In a Sun Journal article (Sept. 7), Sen. Susan Collins was put in the spotlight for the longevity of her position on the U.S. Senate. Collins, who is planning on running for her fifth term in 2020 has been in office since 1997.
But an article in Maine Campus newspaper (Sept. 9) reports that Collins has failed to appear at locally organized town hall meetings.
The Sun Journal story noted that Collins hopes that her election to a fifth term would allow her to use her position of power in the Senate to run as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. That committee regulates billions of dollars among federal agencies. With Collins as the chairman, she could seek to allocate more than $60 million in bridge repair funds toward revamping Maine infrastructure.
However, simply because Collins has been in the Senate for more than 20 years does not mean that she holds Mainers’ views and interests in high regard. Collins, who has gained more funding from private investors than in-state fundraising (source: RealClear Politics), has not shown a connection with her constituents voices or ideologies. Through her actions in the recent past, Collins is not showing that she will vote on interests that her constituents are invested in.
If an elected official — who has been in office longer than some of her voting constituents have been alive — cannot vote for the interests of her people, she should not be granted another term in office.
Leela Stockley, Orono
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