Before approving a referendum on Peaks Island independence, the question that lawmakers should be asking themselves is: “What’s the rush?”
Why should the secession movement bypass the agreed-upon process laid out by state law and hurry to an independence vote next January?
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Some Peaks residents say they have been waiting a long time and they should not have to wait any longer. They say they collected the necessary petition signatures in 2006 and held a preliminary vote later that year. In their view, putting the question out to the island’s voters one more time would be more than what’s called for.
But that is not what the law calls for. The 2006 secession process came to an end with the creation of the Peaks Island Council and a pledge by islanders and the city to work together. If there is to be a new secession process, it should go through all the steps.
Old petitions and votes tallies should not be considered valid for the same reason that a candidate should not be able to stockpile old votes from the last election.
Some people who signed the petition have died or moved away. Others may have changed their minds. The independence movement should be made to make its case again with the people who live there now.
The process of forming a new town is slow and demanding — as it should be. Despite being surrounded by water, Peaks is just a neighborhood of Portland, and the state should not create a fast track for neighborhoods to break free on their own every time they feel they are not getting enough services.
Any exception for Peaks could be applied to other sections within other communities that feel as though they get a raw deal at tax time because they don’t have any school-age children or are made up of mostly summer residences. Peaks is probably not the only neighborhood of Portland in which residents think they pay more in taxes than they receive in services, and many municipalities have neighborhoods in the same boat.
Lawmakers should not rush this decision. Peaks should have to go through the same process as any other community. If, after all the required work is done, the only fair result is the birth of a new town, they should be given the opportunity. But until then, there’s no reason to rush.
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