I want to thank the people of Farmington and Industry for the honor of allowing me to represent them in Augusta.
Though it would be impossible to fill Janet Mills’ shoes, you have my word I will work as hard for you in Augusta as I have to earn your support. Even though some may disagree with me politically, my door is always open to you. I realize that we will need all voices and input to help change the direction of this state and I am open to everyone’s ideas.
I also want to thank Dennis Haszko for taking the time to put himself on a ballot and for his tremendous campaign effort in such a short period of time. I know that it is not easy to face defeat, but I consider him a valuable asset to this community. His further help here in Farmington will be nothing but beneficial for us all. This last week has been such a special time for both me and my family and we wish to thank you all for your support and know it will not be soon forgotten.
Thank You,
Lance Harvell
Farmington
Thanks Lance! …and good luck in the legislature. Lots of work to do there.
Now I know why you kept running for the seat. It’s actually quite a lot of fun to run a campaign!
–Dennis Haszko
http://www.letterspatent.com
Enough cannot be said about the solid qualities of both candidates in our recent House District 89 special election. Both men displayed fair-mindedness, frankness and intellectual honesty in promoting themselves and their respective points of view – admirable traits which ought be played by more actors on the political stage. Because of this, I don’t consider the hours I spent working on Dennis Haszko’s behalf the least bit wasted. Further, I believe Lance Harvell is a hard worker who I am confident will do his utmost to fairly represent the people of Farmington and Industry.
In my seventieth year, my tankful of ideals and expectations ought to have been drained long ago, thus I shouldn’t have been troubled by the fact that in this election somewhere in the neighborhood of 75%(could be off, but not by much) or more of Farmington’s eligible voters chose not to exercise their right and duty even when they could vote at home or at any time the town office was open.
Pundits and regular people can analyze low voter turnout ’til the cows come home: maybe they didn’t like either candidate; maybe their dogs ate their absentee ballots; maybe they were still despondent over Tom Brady’s knee; Maybe, despite all their tough Mainer talk, they don’t go outdoors in winter, certainly not to the polls; perhaps there was fear of the flu; maybe many of them figured they’d been burned by voting their choice in November only to discover that their choice preferred another, more desirable government job – and so “forget it this time”; maybe UMF students only vote en masse when under the influence of Obamania; it could be that the Maine legislature is now held in contempt by rank and file Farmington citizens; maybe most voters forgot or hadn’t paid attention enough to know there was to be an election, an example of what a wise old headmaster I once worked for meant when he said “the whole country’s got Attention Deficit Disorder.”
Perhaps it was no more than good old civic apathy or an assumption that democracy functions best when a handful of the most devout show up to make the big decisions while the rest enjoy their bread and circuses. Whatever the reasons, the level of voter participation in Farmington, our fair county seat, was pathetic. There have been other low turnouts, I know, such as during typical municipal elections. But given the anemic condition of our district, state and nation these days and the general belief that government has huge responsibility in dealing with it, was it unreasonable to have expected better? No need to answer – I feel better already!