Our teenagers are needed to make changes in Biddeford. Without your voting power and ideas Biddeford will remain in the hands of officials who care less about teenagers and our community. The present administration is only interested in their own agenda (spend and spend). You young people are forced to leave your homes and city to find good paying jobs. Businesses will not locate in Biddeford because taxes are too high and rents are completely unrealistic. Wages have not kept up with all these changes.

In the 70s, rents ranged from $45 to $100 a week. These exact rents go for between $1,100 to $1,300 a month today.

Young people can’t make enough money to pay for one month’s rent. Your only choices are to stay with your parents or move out to another state. Even with higher education you cannot find a job for your qualifications. That’s sad!

Our council and mayor think they have done a great job bringing new business to Biddeford. The new businesses downtown are cafes – pizza parlors, etc. These businesses hire very few people and offer few, if any, benefits.

If you want high tech businesses to locate in Biddeford, you only have to do two things: Lower taxes and rents.

This is where the youth of Biddeford come into the picture. By using the power of your vote, you can get officials who will help these changes become a reality. Please register to vote and take these uncaring people out of office. You young people can bring about change and bring back Biddeford’s character and self-respect. Right now, Biddeford is known for its high taxes, high rents, incompetent leaders, unsafe situations for our youth, self-driven egos and the list goes on.

Quality of life for our youth and elderly are in dire need of repair and support.

I know you young people are up for this challenge. The very first thing is to register to vote. Use the power of your vote and get the ball rolling this November.

Last election, out of 13,376 eligible voters, only 3,000+ voted. Please vote.

Terry Belanger
Biddeford