letter to the editor

We must change forward

Tue, 04/24/2018 - 9:00am

Dear Editor:

I want to state up front that I am speaking to you, not as your selectman, but as a candidate running for reelection. Like many of you, I was born at our St. Andrews Hospital and lived here most of my life. The Boothbay region has seen many changes since I was a kid and change is what drove me to get involved in the Boothbay Board of Selectmen. While others may tell you it is time for a change, the change they speak of is changing back to a place with fewer jobs and higher taxes.

As a single parent with children attending our schools, I worry about their future on the peninsula. As I tour colleges with my daughter, I think about how she will soon be looking for her first full-time job. While she wants to return to live in Boothbay, I am afraid of the economic reality she will face should we elect a selectman who wants to “change back” to the past. For three years, I have been involved in the Joint Economic Development Committee because I fully support sensible growth. I know, first hand, that we need people in public office that see the value in a diverse, robust regional economy, the benefit of year-round, full-time jobs, and the importance of lower taxes for our elderly. This will not happen if we change back, we must change forward.

I want to thank you for your support over the years and ask you to think hard about your choice on May 7.

Be sure to vote for all of the candidates who support your ideas. Our children and our elderly are counting on it.

Dale Harmon

Boothbay