Letters

Published
August 5, 2017

Letter to the editor: Simple legal change avoids potential court violation of ranked-choice voting

In May, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued an advisory opinion concluding that the multi-round ranked-choice voting statute may violate the “plurality” provision of the Maine Constitution. Under ranked-choice voting as adopted, there are sequential “rounds” of vote tabulation. The court apparently determined that the Maine Constitution requires that the winner is the candidate with […]
Published
August 5, 2017

Letter to the editor: ‘Medicare for all’ solves so much – and now is the time

Kudos to Dr. Chuck Radis for his July 28 Maine Voices column (“Single-payer system – Medicare for All – is the only remedy for U.S.”). It gives an example of how our health care system is too expensive, too complicated and a failure on all counts. An expanded Medicare system would ensure all Americans good […]
Published
August 4, 2017

Letter to the editor: Cable companies should end ridiculous prices, gimmicks

Do cable companies change their names so as to increase their prices? It certainly seems like it! Wouldn’t it be nice if cable TV companies offered packages with a certain number of channels for a set price per month and we could pick the channels we wanted instead of the ones they give us that […]
Published
August 4, 2017

Letter to the editor: Prepare for better Maine elections with ranked-choice voting

As an independent, I support the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting and its efforts to bring ranked-choice voting to Maine ballots in 2018. Ranked-choice voting offers a solution to the growing frustration with the current political establishment because it allows for independent and moderate candidates to challenge nominees of the traditional two-party system. Ranked-choice voting […]
Published
August 4, 2017

Letter to the editor: Contract rule would help consumers, won’t hurt most businesses

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed a new rule to rein in the use of forced arbitration in financial contracts that also ban class actions. This rule is focused on the practices of global banks, payday lenders and other financial services companies that commit widespread customer abuse. If your business does not fall […]

Published
August 4, 2017

Letter to the editor: Portland city manager’s actions put mayor in a difficult position

I’ve been disappointed in recent weeks to see Portland’s city manager, Jon Jennings, lash out at our elected mayor with a series of ugly personal attacks. Mr. Jennings has said that Mayor Ethan Strimling is a liar and then openly admitted that he has refused for months to meet with the mayor to discuss city […]
Published
August 4, 2017

Letter to the editor: Federal cuts in nutrition aid would harm kids and their futures

With the Maine Department of Labor announcing that unemployment recently rose (“Maine unemployment ticked up in June,” July 22), I started to think, as I often do, about the future of our state. The lack of growth in Maine continues to cause me concern for what the state will look like in the decades to […]
Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Strimling misuses office, should work within city charter

The issues surrounding Portland City Hall, the Portland City Council, City Manager Jon Jennings and Mayor Ethan Strimling are solely the creation and responsibility of one person: Mr. Strimling. He uses political office to his own selfish, power-hungry ends. He seems to have no interest in serving the citizens of Portland or working within the […]
Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Wasteful, friction-causing position of Portland mayor should be abolished

It appears that what we are now witnessing at Portland City Hall is a governance train wreck that was easily foreseen when the position of full-time mayor was created in 2010. A city should not have a mayor in a city manager form of government. A mayor is not necessary to “develop policies” because policy […]
Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Councilors wrong to bemoan public access to Jennings, Strimling session

At Monday night’s City Council workshop regarding issues between City Manager Jon Jennings, Mayor Ethan Strimling and the council, I was flabbergasted by the boldness of several councilors complaining that the meeting was in public and not behind closed doors in executive session. We’ve seen time and time again that when public transparency is missing, […]

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Letters