To the Editor:

If you talk to Greg Kimber, Democratic candidate for Maine House District 114 representing the towns of Chesterville, Wilton, Temple, Strong, Industry and New Vineyard, he’ll tell you that this was the first summer he can remember ever having to water the family asparagus patch.  Not only that, but the water table is so low this year, he had to hold back a little on watering or the well couldn’t keep up.  And where Temple Stream usually freezes solid so he and his dad can cross on the ice when they go cross country skiing, well it just didn’t freeze this past winter.

“I do look at the big picture” he says.  “If we’re seeing these climate change impacts locally here now, I wonder what we’re going to be facing 50 or even 10 years down the road.”  Heat pumps, solar energy development, support for local agriculture, and the expansion of broadband internet service; for Greg Kimber all these things have a climate component but they can also foster and develop local enterprises and strengthen our communities. And for Greg, our local communities are the building blocks for a greener, cleaner economy and world.

He’s careful to acknowledge an important theme in the effort to combat climate change; “Transition toward zero-carbon is also about investing in jobs and new opportunities.  We can’t leave people behind – we need to commit to training and hiring locally.”

Even closer to home, with the challenges of aging facing people of his parents’ generation, Greg sees issues of elder care and “aging in place” from a clear vantage point.  How do we train our elder-care workers, home-health care providers and CNA’s, and are we paying them enough?  Are we protecting their right to organize?  How do we attract younger workers and new Mainers to our communities and foster diversity as our parent’s and grand-parent’s generations move out of the workforce?  These are just a few of the hard questions Greg Kimber is not afraid to ask and these are issues he’s ready and willing to advocate for.

“I have a willingness to listen to other people’s ideas, listen to people’s concerns, without letting preconceived notions get in the way.”  For Greg Kimber, those words have guided his campaign for the Maine House of Representatives.  And for me, when I vote for Greg Kimber in this election, I know that I’m supporting an innovative and insightful candidate for Maine House District 114, and someone that cares deeply about the survival of this collective asparagus patch we all call home.

Robert G. Rogers

Chesterville

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