Dear Readers,

Today, let’s start this opus with a little civics test.

Finish this sentence for me. Most political candidates for the Maine legislature are ...

My best guess is that you finished that sentence with a word that your mother told you never to use again, unless you wanted her to scrub out your mouth with soap.

But your answer is understandable, especially now that we are in the midst of the “silly season” and being bombarded with TV annoying political commercials.

In today's world, it seems everyone seeking office is represented by professional consultants who want their candidates to follow a set pattern they say will make them sure winners. Many of them seem to have a “cause” and spend much of their time putting down their opponent. Yuck.

In our home towns, for some strange reason, it seems the “professionals” and “cause” merchants missed us. And we are all the better off for it.

The two candidates seeking to represent us in the Maine House of Representatives are Stephanie Hawke, a Republican and William Coombs, an Independent. They are not professional politicians running slick, professionally packaged campaigns.

There is no Democrat running for our House seat because the party leaders were unable to find a candidate.

“We are very unhappy about it,” said Lisa Miller, the chair of the Lincoln County Democratic Committee. “We talked to some people, but it takes a lot of time to run for office and it just wasn't the right time for them,” she said.

Hawke, the Republican candidate, is a 48-year-old East Boothbay woman who ran for the same seat in 2012 but lost to incumbent Democrat Bruce MacDonald by just 554 votes.

She is the boss at Hawke Motors, an auto repair/used car sales business in Boothbay Harbor.

In the summer, like lots of residents in vacation communities, she holds down a second job; hers is as a waitress at McSeagull's Restaurant. And she currently serves on the local school committee. Her husband and one of her sons are lobstermen.

Coombs is a 42-year-old general contractor who lives in Edgecomb. He is a also part-time substitute teacher, youth sports coach and actor/dancer who has appeared in some 60 local and regional theater productions.

Conventional wisdom dictates that when you are the candidate of a major party and do not have to face the candidate of the other major party, you are a shoe-in. Hawke is not so sure, although she is hopeful.

Coombs is not conceding either, and says he is working hard, knocking on doors and appearing at candidate forums. He says he wants to run to show his kids that you can make a difference.

The Hawke campaign has raised some money, and put out some campaign signs. She was raised in town, knows a lot of folks and asked her friends and relatives to support her. She says she does not have a cause or agenda to push when she gets to Augusta.

“I am not on a mission. I don't think I can go up there and change the world. I just want to do good for our community,” she said.

Now, to get back to the civics test I asked you to take at the beginning of this opus. Here is the best answer to the question.

In our little district, the two candidates for the Maine Legislature are just real, hardworking folks who just want to do their best for us all.

Think about that for a moment. Can we do any better than that?