Insanity is described as doing the same thing over and expecting different results. We have a wonderful third choice for governor in Maine: independent candidate Sam Hunkler. He is one who is truly willing to not only not play the game but also to transform it by recognizing that it isn’t a game but something […]

I have trained and worked as a physician assistant in both U.S. and Canadian hospitals. The Press Herald recently reported that the uninsured rate in Maine dropped from 8% to 5.7% in the last three years, because of expanded Medicaid (“More Mainers have health insurance, census finds,” Sept. 19). The year before the Affordable Care […]

I served two years on a school board; I have a bachelor of arts in government and legal studies; I voted for members of the Charter Commission in June 2021, listened to them debate and talked with them one on one. And yet, I still do not understand the pros and cons of school board […]

Listening to Portland’s State of the City address, I was struck how much the excesses of last year’s Charter Commission have already damaged Portland. So many civil service positions are unfillable because we can’t even say who holds firing power next year. I already knew the Democratic Socialists of America’s poorly vetted ballot ultimatums were […]

Thank you for the editorial of Oct. 22 (“Our View: IRS hiring plans wildly and repeatedly overblown”). I am so upset about all the political ads on our local television stations that are filled with misinformation and actual lies regarding candidates running for office here in Maine. Why is there no vetting of these political […]

Question 5. What is autonomy? Setting aside a $10 million mishap connected with a recent audit of Portland Public Schools finding “weaknesses” and “significant deficiencies” within its finances. Current school board Chair Emily Figdor said the council has no understanding of the school budget. Five of the current councilors were school board members – three […]

A school budget is a combination of the expertise from professional educators and a board of residents who provide oversight. City councilors with minimal understanding of the school budget can harm children. Portland Public Schools is unable to afford universal dyslexia screening. My daughter struggled from kindergarten through fourth grade. She had daily stressors of […]

The process for negotiating the recent teacher contract, giving Portland teachers roughly a 13 percent raise over three years, reinforces why more, rather than less, City Council oversight is needed over the school board. Neither the mayor nor the city manager was consulted to provide input to the contract negotiations. It was irresponsible of the […]