George Smith seems to have bought into the myth perpetuated by some that Susan Collins, who is known in Maine and Washington for the enormous number of meetings she has with constituents, somehow isn’t accessible (”Collins should give town halls a chance,” March 15).

I see her all over the place, despite her broken ankle. I recently attended a forum which was put on by AARP and the Bangor Daily News at Husson University. Sen. Collins spoke to a packed house at Husson’s Gracie Theatre about her work on the Committee on Aging and then took questions from the audience on everything from high prescription drug prices to climate change to when to start collecting one’s Social Security benefits. The audience was respectful, and Senator Collins spoke intelligently about timely issues. The meeting was open to the press and to the public. (There were even refreshments and mingling after the program finished.)

It sounds to me that this public forum fits the exact description of what George “challenged” Collins to do. For the record I’ve also read that in the last few months alone Collins did similar events at Bowdoin, at Bates, and at Harvard, as well as at the Lewiston-Auburn Chamber of Commerce. I also heard her answering questions on Maine Calling, a public radio call-in show, and see her being interviewed frequently.

Perhaps George Smith could avail himself of some of these many opportunities?

John Lord

Brewer

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