CMP pushing anti-government buttons

To the editor,

Mainers are independent and resilient. We like to take care of ourselves – we don’t want to rely on government or big charities to do things for us. I guess that’s why CMP’s ads call Pine Tree Power’s plan “a government takeover.” They’re trying to push our “anti-government” button in order to stay in power themselves.

In the latest of its many pricey propaganda mailings to my home, they seem to have forgotten their own message: “Gov. Janet Mills opposes Pine Tree Power,” its glossy flyer crows. How can this be a “government takeover” if the governor herself is opposed to it?

In reality, Maine citizens will be the owners of Pine Tree Power, not the government nor European and Mideast investors as is the case with CMP. It will be run by a 13-member board made up of seven elected members plus six expert advisors.

All current workers will be retained; only the top Versant and CMP managers will be replaced — the very people whose decisions have resulted in CMP being named the worst power company in the nation (for four years in a row, according to a J.D. Power survey).

The citizen group pushing for Pine Tree Power is called Our Power. “Our” refers to the citizens of Maine, not the government. Shame on CMP for claiming otherwise.

Don Wessels

Kennebunk