Last week Senator Russell Black voted against and blocked a one-time emergency $450-check heating energy bill intended for 850,000 Mainers. Seven of his fellow Republicans joined him even though our need for fuel assistance is obvious and the bill was overwhelmingly supported in the state legislature by Democrats and Republicans, and was strongly promoted by Governor Mills.
On his website Senator Black discusses high oil prices, blaming President Biden, and proposing that Mainers need help with their fuel bills from the state. Then he turned around and voted against his own advice.
Senator Black is considered a “nice guy” in public and is generally liked. His interests in protecting the interests of Mainers are however questionable given his vote last week and contradictory. Why so?
This summer the Maine Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation announced results of a campaign to distribute leftover pandemic monies in the millions to applying needy farmers and producers. The sums involved ranged from $20,000 to $250,000 per operation.
Senator Black’s farm received a whopping $250,000 no strings attached: the largest grant and the only one in Franklin County out of a half dozen applications.
Questions were raised as to why his farm, a sophisticated angus operation, and none of the other smaller operations in Franklin County seeking funds for expansion (farmstands, bakeries, processing equipment, crops) were grantees. The Commissioner for Agriculture denied biais in allocation of the grants in Maine. Yet Senator Black is the lead Republican on the important Agriculture Committee. His website mentions nothing about receiving the quarter of a million dollar grant so the public is unaware of his good fortune.
But it is now aware that he, along with seven of his friends, voted against basic human compassion last week in denying minimal help to desperate Mainers freezing in unheated homes.
His constituents need answers.
Barbara Skapa
Mt Vernon, Maine
