Canvassing for Democrat Janet Mills the other day, I ran into someone who had represented Portland in the Legislature as an independent. The person was committed to voting for Terry Hayes for governor, another independent.

The person appeared comfortable with the knowledge that a vote for Hayes would, in effect, be a vote for Shawn Moody – that is, until I remarked that the next governor would appoint the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Given the damage done to DHHS by Mary Mayhew, do we want to risk the possible appointment of yet another person who does not support the mission of the agency they are charged to lead?

Maine’s governor nominates people to literally dozens of agencies and boards. Given this, I beg all who are thinking of voting for Hayes to think a little harder about the downstream results of their vote and put the future of our state in the safe hands of Janet Mills.

Sadhbh Neilan

Portland