McClellan responds

I write in response to Mr. Kevin Fay’s letter of Oct. 5. Many of you, I am sure, read it as being critical of my voting record on specific bills and that obviously was the intent. However, I do want to thank Mr. Fay for creating this discussion. I believe looking at these bills will help you, the voter, as you consider your vote. I will enter this with the assumption that Mr. Fay believes my opponent would have voted differently in each of the three bills.

The first bill offered tax relief but I opposed it as it offered tax relief to people who did not pay taxes. We already have a program called welfare for that and I do not favor redistribution of people’s money simply for fairness. The second bill dealt with how we treat potential state budget surpluses. After all our fiscal requirements for a budget are completed, any surplus monies first go through a system called a cascade. The monies are put into various areas that obviously were prioritized over the years. It would appear this law would constrict a legislature from taking a surplus and doing something wild with it. The bill I supported adds a new priority to the cascade, the Taxpayer. Thus if there are surpluses AND we have done all we were responsible to do, taxpayers would get some of THEIR money back. Now in reality, the numbers suggest the surplus would have to be much bigger than is likely possible to occur so this bill was more of “a Bill of Principal.” In other words those of us who supported it were saying Taxpayer; we realize this is your money we are using. I do not remember hearing that phrase in previous administrations led by my opponent’s party.

The final bill mentioned was an end-of-year budget and so it is not easy to look at in this letter but I will address two pieces. First, the leadership of both parties voted yes as I did. Second, in looking at how all our area representatives and senators voted, all area Republicans and area Democrats voted yes except one Democrat. I also would point out that contrary to the letter; we did provide some tax relief for all. Our tax relief was pointed at low- and middle-class taxpayers but also gave taxpayers at higher income levels relief as well. All taxpayers received a tax cut; my understanding is it will be around $300-$350 per family who paid taxes.

We also looked how the other party began the highest level of taxes at $19,000 per family and we raised that to about $35,000. Thus, 70,000 taxpaying families on the lowest end of the tax rolls now come off. 70,000 low-income families will not pay Maine tax next year. One interesting point close to this is while the highest level of taxpayers got money back, in the new system the “richest” Mainers will pay a few percentage points more in taxes as a group in Maine.

There is a lot of evidence out there if you seek it out. As an informed voter, I encourage you to consider the data before you. You can compare our federal government run by one party as opposed to what is slowly happening (in just two years) in Maine run by my party. The federal debt clock is running wildly forward. How can we morally hand that debt to our children? If you look at the Maine Debt Clock (yes, there is one). It has been moving backwards. We are slowly paying our debt. I am working as your legislator realizing it is your money and trying to govern like you run your household. We can take care of our neediest and build Maine up at the same time. It is hard work; it takes representatives who will make hard choices. I am asking for your vote on Nov. 6.

Rep. Mike McClellan

Maine House 103

Raymond, Frye Island, parts Poland and Standish.

Graham ‘works hard’

A North Yarmouth resident, Mr. Lincoln Merrill, has been writing letters to local newspapers with vague and unsubstantiated charges directed at Anne Graham, the State House representative from District 109. He also heaps praise upon Sue Austin, the challenger in the race for the District 109 seat, and it stretches the bounds of credibility to think that the Austin campaign has nothing to do with Mr. Merrill’s baseless attacks. Well, this is politics, but in Maine generally and for local races particularly, the politics of personal destruction are not in line with our values.

What are the charges leveled by Mr. Merrill? In his own words, “Graham is for high taxes and her votes are job killers.” He offers no evidence whatsoever that any vote has hurt job growth, nor can he point to any vote for higher taxes. Mr. Merrill further asserts that “Graham voted against Gray, North Yarmouth and Pownal residents 64 percent and 77 percent of the time,” basing this assertion on Chamber of Commerce and People Before Politics reports, claiming them to be “non-partisan.” Neither group is anything like non-partisan. Both are spending heavily and working hard to promote right-wing candidates, and thus it’s no surprise to see that they target a centrist Democrat. People Before Politics was founded by those who worked on the Paul LePage campaign, so of course they support candidates who will rubber-stamp the LePage agenda. To say that a representative is “voting against” her constituents, without so much as one shred of evidence to corroborate such a vague and baseless attack, is truly scurrilous.

What is the reality? Let’s look at health care. The Republican leadership rushed through an overhaul that stripped the oversight function from the Maine Bureau of Insurance, leaving citizens and small businesses vulnerable to large rate hikes from insurance companies. Rep. Graham brought forward a bill to require a review before insurance companies could foist these burdens onto the businesses and citizens of Maine. Who is “against” the citizens and businesses of Maine with “job killing” votes – Anne Graham who sought to protect them from unreasonable cost increases, or the Republican leadership? When Graham authored a bill to provide tax relief to those who lost homes to fire, some Republicans voted to continue taxing people on uninhabitable property. Who then was “for high taxes?” Rep. Graham also authored legislation to protect public safety, strengthening laws against drug use by truck drivers and promoting CPR training. That’s four good pieces of legislation in two years – more than Sue Austin had done in her previous eight years in the legislature.

As for the role that Sue Austin had in the “2010 tax rollback” that Mr. Merrill says she should be so proud of, that role was limited to casting a vote. When we elect someone to office, we have hired them to work on our behalf. Anne Graham has shown with deeds that she works hard for the citizens of District 109, and Maine. Actions speak louder than words, and Mr. Merrill’s unsubstantiated attacks can’t stand up against the facts. If you want to hire someone who will do more than just vote, who will actually work hard to protect your rights and interests, then Anne Graham deserves your vote.

Greg Teegarden, Suzanne Crowell, Jane Mittel

Pownal

Education is key Nov. 6

Voters in House District 103 (Raymond, Frye Island, and parts of Standish and Poland) have a chance to send a representative to Augusta who will use logic and common sense in making decisions rather than someone who will blindly follow partisan politics without little consideration for the damaging consequences. Leslie “Jim” Stephenson is someone we can trust to listen to his constituents and to thoughtfully consider the issues in making informed decisions.

I am a public school teacher and I love what I do; I care about my students. But the current politics in Augusta have caused such a degree of demoralization for my colleagues and me, it is hard to convey in words. The agenda of the current administration and many legislators is clearly to dismantle and ultimately to privatize our system of public education. The Governor’s plan for school choice will not only cost more, it will also pit our public schools against each other as they compete for dwindling resources; precious tax dollars will go instead to private schools, even to virtual schools run by out-of-state corporations who are solely motivated by profit. The incumbent, Mike McClellan, supports this plan for choice, even sponsoring a bill in the last session.

I believe in the promise that public education holds for all students that come through our doors. Public schools form the very cornerstone of our democracy. Without a change in August come Election Day, the future of our public schools is seriously at risk.

Please join me in supporting Jim Stephenson on Nov. 6. We need legislators who think clearly and who will strive to treat all with fairness.

Grace Leavitt

Raymond