It is time for a change in Washington. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has served four terms, or 24 years, in the Senate. While she is labeled the most moderate and bipartisan member of the Senate, lately her positions have hardened.

In 2016, Collins declared she would not vote for Donald Trump for president, but in the last two years, Collins has fallen into line as a dependable Republican vote for the president. Her deciding vote to confirm Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court caught many of her Maine supporters off guard and left them shocked at Collins’ vote. She supported Kavanaugh, despite his admission that he got drunk regularly at binge drinking parties in high school and despite Christine Blasey Ford’s convincing testimony that Kavanaugh and another boy sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.

In the high-stakes battle for the Senate this year, Sara Gideon of Freeport, the Democratic speaker of the Maine House, has shown she can legislate effectively and with compassion. She brings a youthful enthusiasm to the race. She will fight energetically for veterans, access to health care and a woman’s right to choose, and for the environment, among many important issues.

Sara Gideon has my vote.

John Hale

North Monmouth