There are many arguments for and against Question 3, but the arguments against are supported by a campaign of over $27.4 million, which should in itself raise some skeptical eyebrows.
The clincher for me as a longtime Maine ratepayer boils down to this: I have much more faith in Maine citizens being elected to a board of directors for a newly created Pine Tree Power nonprofit utility company than I do in the present for-profit system with its board of directors being appointed by utility investors in Spain, Norway and the Middle East. I believe that Maine citizens will do a far better job of looking out for the interest of all ratepayers in Maine than the foreign investors.
I’ll be voting “yes” on Question 3.
I’ll also be voting “no” on Question 1, which would require a separate referendum for any proposal by a publicly owned electric utility to take on a debt over $1 billion. This proposal seems to be just a backdoor attempt by the current utility distribution companies to delay the public acquisition of their distribution system if Question 3 passes.
Charles Ipcar
Richmond
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