As a lifelong Mainer, I was deeply troubled to see, during our grassroots battle with Central Maine Power/Iberdrola to protect our western forests from destruction, an unyielding utility juggernaut interested not in our forest, our small creatures or our flora but only in shareholder equity. Approximately 60 percent of those who cast a ballot last Nov. 2 showed them the door.

I was dismayed to witness a crown corporation, owned by a foreign government, openly engage in an outright battle against a referendum initiated by Maine voters. What gives them the right to tamper in our election? Who are they to try to steal our sovereignty?

They spent $22 million on ads and consultants to influence the outcome of our vote, more than twice the previous record for spending in a referendum. This level of spending made it next to impossible for concerned Mainers to be heard, and the fact that it was bankrolled by taxpayers of another country was alarming. Let Maine voters and only Maine voters decide the issues affecting their state.

We must do everything that we can do to protect our state and elections from undue foreign influence. Therefore, I was proud to sign the Protect Maine Elections referendum and close this dangerous loophole, and I urge my fellow Mainers to do the same. We must never allow foreign concerns to tamper with or influence our business.

To sign, get involved or learn more, please visit protectmaineelections.com.

Steve Greve
Pittston