In light of the recent Maine Supreme Court decision regarding the unconstitutionality of the referendum on the NECEC, I have a few comments about this entire process.
The MPUC is comprised of 3 people in appointed positions and none of whom have any educational or practical work experience in the natural resource use/conservation sector. These 3 people ‘represent’ the Maine people on decisions such as the NECEC? I might remind anyone who reads this that the “Say No to NECEC” PAC has nearly 10,000 citizens, take no corporate money, and have hundreds of people, if not more, who have advanced university degrees and decades of practical experience in the natural resource use/management sector and adamantly disagree with moving forward with the NECEC. Three people for and thousands against? How could this possibly be a balance and accurate representation for Maine?
Maine enjoys a rather positive reputation across the US for its natural beauty, hard-working people, and practical approach to solving problems. However, a darker side of Maine is reflected in its politics where heavy corporate lobbying and more than a few questionable examples of individuals with perceived or outright conflicts of interest exists. How can we ignore facts such as the Governor’s brother, Peter, on the BoD of an NGO created by CMP (Western Mountains & Rivers Corporation); Sean Mahoney is the Executive Vice President and Director of the Conservation Law Foundation’s Maine Advocacy Center, and his brother, R. Scott Mahoney, is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for AVANGRID [link]; and former governor Baldacci on the BoD of Avangrid making $200K/year [link]? These are just a few examples among many. The influence of a few ‘players’ counterbalances the collective will of the people by a whopping margin.
The opponents present fact upon fact regarding the long-term effects that will happen because of the NECEC and the proponents continually state that ‘this is a good deal for Maine.’ Most of the benefits are steeped in suggestion; disguised as more benefit than reality demonstrates; and have not been supported by anything that resembles scientific methodology. The driving force behind this project is money, pure and simple. And this money comes from huge foreign interests in Canada and Spain. Maine’s reputation, built through decades of hard work and moral backbone will be toppled by a few people and a few bucks directed to critical pressure points. PACs have been created to spread propaganda and the people who run these PACS disgust me because they take money to intentionally bend and disguise the truth from the public. I don’t blame the Supreme Court, they did the job they were supposed to do. ‘Well, The law is the law” (emphasis on sarcastic line from “The Point”). I blame a few greedy people for where we are now in this continuing and sordid saga of ‘good v evil’. If this project indeed does go through Maine will never again be what it was and is. We will simply drop out of the ranks of places to visit because we were different, ethical, and morally attached to our natural wonders.
Richard Aishton
Farmington
Richard, you lost me when you went on and on about all the “smaat” people in group. May I suggest first you look at your numbers. 10K does not make you the majority in a state with, what 1.4 million people. Next, look into the state constitution if you have issues with the supreme courts ruling, don’t going blaming the MPUC just because they didn’t side with you ….
How can they, that’s not hard if you think about it, it is called the Maine Public Utilities Commission, and they don’t represent the people in any way, shape or form nor were they ever meant to, they only represent the state in matters of infrastructure management in the utilities section, much like the Maine State Highway Commission does with the roads. We don’t live in a communist state, the people don’t get to decide matters of state. Natural wonders? Oh you mean the half stripped land with two wind farms on it that is future home of the NECEC.
“We will simply drop out of the ranks of places to visit because we were different, ethical, and morally attached to our natural wonders.” This line is pure selfishness and points to the hypocrisy of the naysayers. They claim to be one people, united, until a state needs help with something, then it is all about isolationism and our land is our land and you can’t use it because we are uniquely us. Then claiming to have taken the moral high ground, morality tells us we should be willing to help our fellow man, there is nothing moral about not helping somebody.
Melodramatic much ?
Think it’s funny. Probably none of you have published a letter on the DB, but just ‘show up’ to criticize most letters. I show up here to criticize the commenters. Is there a difference? At any rate, always interesting to read the comments ….. glad that most of you guys can spell and mostly know the difference between your and you’re, and there, their, and they’re. FB is a completely different ‘clientele’.
Richard,
The Truth Hurts.(see the 3 stooges response…).
“Mainers,,, They ‘aint..
Good Article.
Got their goats too.
Thank You.
Everything Is Beautiful.
I applaud your commitment to the cause. I too have serious concerns about the Corridor, but perhaps for very different reasons.
