Dear Editor:

We can all agree that our democracy isn’t working as well as it should for ordinary Americans. Wealthy special interests have far too much power in deciding who can run for office, and what policies our representatives will consider when they are elected. Voters in Maine recognized this when they approved the referendum to restore funding to the Maine Clean Elections Fund, and impose new disclosure requirements, at the last election.

Since then the governor and legislature have failed to fully implement the results of that referendum, while we pay the price in the form of so-called "corporate persons" using dark money in Maine and across the country to lobby against restoring the value of the minimum wage, resisting environmental protections, and seeking tax breaks only for the wealthy. Failure to enact necessary legislation to protect solar energy businesses in Maine is only the most recent example of this problem.

We need to restore balance to our system and make it possible for regular people to run for office. That’s what Maine’s Clean Elections does – it levels the playing field and makes sure candidates listen to the voters, not big donors. I urge you to find out if our local candidates for State House and State Senate support full funding of Clean Elections, and ask them if they will vote to close the loophole that lets candidates raise unlimited money into their own PACs. Our democracy can work – but we have to fight for it. Together with passage of the ranked choice voting initiative this fall (#5 on the ballot it was recently announced), these initiatives can make a real difference in how policy is made and enforced in our state.

Bruce L. Rockwood

Damariscotta