As deputy director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, I know our universities not only support the retention and growth of existing Maine employers but also help attract new opportunity to our state. As we have recruited more than 110 businesses to the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, the key factor in business site selection is access to a qualified workforce.

That’s why I am voting “yes” on Question 4, the University of Maine System bond that will expand workforce development in key areas of state need.

At the University of Southern Maine, where I am chair of the Alumni Association, the bond would double engineering enrollment through classroom and lab improvements and grow the nursing program by 20 percent to address a looming shortage of nurses.

On Nov. 6, please vote “yes” on Question 4 so that both our public universities and our economy can grow and thrive.

Jeffrey K. Jordan

South Portland

Comments are no longer available on this story