Dear Editor:

Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner comes across as an honest, unvarnished man. Currently, much is being made about words that Platner spoke as a private citizen, taken out of context. A tattoo he has is claimed to have Nazi associations, but Platner says he didn’t know that.

What is more important is what Platner says now. He speaks out against the oligarchy, which is a voice long overdue in Maine politics. I admire his courage for stepping out of his comfort zone and running for office. I am waiting to hear more from him.

The Platner story emerged around the same time Janet Mills announced that she is running. Janet Mills has signed numerous acts into law that violate the Maine Constitution. One of the most significant is the Maine Space Corporation, violating Article IV Part Third Sections 13 & 14 of the Maine Constitution:

This part of the Maine Constitution has been violated many times since 1976, when the Maine Legislature declared that “centrally managing the economy is an essential government function.”

That statement is true if one interprets “centrally managing the economy" in the sense that is meant in Section 13, which is a regulatory function, but in 1976, the words were used to justify violating Section 14 by chartering the Maine Capital Corporation.

The Maine Space Corporation gets to the heart of the gaslighting that has been going on for decades. The agency of regulation cannot participate in a field it regulates, which is what makes regulation an essential government function. The space industry requires regulation.

Mills also enacted a series of power grabs by the state in enacting municipal ordinances, which are as “local and municipal in character”(to quote Home Rule) as it gets. In so doing, she failed to honor the Maine Constitution.

The important story is not what words Platner said as a private citizen- it’s what Mills allowed to happen to the Maine Constitution as Governor. If Mills can’t protect the Maine Constitution, why should Mills be sent to Washington to protect the U.S. Constitution?

Susan M. Andersen

Boothbay Harbor