My wife and I recently settled in the Bethel area some 125 years after my great-grandparents emigrated here and Maine is now our home.

I fervently believe that our political leaders need to be practical, results-oriented people and I support Terry Hayes for governor on that basis.

Terry has identified partisanship as the biggest problem in Augusta. As a state representative and now as state treasurer, she has earned the trust and support of policymakers on both side of the aisle. She walks the walk.

She is a Clean Election candidate and is a fervent supporter of ranked choice voting because she believes the negative campaigning and lack of choices in the current system fosters the divisive climate in Augusta.

The overarching goal beyond the end to partisanship is more transparency, more accountability, and more collaboration in Augusta so that voters can believe in government again.

William S. Allen, Bethel