To the editor:
Each year, Mainers are exposed to the misleading and politically motivated “legislative scorecard” from the Maine Economic Research Institute.
I take my voting record seriously and care deeply about improving Maine’s economy, and the MERI scorecard has nothing to do with that. The people that put out this stuff are solely interested in getting members of one party elected over the other. The blatantly partisan “business scorecard” has little to do with actual votes that affect business and everything to do with rigging the system to give Republicans high scores and Democrats low ones.
In this year’s report, only one Democratic member of the entire Maine Legislature received a score of 66, barely a passing grade, while most scores hovered around the 10s and 20s. Meanwhile, only a couple of Republicans scored lower than the Democrats’ highest score of 66, with most members receiving scores in the 80s and 90s.
There are 186 members of the Maine Legislature; 186 human beings with different ideas, values and opinions. Are we to believe that independent-minded Maine lawmakers split exactly down party lines so cleanly and perfectly? I don’t buy it.
Part of the “scorecard” involves picking bills that will most assuredly go down party lines to get to the desired outcome. And the other part uses paid lobbyists to subjectively rate the legislators on their “approachability” based on their own agenda. This means that half of a legislator’s score is randomly assigned by corporate lobbyists who give no reasoning behind their decision.
This year, MERI went after legislators who voted to support significant issues such as health care for working families, safety training for workers, cutting income taxes for the majority of Maine people and consumer protection measures. I voted my conscience on these measures, which is what I believe my constituents want.
Many reputable organizations rate legislators on issues such as health care, the environment, and business. Done correctly, they are tools for citizens who may not have the time to research issues that matter to them. Done poorly, like the example here, it is just noise designed to distract Maine people away from the real issues facing the state.
I am proud to be serving my third term in the Maine Legislature and holding the position of House chair of the Legislature’s Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Committee as well as member of the Labor Committee.
Allagash
