Support Question 2

I am a small business owner in Brunswick who is fortunate to be surrounded by a great community. Question 2 on the November ballot is something I support for so many reasons.

The referendum question asks that those who earn over $200,000 dollars a year pay a surcharge of $30 dollars per thousand above and beyond the $200,000. It’s a very small incremental change for the individual but will put 157 million to fund public education. It is for direct classroom support. This question asks the wealthiest among us to invest in our children and their futures.

If you look around the state you already know that some communities are much wealthier than others. The students who reside in communities with fewer resources are no different than the student who resides in a more affluent community — except the quality of their education can be very different. Many of the more challenged communities have to look to property taxes because there is simply no other way to raise money. So property taxes get raised; residents can not afford the increase; and education is among the items that get chopped. Our over reliance on property taxes to fund public schools is deeply rooted in the failure of Augusta to properly fund education to 55 percent as was promised in 2004. That failure has a serious impact on students.

“Knowing that someone making a million dollars a year pays the same rate of tax as those of us whose yearly income is $30,000.00 to $40,000.00 , and often less, just isn’t fair or equitable. This is a huge factor in why this referendum is so IMPORTANT.”

I ask you to join with me and vote YES on Question 2.

Kathy Wilson
Brunswick At Large Town
Councilor

Vote for Tepler

Gratitude is a rare word in public politics. Public servants deserve our thanks. Those running for office, whose lives are dissected in the process, deserve our thanks. All of them. During the process, we the public are obligated to make a choice. For me the choice is based on integrity, intelligence and industry. Integrity is my number one criteria. Integrity means wholeness: being there for all with compassion, fairness and openness. Today’s issues in Maine all boil down to what is best for the people of Maine — children, parents, blue collar, white collar, small businesses, seniors, minorities, the sick and the well, the poor and the rich. Most often, these categories overlap in solving any issue. It takes intelligence and insight to discern the many facets of each issue. It takes hard work — industrious, long-houred, headache producing, concentration and commitment to weed out, sort out and finally plant the seed of progress to resolve any problem or to develop new direction. Thank you, Denise Tepler, for your gifts of integrity, intelligence and industry offered for us, the people of Maine. I will be voting for you as a state legislator Nov. 8.

Jeanne Tuttle,
Topsham

Re-elect DeChant

I urge Bath voters to keep Jennifer DeChant in the State House. Representative DeChant is a good match for our District and has been actively involved in our community in a variety of ways.

Jennifer DeChant is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bath Area Food Bank. Locally she has raised money to support operations to help feed families. As a legislator and as an appointee of Maine Economic Growth Council, DeChant has consistently supported policy to address food insecurity.

Jennifer DeChant is the executive director of the Chocolate Church Arts Center. She has brought that venerable institution back from the brink of failure to attracting thousands of people to Bath with wonderful art, music, and theater events.

Bath is fortunate to have an experienced and knowledgeable Representative ready to continue working hard for us and our City. Jennifer DeChant remains the correct choice for Bath.

Amanda Walden,
Bath

Why No Proposition 2

On your ballot you are asked to vote for a 3 percent tax on individuals and those with small business who pay individual income tax on the amount of net income over $200,000. Some people would say, “Yeah stick it to them.” The hook is that it’s “for the schools.” Anything “for the schools” should be given a “Yes” vote, right?

Maine is mandated to pay a certain amount to schools, which percentage they are not paying. This proposition partially makes up for that shortfall by receiving additional money from those individuals who have been fortunate enough to earn a comfortable living here. There is a point where no Maine Way of Life can offset our personal income taxes versus other states. Perhaps now they might decide to spend 55 percent of their time to declare residency in another lower tax state. Exactly who would be paying this surtax? Not people whose primary income comes from owning a lot of property where they have special deductions thereby reducing their taxable income far below the $200,000 threshold. (Think Donald Trump) It’s true that at the bottom of this surcharge level someone would only pay $6,000 more tax which seems like a “mere pittance” to some, but this would bring us up to the second highest level of income tax in the entire United States, People who own retail shops usually have struggled for years to be able to be included in this exclusive club and if successful they hire people. They go bust or move to another state, and there go those jobs. As for small restaurant owners, they also can close or reduce their Maine locations. There go more jobs. We need more small business which is the majority of jobs in this state. These jobs cannot go overseas like shoes and textiles.

Winnie Silverman,
Brunswick

Supporting Seth

I am writing in enthusiastic support of Seth Berry’s candidacy for Maine House District 55. After having served our district so ably from 2006 – 2014, I am very pleased that he has once again stepped up to run for the seat that represents Bowdoinham, Bowdoin, and Richmond. Seth’s knowledge about such issues as early childhood education, the environment, and energy conservation have led to important legislative initiatives in the past. Because of his previous experience, he also has a broad knowledge of the important issues facing Maine and will be able to immediately introduce and guide needed bills through the complicated legislative process.

