Thumbs Up — Hail to the outgoing chief

Maj. Gen. John “Bill” Libby, who will step down March 16 as leader of the Maine National Guard and commissioner of the state Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, served with honor and distinction from the day he stepped into the role in 2003.

Libby, 67, brought strength, grace and wisdom — among manifold other attributes — to the position.

“Our soldiers and airmen respect him, our veterans respect him, and our state was prepared for any emergency because of his leadership,” Gov. Paul LePage said in a statement announcing Libby’s resignation.

Serving two profoundly disparate governors throughout a time of ongoing overseas conflict that has taxed our allvolunteer military as never before, Libby brought the best traits of military and civilian leadership to his post. He buffered the men and women under his command from the vagaries of political conflict, while never allowing the interests of Maine citizens to become subservient to Department of Defense bureaucracy.

Locally, he played an influential role in bringing a National Guard training center to property at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Whether speaking during a chamber of commerce dinner or at the funeral of a fallen soldier, Libby evinced a mix of gravitas and humanity that both elevated and comforted those in his presence.

As the keynote speaker for the local chamber of commerce’s 2005 annual dinner, Libby praised the current generations of soldiers and concluded with, “It’s a great time to be an American.”

Maj. Gen. John “Bill” Libby certainly did his part to make that statement true.

Thumbs Up & Down — Same-sex vows vote, Take 2

It’s heartening that an all-volunteer effort managed to collect more than 85,200 valid signatures on a petition to schedule a new referendum on legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine.

Secretary of State Charles Summers’ certification of those signatures sets the stage for a statewide vote on the question this November.

Revisiting the question during a presidential election year will broaden the electorate and engage more Maine voters in the decision. A similar question, forced by a successful people’s veto signature drive in 2009, during an off-year election with relatively low turnout, repealed a marriage equity law passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor.

Maine now has the opportunity to become the first state to enact a marriage equity law by popular vote. That would be a proud distinction.

Nevertheless, using the ballot box — after what will surely be a brutal campaign — to determine who will be granted access to what should be basic civil rights seems to be a misapplication of democratic principles.

letters@timesrecord.com