Posted inEditorials, Opinion

Our View: ‘Cutler Files’ should besubject to campaign laws

The "Cutler Files" website leads with the question, "Who is Eliot Cutler?" But a better question is "What is the Cutler Files?"

Cutler is the Cape Elizabeth lawyer who is running as an independent candidate for governor, but the "Cutler Files" is harder to define.

It is a website that uses research, pointed prose and computer graphics to attack Cutler. The authors, who don’t identify themselves, claim that what they are doing is anonymous free speech, a cherished tradition in this country since before the founding of the republic.

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Posted inEditorials, Opinion

Our View: School money should be spent more wisely

Maine voters may be divided about who they want to see living in the governor’s mansion next year, whether they want a casino in Oxford County or if the federal government should cut taxes on the wealthy, but they are united on one question. They are concerned about education, and if the recent Maine Poll, conducted by Critical Insights for MaineToday Media, is correct, they are three times as likely to believe we are underspending on education than spending too much.

Considering how important education is, not only for individual success but for the state’s economy as a whole, the concern is not surprising. But considering how much we spend already in both state and local tax revenue, the concept that we are not spending enough raises serious questions about our future.

The question, however should be reframed. It’s not an issue of how much we spend, but how we spend it. We are still spending too much on administration and small class sizes, and too little in other areas, especially in higher education. The challenge for the next era of school reform will be using resources more effectively.

Posted inEditorials, Opinion

Our View: Poll shows Blaine House race is still wide open

Poll numbers and election results look so much alike people tend to confuse them. But there are enough big differences that we should never forget what we are looking at when we see the latest numbers.

There are no “undecided” votes on Election Day. Real voters, as opposed to survey participants, have to pick a candidate.

And there is no margin of error when the votes are counted, just a winner and some losers. But there is such a margin in the best of polls.