During the pandemic, my daughter was homeless and struggling with fentanyl addiction. Like any parent in crisis, I reached out to every elected official I could think of, from the president to local representatives. I was not seeking attention; I was desperate for help. Only two people responded. One of them was Rick Bennett.

Sen. Bennett did not send a form letter or a generic response. He got on a Zoom call with me. He listened. Then he asked a simple but powerful question: “What can I do today to help you?” And he followed through. He did not ask what party I belonged to. He did not care that I had been a Democrat. He cared that my child, a Mainer, needed help. That told me everything I needed to know about his character.

Rick Bennett left the Republican Party because he recognized what so many of us do: Extreme partisanship is tearing our state apart and standing in the way of real solutions. I left the Democratic Party for the same reason. Like many Mainers, I want practical answers to real problems, not more extremism or political games.

Rick Bennett is running for governor because he believes leadership should be about service, not party loyalty. He has already proven that he will show up, listen and act for anyone. That is precisely why I support him.

Maine deserves leaders who put people before parties. Rick Bennett has shown he is one of them.

Leisha Petrovich
South Paris