This week we report two separate stories on two separate boards of selectmen sending two separate, strongly worded letters to the Dept. of Transportation regarding the potential cancellation of plans for the Wiscasset bypass.
The letters are loaded with angry phrasing and in essence, urges the DOT to stand firm behind the now endangered proposed route.
If you read both stories we think you might be hard pressed not to come away with the feeling the two boards are reading from the same list of talking points. In fact they are.
They are basing their letters on a draft language circulated by Newcastle Selectman Pat Hudson and someone Hudson identifies as “another member of the Midcoast Bypass Task Force.”
Hudson, who would not name her co-author, has served her time in the Great Bypass Debate and certainly has the background to issue an informed opinion. However, we are troubled that, in this case, both boards apparently took their cues behind the scenes.
The board’s letters as drafted may or may not be the exact sentiments of the boards, but we would prefer to see the above ground approach. We would feel better about this if the Task Force issued a letter and solicited support for it, or if interested private citizens drafted whatever letter they wanted and publicly asked the various town boards to co-sign.
Either way would have been a more upfront way of doing business than essentially having private advocates quietly circulating talking points that end up being passed off as public policy. In Washington and Augusta that’s called lobbying.
While we are sure the intentions are good, the execution smacks too much of the kind of back room dealing that has long decayed both major political parties from within.
