More than 90,000 signatures from Maine voters were collected in less than 60 days. That should send a firm message to those in the Legislature who voted, in the dead of night and with no public hearing, to add an additional $75 million tax burden to the citizens of Maine at a time when they are already struggling with rising costs and one of the highest tax burdens in the country.

The 90,000 signatures represents nearly 20 percent of total registered voters in Maine. To call that an overwhelming amount would be an understatement.

The Fed Up With Taxes signature-gathering campaign was funded by a broad, bipartisan collection of local Maine businesses and associations. Conversely, those in favor of burdening the public with those additional taxes were funded almost entirely by a millionaire New York City hedge fund manager. He doesn’t even live in Maine, but the tax-and-spend supporters were more than happy to take his money to prevent Maine people from having a say on those taxes.

I look forward to a vigorous campaign, and would encourage all Maine people who have to pay taxes to join me in voting to repeal those taxes in November.

J. Paul Spellman, Auburn