To the voters of Camden, Rockport, and Islesboro: I’ve served with Owen Casas on the Rockport Select Board and understand how one develops as one gains experience.  The years of experience Representative Casas developed while serving on the Select Board has brought a level of understanding few members of the Maine Legislature bring to their job as a Representative or Senator. 

It is an understanding of the issues one develops when serving at the municipal level that makes a good legislator. By understanding the impact on our local communities by decisions made in Augusta, one has the necessary tools to craft better legislation. 

Understanding how Revenue Sharing impacts the town budget; by understanding how school funding decisions made in Augusta trickle down through our school districts and impact the town budgets; by seeing first-hand how state road maintenance decisions effect our ability to clear the winter snows.  This understanding creates a more responsive legislator attuned to the needs of his community.

Representative Casas has the experience from his local service to continue to ensure our local needs are well represented and voiced in Augusta.  Too often we have elected our representatives and senators based on their party affiliation and not based on what experience they bring to that job.  We have the opportunity to re-elect an upstanding, independent person to continue to represent us and not a party hierarchy, someone who will listen to us, first, last and always and not beholden to special interest groups who do what they want and not what we need.

I urge the voters of Camden, Rockport, and Islesboro to think of what we, as a community, need and not simply check a box because of party affiliation.  Independence and the exhibited willingness to represent the citizenry before party is what makes Maine great.  Let’s continue to elect independent thinkers by re-electing Owen Casas on November 6.

William Chapman lives in Rockport and is a former member and chairman of the Rockport Select Board