Another election has passed in Maine and elsewhere and the only result I can see is that the 50 percent (or less) of Americans who vote are not the same half that pay attention to the news. Maybe what that really means is the half that votes can’t read or can’t afford glasses.

For a country that was ruled by a tyrant to become so complacent tells a lot of why America is declining in the world. Heck, many Americans think that America is still No. 1 in everything and don’t have a clue that is no longer true. I became an unregistered voter because our two political parties have become a disgrace and what’s even worse is that in many states neither party has a majority and yet our political system allows them to retain a majority of political power.

So, getting back to the Maine election results, I am not surprised that Question One passed and Maine citizens can still register to vote on Election Day. The Maine Republican Party blew it when it passed legislation on the basis of college students fraudulently registering to vote in Maine. Whether that is true or not doesn’t matter at this point, the present administration in Augusta failed to prove its point. As far as the casinos and racinos being voted down, if there had only been one on the ballot, especially a racino in Biddeford, I feel that would have had a much better chance to pass on its own. Gov. LePage was right when he said Maine could not afford a total of five casinos and racinos and the unfortunate part was that the enemies of competition poured thousands of dollars to defeat new casinos and racinos. The enemy? Oh, that’s right, Hollywood Slots in Bangor and those building the new casino in Oxford. The sad part is that most Maine voters were totally ignorant of those who paid for those negative campaigns.

Although I am happy with the election results in Windham, it was certainly different with a couple of write-in candidates attempting to win over those already on the ballot. There is nothing wrong with that because that is how a democracy is supposed to work. Patrick Corey ran a good campaign against Tommy Gleason and although he lost, he does deserve a lot of credit for trying.

As Windham moves forward after the elections (or maybe I should state, if Windham can move forward), I hope that we have a council that eliminates the obvious appearance of cronyism. Cronyism is favoritism shown to friends and associates by appointing them to positions without regard for their qualifications. I wish I was the only one who believed this but I have been approached by many citizens of Windham and some business owners as well.

My belief is that with a new town council, it is time for a new beginning in Windham. Windham must design a plan for its future instead of dragging itself through mud time and time again. Although I have seen numerous attempts to improve the infrastructure and business climate in town, I have seen little improvement while witnessing spot-zoning on an ever-increasing scale. We need a huge change to the approach of attracting new businesses to Windham. And those changes must include new people in charge of economic development and that includes a new economic development officer as well as a new town manager. I must also add that Windham should change its legal representation to a new law firm. Our present law firm represents too many entities that receive our tax dollars in one way or another.

Lane Hiltunen, of Windham, hopes that Shaw Bros. employs some Windham residents at its new Windham quarry.