Leadership Our Community Needs and Deserves

As printed originally by the Lincoln County News on September 29, posted with permission of the author.

To the editor:

At this critical moment for our state, country, and democracy, we need leaders in Augusta who are committed to defending and preserving our democratic institutions. We need public servants in the State House who are fiercely dedicated to protecting and expanding the right to vote, preserving free and fair elections, and getting special interest money out of politics. Since her first election to the Maine House, Lydia Crafts has proven that she’s one of those leaders. A representative we can trust to put our democracy first.

In the Maine House, Lydia helped pass reforms, signed into law last year by Gov. Janet Mills, to limit “big money’s” influence in our elections. The new laws prohibit direct corporate contributions to candidates and increase transparency for outside groups sending money to influence our elections. Under Lydia’s leadership, Maine is a model for the country on how you fix democracy to put the power in the hands of the people, not wealthy special interests donors.

Our democracy works best when more people are able to vote and have their voices heard. Lydia understands that and has helped pass legislation, signed into law, that allows polling places to expand the use of 24-hour drop boxes for absentee ballots, enables student IDs to be used to register to vote, and places new protections on voters’ data privacy.

In today’s divisive, partisan, political climate, it’s more important than ever to restore trust in our electoral system and democracy. Lydia’s proven commitment to protecting free and fair elections in Maine is the type of leadership and representation our community needs and deserves.

Jordan Wood
Round Pond