Dear Editor:

I know and like both Stephanie Hawke and Holly Stover. Many of you are in the same boat. Both do great things in our local communities. Both are asking for your vote. If you like them both, and they both do good things, how do you make the choice of which one to vote for?

To answer that question, you might begin with thinking about what exactly your representative does when they get to the State House. The central job of a representative is to represent their district by proposing new laws; voting on the proposals of other members in her assigned committee; and debating and voting on bills in the legislature itself. They become, as we say, lawmakers.

Throughout my time in the Maine legislature, I worked with Holly often in her capacity as a high level DHHS official. Holly is deeply respected at the State House, where she was often present testifying on one bill or another. She already understands the legislative process, and would come to the table with a wealth of knowledge about how state government works, and what needs fixing.

Further, Holly is a good fit for this district. Here in the Boothbay area, we voted overwhelmingly at the ballot box to expand Medicaid to cover 70,000 more working Mainers. Yet Stephanie voted to uphold the governor’s foot-dragging and obstruction, which has delayed implementing the will of the voters for several months and counting, on this and all of the other recent referendums. Holly, on the other hand, supports expanding Medicaid and would build on other programs that are already working well to cover more Maine citizens. She is also committed to respecting the will of the voters, whether she agrees with them or not.

I like both Stephanie and Holly, and value them for the good things they do to support our communities. But you need to look at how they will act as lawmakers when you consider how to vote. In my view, Holly Stover will represent this district better, and I will be voting for her in November.

Bruce MacDonald

Boothbay