supporting Abigail Abbott on Nov. 5.

Dan Ankeles,
Brunswick

Denise Tepler the clear choice for Senate District 24

Do you live in Sagadahoc County or Dresden? Do you want your senator in Augusta to be someone who will always return your call and listen to your concerns? You have a clear choice on Nov. 5: Denise Tepler.

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I have known Denise for 35 years, living here in Topsham. I served with her on the SAD 75 school board. I learned to respect her thoughtfulness, intelligence and, most of all, her commitment to the well-being of our kids. She listens to the arguments. She does her research. And she looks for common ground on which to build lasting solutions that we can all support.

I’ve also known Denise as a stalwart supporter of our environment, especially the resources that support so much of our economy from our recreation businesses to the working waterfront. In all my years working to protect Maine’s environment, I could rely on Denise when important bills were up for a vote. As a member of the Taxation Committee, she saw to it that unfair, anti-conservation legislation was defeated. While on the Appropriations Committee, she supported efforts to renew funding for the Land for Maine’s Future, including the Working Waterfront Programs. I know that Denise will work to ensure the right decisions are made in Augusta. On Nov. 5, vote for Tepler to represent Sagadahoc County and Dresden in the Maine Senate (District 24)!

Tim Glidden, former board chairperson SAD 75,
Topsham

Our daily lives are better thanks to people in our neighborhoods and towns who do work such as serving on school boards, promoting local businesses, looking out for people who need food or housing, listening to people from any walk of life who are facing obstacles or conflicts, and bringing people together to work for solutions.

Denise Tepler, who is running for state Senate for Sagadahoc County and Dresden, is one of these community builders. She has served on MSAD 75’s school board, with Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, and the local Emergency Food and Shelter coalition, among other local groups.

And when Denise became a state representative, she made great use of her community perspective, problem-solving attitude and ability to work with all kinds of people. As chairperson of an important committee, she took on insurance and drug companies to rein in health care costs for Mainers and small businesses. She increased access to reproductive health care, secured property tax relief and is a strong advocate for children and youth.

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Denise Tepler has an exceptional record of service to our community. She has proven herself as an effective, hardworking, dedicated legislator who listens to her constituents and then takes action. She has my enthusiastic vote to be our next state senator.

Barbara Reinertsen,
Bath

Leaders show up and do the hard work.

This November, voters in Maine Senate District 24 have the opportunity to elect Denise Tepler, a strong and experienced leader, to succeed termed-out Sen. Eloise Vitelli.

Denise’s public service experience spans over two decades, first on the MSAD 75 school board, then representing Topsham in the Maine House. She’s also served on numerous nonprofit community boards like Mid Coast Hunger Prevention, Spectrum Generations and the Maine Public Health Association.

She is recognized by advocacy groups for her leadership roles on the “big issues” of the day: climate change, affordable health care and reproductive freedom. But it is her committee work on appropriations, financial services and insurance coverage that demonstrates her attention to and understanding of the nitty-gritty details of legislating.

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Let’s send Denise to the Maine Senate where I know she’ll show up with a smile to continue the good, hard work of governing.

Bronwen Tudor,
Georgetown

I support Denise Tepler in her run to represent Sagadahoc County and the town of Dresden in the Senate because of her advocacy for fair property taxation. Of course, no one loves paying taxes, but without our dollars, towns, counties and the State of Maine cannot provide the services we all rely on, like plowing snow and repairing roads. Denise fought to restore revenue sharing for towns to 5% and for funding for public schools at the 55% level and will continue to support state contributions to our towns and schools at these levels. She served on Topsham’s municipal Finance Committee for six years and knows how much that support makes a difference in your mil rate.

Denise supports the changes made in the last Legislature to expand the Property Tax Fairness Credit and hopes that folks, especially seniors, will look to this program to help pay those dreaded October and April bills. She believes that making sure your taxes are fairer is key.

Bruce Hauptli,
Bath

Immigration then and now

My father was a Sicilian immigrant who was brought to this country when he was a 1-year-old infant in 1919. He lived a long life and accomplished a great deal. He became a college graduate and lived through the Great Depression and World War II. He was a loyal and valued employee for two Boston institutions, The Boston Herald Traveler and the Bank of Boston. I am one of his three children, all of whom were educated at private four-year colleges. We will always be grateful to him for that and many other reasons. He was a loyal American and was always thankful for what this country gave to him.

