We will continue to accept letters to the editor next week about the April 17 referendum, with the following guidelines.
We will not publish letters that contain attacks on any business, group, or individual. Letters must make a positive argument, rather than an argument against the other side of the question.
We also will not accept any letters with questionable statements of fact.
One of the most persistent pieces of misinformation surrounding the referendum has to do with who will pay the bill for the town’s lawsuit against the Maine Department of Transportation if residents vote to continue it.
Opponents of the downtown project would have everyone believe they will pay the bill. One opponent in particular, with support from others, has offered to fund the lawsuit.
However, the town has yet to decide whether to accept the funds or whether it would be ethical to do so. If voters favor the lawsuit, a second referendum about whether to accept the funds appears likely.
This is not a settled question, and to present it as such misleads voters.
Reasonable people can disagree on the merits of the Maine Department of Transportation’s plans for Wiscasset. But Wiscasset residents should make a decision on those merits, not on false or incomplete information.
