Dear Editor:

I heard most of an interview with Susan Collins on NPR last week in which she positioned herself as a hurt and outraged victim of her opponent, Sara Gideon. She stated that Gideon’s negative ads misrepresent her record and attack her integrity. That very day I received an extremely negative ad in my mailbox in support of Susan Collins and paid for by the Republican Party. This ad claims that Sara Gideon has no integrity because her husband’s law firm accepted a large sum of PPE money. Two days later I received another horrifically negative ad picturing the House Speaker’s head in a pot of boiling water, stating she is in “Hot Water” for ethics violations. Senator Collins, who is herself flooding the airwaves and our mailboxes with very negative and less than truthful ads is hardly a victim in this race.

I am disgusted by the negative and misleading ads on both sides. But I find Sara Gideon someone who is more willing to engage with and listen to her constituents. I support Sara’s position of improving and expanding the Affordable Care Act, which, in spite of Collin’s one vote to save it in 2017, the current senator has voted 21 times to delay, defund or repeal. I want a senator like Sara, who will not vote for tax cuts for the wealthy while leaving everyday Mainers struggling to put food on the table.

And I want a government which works. Unfortunately, in these politically polarized times, having different majorities in our two Congressional chambers has meant nearly complete dysfunction. A Democratic Senate and House working with a president like Joe Biden, who is known for working in a bipartisan way and putting country before party, can begin to heal our divides and restore a functional government. Voting for Sara Gideon is a step in that direction.

Jody Telfair-Richards

Bristol