Voters have passed the so-called revitalization of the Clean Elections Act, despite prophetic warnings that funding this welfare for politicians will be a budget buster for Maine and require the Legislature to cut funding for truly essential services.

We also will see that, contrary to the claims of its supporters, the new law will not reduce so-called “big money” in political campaigns or out-of-state donors to Maine campaigns, but rather have the effect of increasing both.

That having been said, I remain opposed to anyone thinking they have a moral right to require me to subsidize against my will a political viewpoint with which I do not agree, which is what this bill does by using my tax money to fund candidates with whom I do not agree.

As a result, I will never support for office anyone who accepts this ethically unclean “clean” elections money. It’s really that simple.

Supporters of “clean elections” and “campaign finance reform” refuse to face the simple fact that all their efforts are doing are strengthening incumbency and reducing, rather than increasing, truly independent political voices.

As a society, we have been chasing campaign finance reform for 40 years now. We’re not any closer to “clean” elections now then we ever were. If the “process” “worked,” we wouldn’t have to keep revisiting it every single session of the Legislature and the Supreme Court.

Charles Jacques

Winthrop