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In reaction to Catholics and other immigrants, the Ku Klux Klan was in its ascendancy in the 1920s in Northern states in the country such as Maine, Indiana and Ohio as well as Massachusetts where my father lived. The Ku Klux Klan had evolved. It had begun as an anti African-American movement in the South, but as it took hold in the 1920s in the North, had become an anti-Jewish and anti-Catholic organization. Not coincidentally, Jews and Italians were the largest groups of immigrants to this country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In many ways, the ascendancy of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s was a reaction to immigrants such as my father. He persevered against discrimination because of his extended family structure and through hard work.

Current immigrants come from different places that my father came from and often have different colored skin. But they are very similar to my father who came to this country over 100 years ago. They come here for economic opportunity, to escape violence and turmoil, and for a chance to improve their lives and the lives of their children and grandchildren. It pains me that those immigrants have been scapegoated by some who attribute all this country’s ills to them. Most of them are hardworking contributors to our society. They may be from different countries but are very like my father. We should welcome them and thank them for their contributions to this state and country and not vilify them. We should all also remember where we came from and be thankful for those who came before us.

Vincent A DiCara,
Brunswick

Dem’s Republican opponent sends out shocking mailers

We have become so used to extreme political language that it is rare to be shocked anymore. That is, until I received this in my mailbox: “Lydia Crafts Threatens Our Families With A Deadly Mix Of Addictive Drugs And Human Trafficking.” Lydia is our local Democratic representative. This political garbage was not paid for by some fringe extremist group. It is “Paid for and authorized by Mary Lou Daxland for House.” Mary Lou is Lydia’s Republican opponent.

Ever since Trump came down his staircase trashing immigrants as “murderers and rapists,” he has dug deeper and deeper into political venom. Democrats are now “the enemy within.” He intends to weaponize the Department of Justice to jail his opponents and the Army to suppress political dissent.

This election may be our last best opportunity to reject the politics of fear and dishonesty and return to a politics where we can respectfully disagree with one another. A politics which accepts defeat at the ballot box, knowing we will have another opportunity to argue for our beliefs at the next election. Thankfully, hundreds of leading lifelong Republicans are finding the courage to speak out against their party’s descent into fascism and are making common cause with Kamala Harris.

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I will be casting my vote for Lydia, who is a terrific representative. Mary Lou, we are better than this in Maine. It is one of the many reasons we all love living here.

Nigel Calder,
Newcastle

Resources to prevent gun violence are there

A little under one year before the anniversary of Lewiston’s mass shooting, carried out by a man with whom the Sheriff’s Department had multiple contacts, another tragic shooting took three lives: a mother, her daughter and the suicide of the father who shot them. Local media report Bath police twice before, in recent weeks, going to the home because of violent threats. Maine’s current yellow flag law did not succeed in taking guns out of the alleged murderer’s hands. Gun violence is the outcome of untreated illness, not an expression of democracy-sanctioned free will.

Janet Mills, summarizing the Interim Report of the Lewiston Commission, roundly pointed to Aaron Skolfield, a Sagadahoc deputy sheriff as canceling the File Six statewide alert to law enforcement that Robert Card was armed and dangerous and leaving it to “family” to remove his guns. Does anyone actually believe that deputy sheriffs don’t report to the county sheriff, in this case Joel Merry, who is ultimately responsible? Will whoever is elected Sagadahoc County sheriff join with Bath police to seriously address the attitude toward mental health professionals the yellow flag law requires?

Within about a 15-minute drive from Robert Card’s home, neuropsychological evaluation and mental assessment were available through the local emergency room and practitioners who may have well have made the connection between the autopsy’s finding of brain damage linked to his delusions. The same availability exists now. Why laws in place to activate intervention weren’t applied we still don’t know.

Susan Cook,
Bath

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Yes on Question 1

I’ve been looking into how super PACs channel big, private money to influence our Maine and national elections. What I’m learning is appalling. That’s why I urge you to vote YES on Maine Referendum Question 1 at the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

This is Question 1: “Do you want to set a $5,000 limit for giving to political action committees that spend money independently to support or defeat candidates for office?”