I don’t think the Corridor, as it is presented, will destroy Maine and I don’t care who builds it or why; I am more concerned with which LLC they will undoubtedly sell the asset to in the future and how it will be managed as far as what else they might do or not allow to be done with the corridor because of its fee ownership (in parts). What if it is found to cause health concerns, noise issues, emergency communication interference issues, etc. Can it be crossed for a valid purpose? What happens when it becomes obsolete or not needed but it is still an asset to be sold or salvaged (think of the Millinocket Mill). What if they want to expand its use(east west highway) or prohibit access along or across it? (think of the obsolete railroads)
I do, however, disagree with your approach to making a point that its 10,000 to 3; that comment dilutes your argument because most readers will quickly realize the fallacy of what you say. I can only compare this to your statement that “If this project indeed does go through Maine will never again be what it was and is. We will simply drop out of the ranks of places to visit….” Maine already has power lines, roads, interstates, windmills, cities, small towns, fields, cows, and wood cutting operations. People still come and they still will.
Your arguments do little for the cause and indeed might just propagate more support for people who don’t hate the project for whatever the reason. I don’t think you’ve helped your (our) cause by expressing your “few comments about this entire process”.
Don’t even get anyone started about advanced degrees, that just might sound like global warming.
Richard,
Are you saying we can’t trust these foreign companies or our own elected officials!!??? WHAT??
OMG WHAT CAN WE DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES?
Maybe, , “CITIZEN REFERENDUM”!!!
Oh wait,, the lawyers got us instead,,
For Now.
Yours is a very great comment,,btw.
There so many valid reasons to hate this thing….
Everything Is Beautiful.
The effort built to oppose adding to the existing flow of hydroelectricity generated in Quebec to the New England grid was nothing short of a disinformation campaign. From the start it was designed to enrage locals with half truths and stories, like “they want to cut a Jersey Turnpike sized swath through virgin forests to install a row of massive electrical towers the like of which you’d see in Godzilla films of the 1960’s”. It was a skillfully crafted plan which triggered then organized the outraged into groups that would launch letter writing campaigns and other initiatives against it.
Influence campaigns don’t get much better organized and funded than this. Organizers were sent to polling stations, town meetings, and street corners to repeat the half truths that triggered them. As time wore on they convinced voters that the project had not been properly vetted by the state legislature and environmental offices that looked the plan over while LePage was still in office and that it had not had the bipartisan support it clearly had to have to make it through the legislature. Smoke and mirrors is all it was.
“We don’t live in a communist state, the people don’t get to decide matters of state.” After working for a corporation for a quarter of my life these are the kind of comments that made me go home and preform a reality check. Do I care that former or present politicians or their families are making big money for who they are or where they have been? A little,but thats been going on since this country began.Do I really care that that the power line may be going in? Again, a little but I try to keep an open mind. Does anyone care about your possessions or land like you do? No is the right answer. NO one can blame Mainers for being concerned about a foreign ownership venture for profit in their state. What any education does do for you is give you the ability to appreciate the power behind a profit margin. The former nuclear power plant, manufacturing plants and buildings left standing because no one wants to pay the cost of tearing them down, the taxpayer burden grows every day because the business made or lost their money and run off leaving the tax payers in the area holding the bag with an unwanted situation. Its way past the time to realize and separate more the difference between the private ownership rights of a man who is trying to live and raise a family and be part of a community and those that are only there to satisfy stockholders. This is something the young people of our state really need to bite into as more and more of our whole country comes into the control of the nameless and blameless false face world of stockholders who have never been to and really don’t care where their money is coming from. You young have to remember in the future if you have a problem with a tree don’t get sidetracked picking off leaves get to the “root” of the problem.
Mr. Aishton touches on an area that is very important for all to be aware of. The corruption that is the CMP / Augusta relationship. Do you remember when Lepage was on his way out and Mills was on her way in? Lepage stopped off in Spain on his way to Iceland to meet with the head of Iberdrola. Mills was outraged and said “I will make the deal”. Two “leaders” fighting over who would make the deal on the NECEC.
King, Baldacci, Lepage, and now Mills. All making or attempting to get their cut from the energy sector.
Some of you may be OK with this corruption. I am not.
Morals do matter and Augusta has a deficit.