I disagree strongly with Larry Gilbert’s suggestion (Jan. 7) that Rep. Ted Koffman was “off base” in encouraging Rep. Tom Saviello to resign from the Natural Resources Committee. The attempt by Koffman, an extremely ethical and responsible committee chair, to resolve a bad situation was completely appropriate. Several highly questionable incidents have occurred recently involving Saviello’s full-time employer, International Paper, and his part-time employer, the state of Maine. The fact that the Department of Environmental Protection commissioner resigned over these incidents is evidence of her integrity, not, as Gilbert suggests, evidence of any wrongdoing on her part. Saviello is wise to have taken a step in the same direction.

Whether or not his presence on the Natural Resources Committee meets Maine’s legal definition of conflict of interest, Saviello’s dual roles as IP’s environmental manager and as state legislator clearly give the appearance of impropriety. Comparing his dual status to Rep. Jane Eberle’s is ridiculous. Saviello is a salaried manager at a company that is economically and specifically affected by the actions of the NRC. Eberle, on the other hand, is an unpaid board member of a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to protect the environment for all Mainers.

The DEP has just reopened for review the discharge license it issued to IP. I urge Saviello, regardless of the outcome of the ethics commission investigation, to clearly separate his responsibilities.

Rep. Elaine Makas, Lewiston

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