Most people are convinced politicians are out of touch. It is easy to believe big wheels like the President and the Senators and Congressmen don’t relate to the average man/woman. In light of the amount of money it takes to run for a federal office, we concede the point.
In Maine, it seems the lower on the political totem pole we go, the more effective and responsible our representatives become. The higher we go, the more distance between them and us.
Our local officials, selectmen and school board members, occupy the lowest portion of the pole. It is easy to yell at a selectman for a tax bill or a board vote, but by and large, they are us. We have yet to meet the local official who threw his or her hat into the ring just for the thrill of exercising political power.
County commissioners are the next step up; then state officials, the governor; then the feds.
The governor’s office is always ripe for criticism. Below that, we have our local representatives, who as a group, are too easy to criticize. When we get to our specific local representative things get a little trickier.
Our current crop of incumbents, Jon McKane David Trahan, Wendy Pieh (who is not seeking reelection), Bruce MacDonald, Lisa Miller and Seth Goodall, and their challengers vying for their offices; are good people all: We know these people.
In talking to any one of them, does anyone really think they are political elitists who don’t understand what the average working man or woman is going through? That any one of them is out of touch?
We can and have disagreed with all of our local Legislators at one time or another, but their saving grace is their ability to be reached. In many cases, their home phone numbers are in the book. Call them and you will likely get a call back. Take one of them apart on your local editorial page and you’ll likely have to stand behind your words when you cross paths at the grocery store.
When it comes to the old sentiment, “throw the bums out,” we would be happy to. The real question is: “Which ones are the bums?”
