“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.” Thomas Paine, political activist and theorist.

I really was worried about what I was going to write about for this column as the project at Windham’s Mallison Falls Mill and the use of tax dollars to start rebuilding it into apartments weighs heavily on my mind.

I know I will write a lot more about it in the near future and I didn’t want to harp about it in every column for a month. Then something in the news caught my attention causing me to wonder if I will change my mind about the right for citizens to petition their government. Those that know me well know that I have been involved with statewide petition drives in the past and what’s quite funny is that every one I supported ended up on the ballot but none passed that I can recollect.

I won’t try to search for every citizen initiative that is going to be on the state of Maine ballot this year but they range from taxing the rich for schools, recreational marijuana and another casino proposal for southern Maine. I certainly signed none of them and for the first time I can state that I am glad I didn’t. Don’t worry because Maine pales in comparison to states like California that have had dozens of citizens’ initiatives on the ballot. The one thing that I hate about any petition drive is when someone shoves the signature form in my face and demands that I sign it. I can guarantee I will not sign it. But don’t worry folks, there are even more reasons why I see a change is needed to reform the petition process.

What I see as worrisome is the out-of-state influence, especially money, on petition drives in Maine. The few petition drives I have seen in Windham were organized by local people or groups and used local money, if any at all. Then in the past several years there seems to be an increase in out-of-state influence on our statewide initiatives, which makes me wonder if many Mainers are really involved.

Then come the huge sums of money and advertising from out-of-state sources and though legal, I personally believe that it lowers the dignity of the petition process. Of course this year’s petition drives include signature seekers who are being paid to collect signatures, which is something that destroys the original intent of being able to petition our government at any level. The only thing that could be worse is if those being paid to collect signatures were from out of state and it appears many, if not most, were. For me that takes the citizens out of the citizen process entirely.

I realize that there probably aren’t a whole lot of things that could change the petition process back to what it used to be, especially in today’s ever-increasing liberal ways. What I see as dangerous is that our elected officials in Augusta and Washington have the right to enact laws about taxation, what happens when We, the People, do the same? Then there’s the possibility of another casino in Maine and when will one more be too much? That’s already happening across the country and casinos in cities like Atlantic City have closed. You know, there’s that old saying about being careful what you ask for because you might just get it. That is something that worries me about the petition for recreational marijuana because I feel Maine already has too many dopes as it is.

I seriously doubt that the Maine Legislature or a citizens’ petition drive could change Maine law to ensure that a petition drive in Maine could only be done with Mainers and Maine money. I am sure that no liberal court in Maine or even the Supreme Court of the United States would allow that to happen. If people are paid to collect signatures for petitions, how many will cheat in order to make even more money?

Lane Hiltunen of Windham will no longer sign much of anything, except paychecks.