I am a neighbor and friend of state Rep. Mike Timmons, R-Cumberland. I do not believe that the Cumberland Town Council treated Timmons fairly on July 27, when, as reported in The Forecaster last week, town officials “pilloried” him “for reversing his position and not voting to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of the release of the conservation bonds.”
I believe that Timmons cast the correct vote to sustain the veto. I believe that his vote will actually further advance the release of the bonds – an outcome desired by Timmons.
As a lawyer, I feel that the bill, LD 1378, did indeed raise serious constitutional issues. Far from being limited to a “Land for Maine’s Future bill,” the legislation was amended and expanded to change the way that the state issues all general obligation bonds – not just LMF bonds. Because the governor viewed the bill as unconstitutional, litigation would almost certainly have been triggered that could have taken years to resolve (and that would have killed the Cumberland projects).
I believe that Timmons will be proved right in the end, and I do hope that town officials will apologize to him when our Cumberland projects ultimately receive their funding.
Joanne Fryer
Cumberland
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