Vote no on election referendum

To the editor,

In response to Representative Nathan Carlow’s letter last week: It looks like people will soon be out in force collecting signatures for a referendum with the deceptive name of “Protect Maine Elections.”

Representative Carlow makes this sound like a noble cause. But if you have been following Maine politics, you will know this is just a political maneuver. This referendum will have little to do with protecting Maine elections and everything to do with defunding the people who will be trying to prevent a hostile takeover of their business (CMP) by Augusta bureaucrats.

If the takeover is successful, Maine’s electrical grid will not be managed by energy professionals but bureaucrats of questionable credentials. Their management priorities will depend on the political whims of whoever presently controls Augusta.

Carlow’s letter demonizes a Spanish private business and a Canadian public utility for spending their money to defend their right to pursue a business plan that would have brought clean hydro-power to Maine. Yet, Carlow seems OK with the millions of dollars out-of-state fossil fuel burning power companies poured into that same referendum to protect their profits.

Besides the fact that this is a bad idea for our power grid, I’m concerned about the message this sends to international businesses, and especially our neighbors in Canada. Maine needs to entice foreign companies to invest in Maine to create desperately needed good-paying jobs in this global economy.

The law created by this referendum will make us look like a bunch of xenophobes willing to hamstring a business simply because a foreign entity may partially or entirely own them. Knowing the true intent of this referendum, I hope you say “no” when asked to sign on to this ill-conceived referendum effort.

Ted Sirois
Saco