Press Herald: Let Maine voters decide Maine elections

Posted October 17

As a concerned citizen of Maine, I urge my fellow Mainers to vote “Yes” on Question 1 to limit individual contributions to super PACs to $5,000 and keep Mainers voices from being drowned out by big-money special interests, domestic or foreign.

In President Obama’s 2010 State of the Union Address, he stated that, “Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections. Well, I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.”

Today in Maine, we have Koch Industries, a global air and water polluter, funding the Maine Chapter of the American Legislative Executive Alliance Council, co-chaired by state Republican Sens. Matt Harrington (York) and Trey Steward (Presque Isle) and Rep. Reagan Paul (Winterport), and the Maine State Policy Institute.

Multibillionaire Leonard Leo joins Koch Industries and the Heritage Foundation at the Council of National Policy, a consortium of secretive right-wing nonprofits. Leo is among those contributing to the reelection campaign of Auburn state Rep. Laurel Libby.

Then there is the American Israel Political Action Committee, which is the number one donor to Democratic Congressman Jared Golden’s campaign.

Supporting “Yes” on Question 1 is about safeguarding our democracy. It’s about making sure that Maine elections are decided by Maine voters, not by out-of-state money. Please join me in voting “Yes” on Question 1 this November.

Patrick Eisenhart
Lewiston

https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/17/letter-let-maine-voters-decide-maine-elections/