Support for Denise Tepler

Denise Tepler for Maine state Senate! Where would we find someone more qualified than Denise to step in as a successor to Eloise Vitelli (who is stepping down due to term limits)? She has served the Town of Topsham for eight years as a representative in the Legislature, thus giving her the vast knowledge needed to be effective immediately when sworn in as our next senator for District 54.

I have known Denise for close to 20 years working with her first on the Finance Committee for the Town of Topsham, then working with her on numerous issues important to Topsham and the State of Maine. I know she will work diligently on my two main issues: universal health care and reproductive rights. I don’t believe we would ever find someone with Denise’s work ethic, integrity and concern for the people of Maine. Please join me on Nov. 5 in voting for Denise and putting her in the State House.

Gail Eaton,
Topsham

I look forward to voting for Denise Tepler for state Senate in the November election. I have been fortunate to know Denise for decades. We have spent time together at school and musical events with our children, and we share many mutual friends. I relied on her leadership on the SAD 75 school board and worked with her on issues when she represented Topsham in the Maine state Legislature. Denise is smart, hard-working, competent and so well positioned to be our next state senator.

The issues that highlight Denise’s career align with many of the issues that are important to me. Particularly close to my heart and life’s work is the environment. I have been staff, consultant and board member for a number of Maine environmental organizations. Among these organizations is Maine Conservation Voters. Although my eight years on the board (then the Maine League of Conservation Voters) did not overlap with Denise’s time in the Maine Legislature, I have remained an avid supporter of the organization and pay close attention to its annual scorecard.

Since 1986, Maine’s Environmental Scorecard has provided objective, factual information about key legislation and the corresponding voting records of all members of the Maine Legislature. Lawmakers are scored on their votes on key bills to distinguish which legislators are working to protect the environment. This exercise illuminates Denise’s commitment to the environment. During the eight years (2015–2022) that Denise served, she received 100% for seven years and a lower score her last year only because she was not present for one of the votes chosen for the scorecard. Absences happen.

I have confidence that Denise will serve Senate District 24 extremely well and will be an excellent successor to Eloise Vitelli, who I thank immensely for her commitment to our towns and state.

Please join me in voting for Denise Tepler on Nov. 5.

Ellen Baum,
Bowdoinham

Maine needs Denise Tepler back in the State House.

Denise Tepler is the right candidate to protect our reproductive freedom in Maine. She is the best person to represent us in Senate District 24, which encompasses Sagadahoc County and Dresden.

I’ve known Denise personally for decades, and I know it is her passion to be a dedicated public servant. I’ve relied on her experience and expertise as a representative from Topsham (where she served from 2015–2022, until she was termed out). I knew I could rely on her wisdom and experience to help move issues forward for all of us. She sees clearly what needs to be done and has been itching to get back into the Legislature to continue the work she started there.

Denise puts the needs of Maine people first and is a strong advocate for families. Her support for reproductive freedom is particularly important to me. She believes in the right to bodily autonomy, the right to choose whether and when to have children, and the right to raise children in safe, healthy and sustainable communities. She fights for affordable housing; health care for all; safe schools; high-quality, affordable child care; and a clean and healthy environment.

Denise Tepler is an excellent listener. She is accessible and very responsive to her constituents’ needs and concerns. Her experience and leadership will be a big asset for Maine people. She will put her skills to work on behalf of all of us the moment she is back in the State House.

Please join me in voting for Denise Tepler on Nov. 5.

Lucy Hull,
Arrowsic

Freedom for Dechaine

This is for Dennis Dechaine’s freedom. Please read these facts and free Dennis Dechaine (of Bowdoinham) and a request to plea for his freedom. Sources: The Crime Report and Your Criminal Justice Network.

Deconstructing a quarter-century of DNA exonerations has given us a deep understanding about what went wrong originally in those cases. Those factors are now well-known: eyewitness misidentifications, false confessions, faulty forensic evidence, ineffective assistance of defense counsel, police and prosecutorial misconduct, and the use of jailhouse informants.

Armed with this knowledge, innocence projects and others have urged stakeholders to reform the criminal justice system to prevent similar miscarriages of justice in the future. Much progress has already been made. Every state has a post-conviction DNA testing statute empowering inmates to petition for access to biological evidence in their cases and perform scientific tests. Many jurisdictions have revamped their approach to eyewitness misidentifications, with Massachusetts, New Jersey and Oregon leading the way.

More than a dozen prosecutors’ offices now have “Conviction Integrity Units” designed to investigate possible wrongful convictions and rectify those mistakes. Ralph Gants, chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, gave a riveting speech at the conference about eyewitness misidentifications and developments in the Commonwealth’s jurisprudence in this realm.

We have learned a lot from 25 years of DNA exonerations, and the criminal justice system has changed significantly in response to this knowledge. But questions linger. And none are more pressing than those concerning the plea bargaining process.

Bev Gallant,
Rumford