Rep. Cynthia Dill, D-Cape Elizabeth, has responded to constituent requests for a recall amendment to the Maine Constitution with a bill Republicans are taking personally.

Whether or not Gov. Paul LePage is ever recalled, the recall process must be available to hold all elected officials accountable. Amendments to constitutions take a great deal of time to become a part of the framework of government. LePage would probably be out of office by the time it could became part of the Maine Constitution.

However, I was not surprised at the reaction of Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Debra Plowman, R-Hampden, dismissing the bill as not worthy of attention. I’m sure she sees it as a threat to the power held by politicians.

I hope that if Maine gets a recall amendment, it contains safeguards to prevent its capricious use. There should be a high bar for recall. It should not be initiated until the politician has been in office for at least six months. And, the petition should require enough signatures so that a few angry citizens cannot create statewide havoc plotting over coffee in someone’s kitchen.

There is no reason the electorate should not have the same tools to hold their employees responsible for performance that school districts have to get rid of incompetent faculty. Little known fact — Maine does not have absolute tenure protecting teachers. It has continuing contracts which may be abrogated with due process.

Elected politicians should demand no greater protection than teachers.

Tony Nazar, Wilton