Why should Maine pass this question? Two examples: Elon Musk last week poured $75,000,00 through his own PACs (political action committees) to influence voters in this year’s presidential election. Seventy-five million dollars! Last year in New Jersey, an out-of-state super PAC spent $150,000 on — get this — a local school board election; backers succeeded in defeating two out of three candidates whom they sought to oust.

“Multimillion-dollar donations to super PACs are becoming run-of-the-mill at this point,” said Anna Massoglia, the editorial/ investigations manager of Open Secrets in an interview with PBS News Hour this year. (“A look at the massive donations to campaigns and super PACs this election season,” June 21, 2024.) Open Secrets is a nonpartisan, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing data regarding money in politics. See OpenSecrets.org.

“One of the big differences [between PACs and direct donations],” said Massoglia, “is that super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums, whereas campaigns are limited in how much they can bring in from one specific individual.” This is not just appalling. It’s an obscene perversion of democracy.

When we Mainers vote YES on Question 1, we will help move Maine toward a political landscape less ruled by big, outsider money. And we will nudge the nation forward, just as we did in passing a 2023 referendum question to ban spending by foreign governments on U.S. elections. That question last year passed with 86% of the vote.

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Let’s pass Question 1 just as soundly this year. If we want a future where ordinary Mainers have a say in shaping our democracy, we must keep leading that fight.

Kathleen Glenn-Lewin,
Brunswick

Enough noise about AFFF spill

If you think about it, and you should, the fire suppression foam that escaped from a hanger would never have come to light if the Navy was still here.

If we did hear about it, they would have told us that it was being handled.

Accidents do happen, and I believe everyone is making way too much noise about it instead of attempting to help.

Enough already!

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Dorothy Burgess,
Brunswick

Time to get rid of the Electoral College

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The bill would make every person’s vote equal throughout the U.S. It would ensure that every vote, in every state, will matter in every presidential election.

We should elect the president by a vote of the people in all 50 states, and the winner should be whoever wins the most votes. Please back a national popular vote bill.

I would like to urge you to support the proposal to elect the president by a national popular vote in all 50 states. When we vote for every other office, the candidate who gets the most votes wins. It should be the same for president.

I think that the Electoral College, as it stands now, is an outdated system. There is no reason we shouldn’t be electing our presidents by a nationwide popular vote. The candidate with the most votes in the entire USA should win.

The current way we elect the president is broken. Someone can get more votes nationwide and still not become president. Please support legislation to guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S.

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We should join with the other numerous states that have passed the national popular vote interstate compact. The president should be elected like other offices and be the person who gets the most votes throughout the entire country. Everybody’s vote should matter.

The National Popular Vote interstate compact will go into effect when enacted by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes — that is, enough to elect a president (270 of 538). At that time, every voter in the country will acquire a direct vote for a group of at least 270 presidential electors supporting their choice for president. All of this group of presidential electors will be supporters of the candidate who received the most popular votes in all 50 states and D.C. — thus guaranteeing that candidate enough votes in the Electoral College to become president.

The U.S. Constitution (Article II) gives states exclusive control over awarding their electoral votes: “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors … ”

The shortcomings of the current system of electing the president stem from state “winner-take-all” laws that award all of a state’s electoral votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes in each state. Because of these state winner-take-all laws, presidential candidates ignore voters in states where they are safely ahead or hopelessly behind. The general election campaign for president ends up in only a dozen or fewer states. State winner-take-all laws have enabled five of our 45 presidents to come into office without winning the most popular votes nationwide.

Gregory Saucier,
Brunswick

Weed out the invasives in Augusta

Like many folks at this time of year, I was outside recently, “putting my garden to bed” for the winter. Culling the items that I don’t want, removing the $%#! weeds, and laying in the plants and bulbs I look forward to in the spring.

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And it struck me.

There’s a reason elections are held in the autumn. On Nov. 5, we’ll have the chance to cull those representatives who throw shade, whose roots may be deep but strangle the progress of our more desirable policies; those outright weeds that grow quickly, have visually loud but unattractive flowers and want to take over the garden without supplying anything of substance.

Join me in supporting a healthy, vibrant garden of governance in Augusta, where positive policies will seek to lift-up and complement the diversity held in any thriving garden.

Vote Democratic up and down the ticket. And compost those weeds.

Geoff Bates,
South Bristol

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