I agree with Karen Hessel of the Maine Council of Churches (April 29): we need strong campaign finance laws in order to reduce the influence of money in politics, and having a healthy clean election system is an important part of the solution. Democracy should not be for sale to the highest bidder.

We, the voters, cannot just sit idly by as our Clean Election laws are gutted. I plan to ask all candidates who come to my door to tell me what they plan on doing to get the big money out of Maine politics.

Today, most candidates run for office without courting big donors, and that is a good thing. Maine people will not benefit if the people we elect are beholden to moneyed interests. It is important that all voices are heard in our democracy, and one way to do that is to make sure that money isn’t the only thing that talks.

I count myself among the 81 percent of Maine voters who think we need more reform to limit the influence of money in politics. We need to get corporate money out of our elections, rein in super PACs, and make sure that the source of funding for every campaign is publicly known.

Let’s make sure all the candidates this year know how we feel.

Ariel Kernis, Lewiston