I began attending Auburn City Council meetings this summer after becoming concerned with the future of Lake Auburn and the loss of curbside recycling. I wanted to see firsthand how Auburn has become entrenched in these controversial matters. What I witnessed was certainly not democracy in action. My distaste for what I witnessed through the […]

Jeff Harmon would restore citizen collaboration at the Auburn City Council, Planning Board and Water District if elected our mayor. Jeff is a 25-year veteran of law enforcement, starting in Auburn. With 15 years of experience delivering software solutions to state and local government, he brings a wide perspective to leadership. He is visiting people […]

Auburn’s government cost to operate will continue to increase, probably at a rapid rate.  If private sector economic development is retarded, or even stopped, city-provided services will have to be curtailed. Our property tax rate already is one of the highest in Maine. So, voters might ask candidates “What do you propose we do about […]

In an Aug. 26 letter, Robert Reed cites statistics about the effects of inflation (“Necessities were more affordable under Trump than Biden“). Unfortunately, he’s missing the all-important “why.” But before I get to that, Mr. Reed says the president controls the Federal Reserve. Not true. He nominates — and the Senate approves — the independent […]

I completely agree with Liz Henry’s in-rebuttal response to Dan Bilodeau, published Aug. 22. Also, in the SJ that day was the announcement that Mayor Jason Levesque is seeking a fourth term, checking off what he considers his accomplishments. He appears to have no awareness that his efforts to fill Auburn with multi-unit housing while […]

I am deeply worried about the future of public education in Maine. Unless the State Legislature adjusts the school funding formula this session, Mainers will find themselves paying much more for far less in their local schools next year. This is not about politics; it is about math. We all know it. Home values have […]

I am very upset about the city of Auburn’s decision to cancel the recycling program. It was a very shortsighted decision. Many of us recycled, and for good reasons. The city needed to do some education about the recycling program, not just cancel it. In effect what the city did was to shift the cost […]

I sat next to Jeff Harmon when I was gathering petition signatures to keep Lake Auburn clean, and he was gathering signatures to improve the rezoning process along Court Street. This year, I have been driving Jeff Harmon on his door-to-door election rounds. I am impressed with his ability to engage all types of people […]

I am writing to support converting the Berlin Subdivision/St. Lawrence and Atlantic rail corridor to a multi-use trail linking Portland and Auburn. The Maine Department of Transportation has recommended holding off on making a decision about how to proceed with this state-owned corridor. Options include removing the rails and building a multipurpose trail for hikers, […]

As our state outlines its initial plan to allocate federal broadband expansion funds, we must be diligent in identifying which Mainers have the greatest need and prioritizing funding towards these regions first. In the initial draft Broadband Action Plan provided by the Maine Connectivity Authority, there are contradictory claims regarding which regions of our state […]