Next Tuesday we’ll elect new leaders at the federal, state and local levels. As President Kennedy once said, “No government is better than the people who serve it, and we want the best, we need the best, and we deserve the best.”

Maine needs a new partner in the White House.

We have had to compensate for a lack of leadership on the federal level on some of the most important issues impacting Mainers: jobs, health care, the environment and others.

Since George Bush took office, we’ve lost 1.6 million jobs nationwide. Here in Maine, we’ve lost nearly 22 percent of our manufacturing base – that’s more than 17,600 good paying jobs. The president’s response: Support tax breaks for companies that outsource American jobs. That’s why he’s the first president since Herbert Hoover – and the Great Depression – to lose jobs. In Maine, we are creating more than 1,500 jobs with Pine Tree Zones and, through continued investments in research and development, we will ensure the educated and skilled workforce of Maine will have access to good paying jobs with benefits.

Health care premiums have risen 64 percent and 5 million more Americans are without health insurance. The president’s response: Put HMO profits ahead of patient care, without so much as lifting a finger to add people to the health care rolls. In Maine, we are implementing the landmark Dirigo Health Act, the comprehensive reform initiative that contains costs, improves quality and ensures access to health coverage for all Maine citizens.

President Bush signed a Medicare bill that does little to lower prescription drug prices for seniors and persists in diminishing the entitlements of our greatest generation. We need a president who will allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors and encourage the purchase of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada.

In Maine, we have created MaineCare, Drugs for the Elderly and Maine Rx Plus – all of which provide prescription drugs at a dramatically reduced price for our most vulnerable citizens.

The current administration is the most environmentally unfriendly one in our history. The anti-environmental initiatives put forth by the Bush administration may well be the undoing of one of the Sen. Mitchell’s most important legacies, the Clean Air Act of 1990. In Maine, we are protecting our vital energy and environmental resources, adopting green building standards for state government, “green certification” for Maine forest products and banning liquidation harvesting to protect our cultural and natural heritage.

Maine people cannot afford four more years of lost jobs, rising health care costs, record high deficits and a threatened environment. We can do better, we must do better. We need a partner in Washington, a partner who will work with us to provide for the common good, to ensure that all of us are safe in our communities and homes.

Sen. John Kerry is that partner.

John Baldacci is the governor of Maine.

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