Recently, I had the great opportunity to speak to business leaders in the Lewiston-Auburn area at an Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce event. It was a sobering discussion because I had to remind them all about the tough challenges they face to be successful in Maine.

What I wanted to share with them was how great it feels as a business owner or manager to give your employees a bonus. Or, how wonderful it is to see your employees’ faces when you tell them that you are reducing their health insurance co-payment or to give them the news about the company’s latest investment in new equipment.

Unfortunately, we don’t have many examples of that in Maine. In fact, it is usually the opposite: businesses closing, lost clients, reductions in health-care coverage, loss of retirement plans.

We only have our imagination or memories of better days. We have been forced to resort to daydreaming about our state supporting public policies that will create and support a stronger, more vibrant economy.

But there is something we can do about this right now to make our dreams come true. How? It’s simple. Vote.

Each of us has the power to change Maine’s weak economy and poor business climate. All we have to do is vote for the candidate that shares our dream for a strong Maine economy.

During the campaign season, every candidate will tell you that he or she is in favor of a strong economy. The tricky part is figuring out which of them really means it. To do that, business owners and their employees have to become informed voters.

Informed voters have the opportunity to change the Maine Legislature from one that has consistently suppressed the Maine economy by dramatically increasing state spending, ignoring budget shortfalls and raising taxes and fees to one that understands how to foster a strong economy.

Past legislatures have made decisions that resulted in a weak economy, earning Maine the distinction of leading the nation in tax burden for a decade, not to mention receiving the title of being second to last in the country for small businesses to survive.

Maine’s floundering economy is not a matter of fate, but of political choices made in Augusta. We voted them in, and if we’re not happy with their performance of making us one of the worst states to create or support jobs and businesses, we need to vote them out.

So how do we all become informed voters? We must learn about the political choices being made in Augusta and how those choices impact us. We must find out how our legislators voted to support a strong economy, not just what they say. We must learn about how those decisions have impacted working families and Maine’s ability to attract new businesses, new jobs, and new investment.

Where do we learn how our legislators have voted on these important issues? Visit the Web site of the Alliance for Maine’s Future and sign up for their Promote the Vote education effort: www.allianceformaine.org.

AMF is the creation of business leaders across Maine. It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization charged with improving the economy for all Maine people, which works to improve the economic environment in Maine in simple, effective ways:

• Educating employers and employees about the importance of understanding the issues that impact Maine’s economy;

• Encouraging all Maine citizens to learn about the issues and candidates and the importance of voting;

• Recruiting and supporting legislative candidates from all parties who understand the importance of building a stronger economy.

Getting involved with the Alliance for Maine’s Future is an easy way to help make a difference.

Whether you are a business owner or an employee, your participation is critical to the upcoming elections. National and statewide figures show that many people don’t understand the relationship between their vote and their job. The Alliance for Maine’s Future has taken on the challenge of educating Mainers about that relationship. Until we understand the connection between our choices on Election Day and the possibility of a strong Maine economy, we will be left to our dreams of bright economic future.

Together, we can improve our state for all Maine citizens.

Rich Merk is president of the Alliance for Maine’s Future and vice president and operations manager of Hancock Lumber.