On his first day back on the job representing the people of Augusta, Belgrade, China, Mount Vernon, Sidney, and Vassalboro in the Maine State Senate, Matt Pouliot was absent and declined to vote for Gov. Janet Mills’ plan to provide immediate aid to Mainers through direct checks, other relief for home heating costs and investments in housing assistance. Pouliot’s Republican Senate colleagues rejected the measure, after the House overwhelmingly passed the measure, causing the bill to fail to get the two-thirds majority in the Senate that would have allowed funds to get to Mainers in time for the winter.

I am a mental health advocate, a person who pulled himself and his family out of poverty, and a healthcare worker. I know that when I take an absence at the hospital, it affects my patients. When a legislator takes an absence in the State House, it affects all of us.

Since I campaigned against Pouliot this year, I know from my thousands of conversations with neighbors that the vast majority of us could have used that money to offset the cost of essential heating oil that we need to survive, which has gone up in price drastically. I spoke with a man in his 30s who had to move with his wife back in with his dad in Augusta to save on housing costs. They’re worried about staying warm this winter with the rising cost of heating their home. There are too many of us for whom this will be a cold winter.

The people of our district deserve a state senator who will show up for the tough votes and do the right thing, which in this case is obviously to provide immediate relief to his constituents facing high heating costs and an affordable housing crisis.

 

Storme St. Valle

Augusta

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