I have worked closely with Seth on a number of projects in Bowdoinham and can attest to his willingness to pitch in, work hard, and stay with a project until its completion. He has been a major force that has kept the dream alive for a skatepark for our youth. This effort has gone on for over 13 years, yet Seth has never given up on it and has taken the practical steps of fundraising, offering a skateboard elective at the local school, inspiring others to raise the needed funds, and working with town officials. Construction on the park should be completed this fall.

Seth gave countless hours to this effort in the midst of working fulltime, serving in the Legislature, and being active with his young family. He will be getting my vote!

Wendy Rose,
Bowdoinham

Neilsen For District 53

We are endorsing and supporting Will Neilsen for Maine State House of Representatives, District 53.

Will brings an excitement and enthusiasm to the table for District 53. He has served on the Arrowsic Planning board as chairman for many years dealing with local growth concerns, as well as maintaining and helping implement Arrowsic’s Comprehensive Land use plan.

Will’s ability to research, listen, organize and feed back to his community is invaluable. Assisting local people pursue their land use ideals is a community asset.

Will has consistently supported Main Street Bath, a local retailers group with a vision for all of the businesses in the area. He and his wife Pia also had a vision years ago and began Solo Bistro, which has become an anchor business on Front St. Their partnership continues to cooperate with business neighbors within the City.

Wills background as an attorney brings an ability to hear all sides of a story and make well informed decisions. Will is interested in the well being of his constituency and will stand up, not only for the values that are the identity of hardworking Maine, but will also bring common sense experience and business sense to our economic future.

Jeff and Andrea Galuza,
Arrowsic

It Ain’t Broke

I’ve been reading the many pro Ranked Choice Voting letters. No one mentions that if passed it will limit the choices to ONLY THREE candidates, why not four or five? RCV does NOT guarantee a true majority. The ballots and the system itself would be very confusing. It would cost more taxpayer dollars and be a great waste time counting and re-counting ballots. How can that be a good thing? RCV is a violation of our constitution. Do we just amend the constitution every time something comes to pass that we don’t like? The current system works, “it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”!

Gail Card,
Bowdoin

The moral imperative against Question 1

It seems that in this debate, the morality of legalizing and taxing marijuana was overlooked. Proponents may point at the hypocrisy of penalizing pot while taxing alcohol and tobacco, but this is a false analogy to a morally problematic policy. In the case of tobacco, we tax it as a disincentive to its use, not as a way to fund public services. If our only means to fund government is to inebriate the population and then tax their intoxication, then we are surely living in a failed state.

If the campaign succeeds, why stop at pot? Will initiatives to legalize psilocybin mushrooms or peyote cactus be next? LSD precursors can be easily extracted from the seeds of common plants. Should these also be packaged into candies and sweets? As if our nation’s heroin epidemic and fascination with prescription medications wasn’t bad enough, at what point do we become a population so addled by drugs that our society stops functioning? This is terrible public policy.

We can take meaningful action without creating a pot free-for-all. Marijuana decriminalization would save vast criminal justice resources with fewer unintended consequences. Channel these savings into job training and social engagement programs. Give people tools to build purposeful lives and they won’t need to escape into mind-bending drugs. These would be moral, social, and financial victories – victories that do not force the State to expand it’s role in promoting the public’s inebriation.

This issue demands action, but Question 1 isn’t the path. Our inaction allowed predatory, out-of-state companies to shape our values for us. We need to deny the profiteers their revenues at our expense. We must challenge our legislators to create policy that corrects the failures of the past, recognizes the realities of the present, and sets a course of moral leadership for Maine’s future.

Greg Cavanaugh,
Westport Island

Ben Tucker for School Board

We live in Brunswick’s District 2 and support Ben Tucker for School Board. Ben served the town admirably as a Town Councilor for six years, and we believe he will bring that experience to the School Board.

Between us, we have known Ben for over 30 years. Nathan and Ben attended Brunswick’s Longfellow School together way back when, and Rachel has known Ben and his family since moving to Brunswick nearly a decade ago. We have great respect for Ben’s aptitude, rigor, and enthusiasm for policy, and his record as an effective Town Councilor confirms our respect.

As an academic with wide-ranging interests, Nathan enjoys looking at problems from every angle, and he always appreciates Ben’s perspective on town issues. Ben is diligent in understanding each issue through his efforts on several fronts, including an unmatched dedication to background reading and numerous conversations on the ground. Every time Nathan sees Ben in a downtown coffee shop it’s clear that everyone else appreciates Ben’s perspective, too.

Rachel is Jewish, so we observe the Jewish High Holidays. Earlier this year, the School Board discussed the merits of including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, among other religious holidays, on the school calendar. We sought out Ben’s perspective on this issue because, although our family directly benefits from the recognition of the High Holidays, we also support the neutrality of public institutions regarding religion. We appreciated Ben’s support for listing these and other holidays as our community becomes more diverse. He anticipated the well-designed, in our view, policy that was ultimately adopted by the school board.

Ben is thoughtful and has great integrity, but is also able to maintain a good sense of humor. He enjoys knowing and listening to people from all walks of life. He cares deeply about his family and town, so it is clear to us that he will be an outstanding member of the School Board.

Nathan and Rachel Tefft,
Brunswick