Setting the record straight
To the editor:
In last week’s Star-Herald Samantha White had an opinion piece about me and my first term as your state representative. Such harsh criticisms of my job performance as your legislator need to be addressed, so let’s go through Miss White’s statements, and set the record straight.
In Samantha’s article she starts out by saying that all she got from me was empty promises. Since I have no idea who this person is and have never had conversations with her, then these promises that I made are a mystery to me. So let me tell you some of the promises I made to the citizens of Presque Isle, these come straight from my campaign literature from 2008.
I promised to fight against school consolidation; I did that. I promised to work to bring jobs to Presque Isle; I did that this summer when I got Balance BPO to locate in Presque Isle, bringing with them up to 200 jobs. I promised to fight against tax increases; I did that when I was sternly against LD 1495, the tax law that would have put over 100 new taxes on Mainers in a time when we could least afford it. This position was supported when the people of Presque Isle voted with me and overturned this tax increase with a margin of just over 60 percent on the June referendum ballot. I promised to take care of my fellow veterans; I did that by supporting every veteran bill that came to the floor of the Legislature. And I also had a piece of legislation LD 1579, which was passed into law making electronic voting for our soldiers overseas available.
I promised to make Maine a more business friendly environment; I did that when I voted against every bill that would have added more taxes and regulation to small businesses. I also promised to back welfare reform; I did that when I voted in favor of LD 254 to bring real welfare reform including a 90-day residency requirement. That bill also included many other measures that would help preserve the safety net that we have in place for Mainers who need a hand up, not just out-of-staters looking for a good deal. In that vote I kept my promise of people before party and was one of six Democrats to stand up for what is best for their district and the state.
That is enough of my supposed promise breaking that I have been accused of doing. This is a good segue to the topic of my voting record. I am skipping ahead a bit, but that is just how this is flowing, so bare with me.
As far as me voting with the Dems and Gov. Baldaccci close to 80 percent of the time? I ‘m sure that the Democratic leadership in the legislature would have loved it if that were the case. Ask our Democratic whip Rep. Berry who wrote into this same paper last week praising my constituent work. In fact, I happened to disagree with the ideas of my party on some of the biggest issues in the 124th Legislature. This wasn’t by design; it was out of making the right decisions for my district. Like I have always said, a good idea is a good idea no matter what side came up with it.
In 2008 I ran as a Democrat, but my platform was not what Miss White makes it out to be. I made no bones about my stance on all of the issues, and those have not changed and never will. I guess what I’m saying is that I am still the Mike from 2008 and 2006, 2004, 2002 … I think you get the picture. So, political opportunism? I don’t think so Ms. White.
Lastly, I want to address my “once a week” trip to Augusta to “collect a paycheck”. First, Miss White, you need to talk to my wonderful wife Pam and she will most assuredly set you straight with your facts. The weeks that I was gone in Augusta she was working a full-time job, while taking care of our household and making sure our two girls got where they needed to go. When you get elected to public office, it’s very much a whole family partnership. Each week she fielded calls and relayed messages to me so we could help out constituents who needed my help. Unlike Congressman and Senators we don’t have a District Office to take care of these things while we are away representing our district.
Now I’m not complaining, I have never really been the kind of guy that did what he wanted for the money, heck, I used to be a teacher, and I loved that. So I really take offense to that statement you made, alluding to the fact that I do this just for the money, you should be ashamed of yourself for such a petty attack not only on myself, but also on the sacrifices my wife and children have made in their lives to make it possible for me to represent our district.
The bulk of any good legislator’s work should be done while they are at home, while we are out of session. And might I make this point to Miss White, when we are out of session, we don’t get paid. So I am working over half of my term for nothing, and you know, I don’t mind that at all Miss White because a good representative doesn’t do the job for the money.
It is evident by your article that you don’t know the full story, nor do you fully understand sacrifices that need to be made by an entire family to do this job. Since your article made it to print, I have taken the time to actually get to know who you are. And I now know why your article hit the paper. I know that you are an ardent supporter and best friends with my opponent. I also know that you are activists of some sort. I can only imagine you thought you were doing my opponent, your friend, a favor by attacking me and my family in the way you did. I don’t think that you did my opponent any favors Miss White, all you accomplished is to make those who read your article wonder, who the heck is Samantha White, and what’s her problem? This is the question I have been asked too many times to count since you article hit the paper last week, and I didn’t have an answer, until now.
I am going to use an old saying that was tailor made for Samantha White. You should never judge a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes. You can support your friends and your agendas, but don’t bring good people down in the process. It weakens your message, and diminishes your credibility.
Presque Isle
