Get foreign money out of elections

Did you know that foreign governments and their entities can legally interfere in our election process? How? They are allowed to spend massive sums of money to promote their cause. Like most Mainers, prior to 2022, you would have assumed that this would violate election laws. That is the response I received last year from most voters in the Bath area while collecting petition signatures for this issue.

Over the years, I have collected signatures on several ballot questions, and this initiative was a “no brainer” for most voters to sign. When people heard that there was a loophole which excluded referendum questions from election funding laws, they easily signed. The Federal Elections Commission recently ruled that it has no jurisdiction to prohibit foreign spending in state referendum campaigns. The only solution is to pass a state law banning the practice.

I learned at an early age that we have a responsibility to take an active role in our community, state and democracy. As more and more corporations and foreign entities funnel money into our elections, fewer people feel that we have a viable democracy and a voice in the process. We need to take back our people power — “a government of, by, and for the people” to stand against these entities and their unlimited funds!

I am calling on our state legislature to support this initiative and put a stop to foreign spending in our elections. I am also urging other Mainers to reach out to your representatives. Then, I will urge Gov. Mills to sign it into law. We really do not need another David and Goliath battle with millions of dollars spent by outside entities telling us how to vote in Maine.

Please act soon!

Susan Lubner,
Bath 

CMP corridor will combat climate change

Every day brings new images of damaging weather patterns attributable to climate change. While tornadoes rarely touch down in Maine, hotter temperatures put Maine’s Acadian forests in peril, along with all the creatures who depend on it.

The New England Clean Energy Connect transmission corridor is in direct response to the urgent need for carbon free electricity. It will also reduce the wholesale cost of electricity. Had it been in service this winter as planned, we would have seen a smaller increase in electric rates. Owners of electric generation like NextEra and Calpine are profiting handsomely from this spike in electric prices. Every day the NECEC is held up in court is a win for their bottom line, and a loss for the environment.

No project in Maine has undergone such regulatory scrutiny. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Land Use Planning Commission, Public Utilities Commission, Army Corps of Engineers and EPA have all granted permits, after extensive review and public comment. Protections for wildlife, forests and viewsheds have been built into the permits. Although the corridor represents less than .0002% of Brook Trout habitat in Maine and 00009% of forest cover, these issues were taken seriously by regulators.

Public anger toward Central Maine Power Company has been exploited by fossil fuel interests to cloud the real facts. Every regulatory body to review the project has found it worthy of approval and in the public interest. The sooner we finish the corridor project the better off we all will be.

Christopher Ayres,
Pownal

Nuclear weapon fact check

I was puzzled by Gary Anderson’s recent opinion piece about Ukraine and nuclear weapons. He falsely included a quote that nuclear weapons have only been used by two countries: the US and UK. Only the US has ever used nuclear weapons against another country. That was Japan in 1945. Nuclear weapons have been a deterrent. Nuclear weapons have never been used since. Anderson hurt his credibility with his false statement.

Douglas Robb, 
Bath