How do our legislators vote?

To the editor,

Citizens should not depend on the usually biased opinions of people from various news media on whether our elected officials truly represent our values. The best way to determine this is by knowing how our officials vote. It’s unfortunate that there are no easy ways to see how state, county or municipal officials vote, but that is not so for our federal officials. The Maine Sunday Telegram publishes a weekly article named “How Maine’s members of Congress voted…”. Has anyone else been paying attention to how our Maine 1st district congresswoman, Chellie Pingree, has been voting lately? She has clearly joined the antisemitic wing of the Democrat Party. In November she voted against House Resolution 5894 which would bar government funding of colleges and universities that support on campus events that promote antisemitism. A few weeks later, she logged an uncommitted “present” vote on H.R. 894 that denounced antisemitism in the United States and the world. This was followed by a “nay” vote against H.R.5933 requiring that colleges & universities report receiving funding from “countries deemed to be of concern” (Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc.). The last article I read reports that Pingree has now voted against HR 927 which condemns antisemitism on college campuses. Pingree is obviously siding with her hometown of Minneapolis currently represented by the well-known antisemite, Ilhan Omar. Shelie Pingree certainly does not represent most people in Southern Maine.

Ted Sirois
Saco

Trump wins Iowa with little effort

To The Editor:

Well, I read about the Iowa race. Trump Won. Ron DeSantis came in second and Nikki Haley came in third.

What the heck happened? I thought at least Haley would have done better.

As for the Donald, he earned a new tag. One writer called him a Lounge Lizard for his laid back style letting Ron and Nikki do all the work.

What’s in store for us come November? I can hardly wait.

Ed Turner
Biddeford

Several MDOT projects benefiting our area

To the editor,

As the ranking minority member on the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Transportation, I wish to highlight some local projects in my district listed in the Maine Department of Transportation’s (MaineDOT) most recent Work Plan for calendar years 2024, 2025, and 2026. Encompassing 2,672 individual work items, with a total value of $4.74 billion, the Plan includes all capital projects and programs, maintenance and operations activities, planning initiatives, and administrative functions.

Principally consisting of work to be delivered or coordinated through MaineDOT, the agenda likewise takes into account funds to be expended by other transportation partners, including airports and transit agencies that receive federal funds directly.

In Arundel, Days Mill Bridge over the Kennebunk River is scheduled to be replaced at a cost of nearly $3.7 million. Downing Bridge, also in Arundel over the Kennebunk River, is slated for replacement at a cost of $3 million. Light capital paving on both Route 35 and Route 5, in Dayton, is planned, while in Lyman, a $1.9 million reconstruction of Route 111/Day Road is on the docket.

Other local projects are also part of the Plan. You can find further details online at https://www.maine.gov/mdot/projects/workplan/search/, or feel free to contact me directly at (207) 229-5195.

Rep. Wayne R. Parry
Arundel, Dayton and Lyman (part))