I haven’t won all my battles, and I understand the frustration you feel being on the losing side of a political fight. But at a certain point, the fight is over.

The fight over the minimum wage ended when an overwhelming majority of voters decided on Election Day to give the lowest-paid workers in our state a much-needed raise. The fight over public school funding ended when voters similarly chose, after a rigorous public debate, to increase the taxes on Maine’s wealthiest residents in order to adequately fund local schools for the first time in more than a decade.

But today, lawmakers are being deluged with sky-is-falling stories and predictions from the losing side of these two referendum questions. They are begging us to roll back central pieces of the new minimum wage law and to chip away at increased funding for our public schools.

What troubles me most is the rhetoric used by these groups. When I questioned several of these lobbyists when they came before us during several public hearings, I got a similar response; we are being asked to ignore the will of the voters. More specifically, asking government to supersede the public’s right to be heard, participate in the process, and for election results to be honored. Instead of a mandate from the people to their elected officials, opponents of these concepts are treating the public referendum process as simply a suggestion; easy to slip under the rug.

My constituents should know this: I will not side with the lobbyists and special interests who are pleading with me to overturn the will of the voters. I will not play any role in setting a disturbing new precedent, whereby a handful of elected officials in Augusta second-guess the electorate and overrule their explicit electoral mandate. The day we start down that route is the day our government fails to be of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Business lobbyists and wealthy Mainers are spearheading efforts to repeal the new 3 percent tax on income over $200,000, approved by voters in order to better fund our schools. Gov. Paul LePage, too, has called for the dismantling of enacted referenda questions. The pressure on lawmakers to act against the majority of Maine voters is immense.

During the campaign, I not only voted for both Question 2 and Question 4 on Election Day, but helped advocate for them on the campaign trail. But this isn’t about how any of us in the Legislature voted. It’s about respecting the integrity of the ballot box and the majority of Maine voters who made their preference clear on these issues.

The argument for rolling back these new laws usually includes an assertion that voters “didn’t understand” the choice they were making when they marked their ballots. The governor has mentioned this several times, including most recently in his State of the State address. I hope this makes you as angry as it does me. It’s insulting to say the least, not to mention factually inaccurate.

We must reject that assertion out of hand. If we allow ourselves to second-guess the decisions
voters make on Election Day, where does it end? If we say
they didn’t understand the clearly written referendum questions, what stops us from speculating that they didn’t understand their choice for candidates in local office or in the Maine Legislature? Or for Congress? Or the president?

It should be easy for any of us to rebuke these appeals. In doing so, we are on the side of the majority of Maine voters, and on the side of the Maine Constitution, which gives our residents the right to pass new laws via public referendum. That right shouldn’t come with a caveat, saying that a law passed via referendum can only stand if the Legislature likes it.

— Sen. Justin Chenette, D-Saco, represents Senate District 15, which includes part of Saco. Chenette is also a digital advertising executive for the Journal Tribune.