Denise Tepler for state Senate

I am writing to support Denise Tepler for state senator for District 24 (Sagadahoc County and the town of Dresden). Previously, as our state representative, she represented my town of Topsham effectively and responsively. I have grown to appreciate her compassion and how she listens to different viewpoints. She cares about reducing the cost of living for working families, good public schools (Denise served six years on the school board), affordable health care, housing and child care, and climate warming. I especially appreciate her service on the legislative committee handling health insurance issues where she helped bring down the cost of insulin, hearing aids and prostheses in Maine. Her experience lets her hit the ground running to help people get the care they need. Vote for Denise Tepler for state Senate! Vote at the polls Nov. 5 or vote early at your town office between Oct. 6 and 31. vote411.org/maine.

Mary Henderson,
Topsham

My husband and I would like to state our support for Denise Tepler for state Senate representing Sagadahoc County and Dresden. We have known Denise for years and have always been impressed with her dedication to Topsham as a state representative and her vast knowledge of the issues. Of particular interest to us is climate change. We are happy to see she supports strengthening our community infrastructure as we all have seen the damage from recent storms and it does not appear that will change in the near future. Another concern is reproductive freedom and especially having easy access to all forms of birth control. Denise is committed to making sure these options remain available.

If elected, Denise will work for all the citizens of Sagadahoc County and Dresden and we hope you will vote for her.

Maggie and Mike Dumais,
Topsham

What fun it will be to vote on Nov. 5. and what a relief to cast our ballot for Denise Tepler for Sagadahoc in state Senate. She was a Topsham rep for eight years and now we will have her knowledge and smarts in the Senate on issues we care about such as a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. (And her opponent is a star of NRA and right-wing conservatives.) And, of course we all adore Allison Hepler, our rep in Georgetown, Arrowsic, Phippsburg, Woolwich and West Bath. We absolutely respect our Sheriff Joel Merry and the way he trains his excellent staff so we will all be treated with dignity. Todd McPhee has served us well as county commissioner.

And then, of course Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. They give us hope for our future as decent Americans. Even if we agreed with her opponent (which we don’t) we could not support such viciousness, divisiveness and cruelty.

Hope you have a satisfying vote on Nov. 5 and cast your ballots for these truly fine Americans.

Sandra and Ole Jaeger,
Georgetown

Sally Cluchey for state rep

I am eager to support Sally Cluchey’s campaign for reelection as my representative to the Legislature, and I encourage my fellow citizens of District 52 (Bowdoinham, Richmond, parts of Bowdoin and Perkins Township) to join me in voting for Sally on Nov. 5.

Sally has been an integral part of my community in Bowdoinham for many years. Although she has been involved in many initiatives here, her contributions to addressing hunger issues has had a tremendous impact on those who face food insecurity. As board chair, Sally helped to develop new programs and funding sources for the Bowdoinham Food Pantry, which proved to be especially critical during the height of the pandemic. The food pantry continues to thrive, serving residents of Bowdoin and Bowdoinham with a wide variety of healthy foods including fresh produce from local farmers.

In her first term in the Legislature, Sally worked hard on her committee assignments (Joint Standing Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services, and the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife). She is smart, principled and thorough, and even had perfect attendance in her first year as our representative. The work she has begun in her first term is important in advocating both for vulnerable citizens as well as for Maine’s environment.

As you make plans for the election in November, please vote to return Sally Cluchey to the Legislature. She uses her dedication, intelligence and responsiveness to our community members to be her best in Augusta every legislative session.

Dory Streett,
Bowdoinham

Clergy person endorses Harris/Walz

As a newly retired clergy person I have decided that this election is far too important to abide by the usual nonpartisan customs of the church and clergy, and so I choose instead to take a deep dive into partisan politics. Truth matters much more now than a polite clerical neutrality in these challenging times.

If climate change concerns you, vote for Harris/Walz — the team that promotes policies that will preserve this planet rather than continue destroying it. Vote for a team that will continue the progress already made in solar, wind and other renewable energy initiatives rather than continuing dirty climate destroying energy of oil and gas and coal.

If human rights concern you, vote for Harris/Walz — the team that supports women’s right to choose, seniors’ right to afford necessary medicine, and children’s rights to be free from poverty and hunger.

If immigration issues concern you, then choose the Harris/Walz team that supported the bipartisan bill that would have increased border security and border justice — the bipartisan bill that our ex-president and current opposing candidate torpedoed so he could continue to criticize the current administration and continue running on the platform of his daily lies to all of us.

Truth matters – so please vote for the Harris /Walz team that honors telling the truth instead of constantly lying and counting on your gullibility and ignorance to gain your vote.

The future matters — so don’t go backwards. Vote for Harris/Walz on Tuesday, Nov. 5, for all the right reasons — reasons that will provide hope and joy for our common good and our shared future.

With deep trust in the wisdom of all who will choose to vote on Nov. 5, I am sincerely yours,

Ron Baard,
Brunswick