This letter is in support of the Dec. 24 letter from Mechanic Falls Town Manager Dana Lee. He was amazed at the lack of respect by our elected officials for the popular vote. As he explained, they are trying to enact the governor’s proposal, Question 1B, phasing in increased school funding, instead of following the mandates of Question 1A, which was approved by the voters. I have been expressing these same sentiments for some time.

When questioned about this issue, Democratic Rep. John Patrick said they were supposed to do the “prudent thing.”

I challenge the legislative supporters of Question 1B (LD1924) to explain why they voted against the will of the people.

Judging by the editorial opinions expressed in this paper, it appears that the editor and most of the contributors are more preoccupied with slamming the president than paying attention to our local politicians’ actions. Even the editorial cartoons are continuously anti-Bush.

It’s unfortunate that we re-elected the same people who ignore what we vote for locally but can’t accept the popular vote for president. If the same time and energy were spent holding our local officials accountable, many of the incumbents wouldn’t have been re-elected.

The latest issue before us is school funding. If people truly want their property taxes reduced, they must make their feelings known to their local town officials and school board members. If not, officials will spend any savings from state-level property tax reduction programs.

Keith Farrington, Andover

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